RAAC Scanning in Reading

What RAAC scanning in Reading tells you

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.

GPR and ultrasonic RAAC scanning for schools, hospitals and councils in Reading

We scan with ground penetrating radar (GSSI Flex NX, GSSI StructureScan Mini, Proceq GP8800 and GP8100) and ultrasonic tomography (Proceq Pundit PD8050), read by Neil Smuts (MCIOB, MInstNDT, FRCSP), President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard and a Fellow of the Register of Concrete Scanning Professionals. For a school or academy in Reading that means a quiet visit around the timetable; for an NHS estate or council building it means the building stays open. The scan confirms the material, maps the reinforcement and records bearing length for the engineering inspection. Scanning is part of the visual survey, from £395, and of every engineering inspection, which is priced per building.

Prioritising buildings in Reading

Not every building in Reading needs a RAAC scanning, and we would rather tell you that than sell you one. The ones that do are flat-roofed, date from the 1950s to the mid 1990s, and have never had RAAC confirmed or excluded by scanning. Under Reading Borough Council that generally means a large stock of 1960s and 1970s civic, education and commercial buildings, including the flat-roofed school, college and public buildings of that era. Ranked by occupancy and by the consequence of a failure, that list usually puts schools, health buildings and places of assembly first, then offices and industrial units.

What we bring to Reading

We have surveyed thousands of square metres of RAAC, using 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. We can usually be on site in Berkshire within one to two days, evening, weekend and holiday visits are no problem, and the report follows within five working days of the site visit, depending on the size of the survey and the level of detail required. Professional indemnity insurance is held to a maximum of £10 million, with public and employers' liability arranged on a per-site basis.