RAAC Scanning in Datchet
Structured Carbon provides non-destructive RAAC scanning in Datchet and throughout Berkshire. The work is led by Neil Smuts (MCIOB, MInstNDT, FRCSP), President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard and a Fellow of the Register of Concrete Scanning Professionals, the person who leads the national standard for concrete scanning. The scan confirms RAAC, maps the reinforcement, and gives John Staves (CEng FIStructE, MIoD), a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC, the evidence his assessment needs.
- Led by Neil Smuts, President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard and Fellow of the Register of Concrete Scanning Professionals
- Confirms RAAC and locates its reinforcement without opening up the structure
- Building stays in use; quiet, room-by-room work
- Results feed straight to a chartered RAAC engineer, John Staves CEng FIStructE MIoD
Based in Finchampstead, Wokingham. Datchet is local to us.
How scanning identifies RAAC
Scanning reads the inside of a panel from its surface. Non-destructive methods distinguish the light, cellular structure of RAAC from dense concrete, and locate the steel reinforcement within a plank: where the bars run, how deep they are, and whether they extend to the bearings. That last point matters more than any other with RAAC, because a plank whose reinforcement stops short of its support is the classic failure case, and no amount of looking from below will show it.
The scan is recorded panel by panel against a location plan, alongside a visual and condition record, so that the results can be assessed rather than just filed.
Scanning led by the national standard
Our scanning is led by Neil Smuts (MCIOB, MInstNDT, FRCSP), President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard and a Fellow of the Register of Concrete Scanning Professionals. The UK Concrete Scanning Standard is the national standard for concrete scanning, and Neil leads it. That matters because scanning is only as good as the person interpreting it: RAAC, voids, dense concrete and previous repairs can all look alike to an untrained operator. Every scan we carry out in Datchet is read by the person who owns the Assess stage of our RAACSafe™ Protocol, and the results go directly to John Staves (CEng FIStructE, MIoD), a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC, for assessment.
RAAC testing without opening up: what scanning replaces in Datchet
Before scanning, confirming RAAC meant cutting an opening or taking a core. Neither is needed now. Non-destructive scanning identifies the material, locates the reinforcement and checks bearings from the surface, so a school, clinic, hall or office in Datchet is surveyed with nothing removed and nobody moved out. Where an engineer later needs load or deflection data, that is added as part of the engineering inspection rather than by damaging the roof. Scanning comes with the visual survey, from £395, and with every engineering inspection.
RAAC in Datchet
Datchet is a Thames-side village between Windsor and Slough with a station on the Windsor and Eton Riverside line. With around 4,800 residents in the the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead area, it has a village school, halls and sports buildings. Buildings of that period are exactly where RAAC turns up: flat or low-pitched roofs, sometimes floors and walls, in schools, halls, health buildings, sports centres and offices built between the 1950s and the mid 1990s.
A practical starting point in Datchet
If you are responsible for buildings in Datchet, start with a list. Which of them have flat or low-pitched roofs, and which were built or extended between the 1950s and the mid 1990s? In the the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead area that will usually take in a village school, halls and sports buildings. Anything on that list that has never had RAAC ruled in or out is a candidate for a RAAC scanning. Send us the list and we will tell you which buildings justify a visit, and which can be cleared from the desk with drawings alone.
Scan, survey, assess
On its own, a scan tells you what the panel is. Combined with a condition survey and a structural assessment, it tells you what to do. Most clients in Datchet ask for the full RAAC survey, with scanning built in, followed by the assessment by John Staves (CEng FIStructE, MIoD), a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC. Where the assessment supports strengthening rather than replacement, the same team designs, manufactures, installs and monitors it. Across the RAAC tenders we cost, a bespoke CFRP scheme engineered for that exact roof frequently comes in at well below 15 per cent of the cost of full replacement. On one tender, a roof costed at around £40 million to replace was priced for strengthening at under £4 million.
The practical questions, answered
How soon: we can usually be on site in Berkshire within one to two days. How long: the report follows within five working days of the site visit, depending on the size of the survey and the level of detail required. When: evening, weekend and holiday visits are no problem. With what: GSSI Flex NX and GSSI StructureScan Mini ground penetrating radar, Proceq GP8800 and GP8100 radar, the Proceq Pundit PD8050 ultrasonic tomograph, and other electromagnetic and ultrasonic NDT instruments. How much experience: we have surveyed thousands of square metres of RAAC. Insured: professional indemnity insurance is held to a maximum of £10 million, with public and employers' liability arranged on a per-site basis. Where: Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire are local to us, and we work across the UK, and Datchet is on our doorstep.
Two named specialists, one team
Neil Smuts, MCIOB MInstNDT FRCSP
Survey, scanning and monitoring. President, UK Concrete Scanning StandardNeil leads the survey, scanning and monitoring side of every Structured Carbon project. He is President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard, a member of the Chartered Institute of Building and the Institute of NDT, and a Fellow of the Register of Concrete Scanning Professionals. LinkedIn
John Staves, CEng FIStructE MIoD
Structural assessment and CFRP designJohn is a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC. He carries out the structural assessment and designs every strengthening scheme. John received both the Regional and the National Innovation Award at the HSBC Commercial Banking and Federation of Small Businesses Small Business Growth Awards for his work on RAAC repair. LinkedIn
Thank you, we have your enquiry
One of the team will come back to you within one working day. If it is urgent, call +44 118 430 8430.
RAAC scanning FAQs
How soon can you scan a building in Datchet?
We can usually be on site in Berkshire within one to two days, and evening, weekend and holiday visits are no problem. The report follows within five working days of the site visit, depending on the size of the survey and the level of detail required.
Is my roof RAAC or ordinary concrete?
From below you usually cannot tell. Scanning can, in minutes per panel: RAAC's light cellular structure and its reinforcement pattern read very differently from dense concrete. If your building in Datchet is flat-roofed and dates from the 1950s to the mid 1990s, a scan is the quickest way to know.
What does RAAC scanning cost?
Scanning is included in the visual survey and in every engineering inspection, so it is not priced separately. As a guide, a visual RAAC survey starts from £395. A full engineering inspection of a large or complex building, a hospital for example, is priced per building once we know its size, access and the level of detail required.
Is RAAC scanning destructive?
No. The scan is carried out from the surface of the panel, usually the underside, with no cutting, coring or drilling. The building stays in use.
Can scanning tell RAAC from ordinary concrete?
Yes. RAAC has a light, cellular internal structure that reads very differently from dense reinforced concrete. That difference, plus the reinforcement pattern, is how a scan confirms the material.
Does the scan show where the reinforcement is?
Yes. Locating the reinforcement, including whether it extends to the bearings, is the main reason to scan RAAC. Bearing length is the single most important factor in how a RAAC plank behaves.
Do you scan the whole roof?
We scan every accessible panel that could be RAAC, recorded to a location plan. For a large estate in Datchet we agree the scope with you first, but the principle is that unscanned panels are unknown panels.
Also in Datchet
RAAC survey in Datchet
RAAC survey in Datchet, Berkshire, by Neil Smuts MCIOB MInstNDT FRCSP, President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard.
RAAC survey in DatchetRAAC assessment in Datchet
RAAC structural assessment in Datchet, Berkshire, by John Staves CEng FIStructE MIoD, working from Neil Smuts' survey.
RAAC assessment in DatchetRAAC scanning near Datchet
- RAAC scanning Windsor
- RAAC scanning Slough
- RAAC scanning Reading
- RAAC scanning Bracknell
- RAAC scanning Maidenhead
- RAAC scanning Wokingham
- All Berkshire towns
Related: RAAC strengthening, RAAC remediation in Berkshire, RAAC confirmed buildings register, RAAC in schools.