RAAC Scanning in Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross
If a building in Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross dates from the 1950s to the mid 1990s and has a flat roof, scanning is the fastest way to know whether RAAC is in it. It is non-destructive, it is done with the building in use, and at Structured Carbon it 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.
- 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. Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross is local to us.
Why scan rather than look
Two things cannot be seen from below a ceiling: whether a panel is RAAC at all, and where its reinforcement is. Scanning answers both. It separates RAAC from dense concrete by its internal structure, and it maps the reinforcement in each plank, including whether the bars reach the bearings, which is where RAAC planks are most likely to fail. The results are logged to a location plan for every panel scanned, ready for structural assessment.
Concrete scanning done to a standard
The person holding the scanner decides whether the results mean anything. At Structured Carbon that person is Neil Smuts (MCIOB, MInstNDT, FRCSP), President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard and a Fellow of the Register of Concrete Scanning Professionals, who leads the national standard for concrete scanning and owns the Assess and Monitor stages of our RAACSafe™ Protocol. The results of every scan in Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross are handed straight to John Staves (CEng FIStructE, MIoD), a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC, so the same evidence drives the structural assessment and, where it is the right answer, the design of strengthening in place.
Is it RAAC or ordinary concrete? Identification in Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross
The most common question from schools, academies, NHS estates and councils in Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross is the simplest one: is this roof RAAC or ordinary concrete? From below they can look identical. Ground penetrating radar and ultrasonic scanning settle it in minutes per panel, because RAAC's light cellular structure and its reinforcement pattern read very differently from dense concrete. The same scan locates the reinforcement and checks whether it reaches the bearings, the single most important fact about a RAAC plank. Scanning is included in our visual survey, from £395, and in every engineering inspection.
Buildings in Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross worth scanning
We know Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross well: it is villages south of Reading that have grown quickly with the housing allocations around Shinfield, with village schools and community buildings, some of the post-war period, alongside the new development, and around 7,600 residents under Wokingham Borough Council. Frimley Park Hospital, which serves this part of Berkshire, is a publicly identified RAAC hospital and is being replaced under the New Hospital Programme, which has put RAAC on the agenda for every estates team in the area. Ask the RAAC scanning question of any flat-roofed building here that predates the mid 1990s, because that is where RAAC planks were used.
Prioritising buildings in Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross
Not every building in Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross 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 Wokingham Borough Council that generally means village schools and community buildings, some of the post-war period, alongside the new development. 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.
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 Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross 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 Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross 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
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 Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross we agree the scope with you first, but the principle is that unscanned panels are unknown panels.
Who interprets the results?
Neil Smuts (MCIOB, MInstNDT, FRCSP), President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard and a Fellow of the Register of Concrete Scanning Professionals, leads and reads every scan. The results go to John Staves (CEng FIStructE, MIoD), a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC, for structural assessment.
Can you scan a school in Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross during term?
Yes. Scanning is quiet, room-by-room work. We plan it around the timetable or use holidays and out-of-hours periods where a school prefers.
Also in Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross
RAAC survey in Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross
RAAC survey in Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross, Berkshire, by Neil Smuts MCIOB MInstNDT FRCSP, President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard.
RAAC survey in Spencers Wood and Three Mile CrossRAAC assessment in Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross
RAAC structural assessment in Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross, Berkshire, by John Staves CEng FIStructE MIoD, working from Neil Smuts' survey.
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