RAAC Scanning in Twyford
If a building in Twyford 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. Twyford is local to us.
What RAAC scanning in Twyford tells you
RAAC scanning is non-destructive testing applied to a specific problem: confirming whether a roof, floor or wall panel in Twyford is reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, and if so, where the reinforcement inside it lies. Reinforcement position and bearing length are the two things that decide how a RAAC plank behaves, and both are invisible without scanning. We record them panel by panel with a condition survey, so that the engineer assessing the building works from measurement rather than assumption.
Who scans your building
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 Twyford 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 Twyford
The most common question from schools, academies, NHS estates and councils in Twyford 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.
RAAC in Twyford
Around 8,100 people live in Twyford, an Elizabeth line and Henley branch junction village with an active town centre. It falls under Wokingham Borough Council, and it carries village schools and halls, several extended in the post-war decades. If a building in Twyford has a flat roof and dates from the 1950s to the mid 1990s, RAAC should be ruled in or out rather than assumed absent.
A practical starting point in Twyford
If you are responsible for buildings in Twyford, 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 Wokingham Borough Council area that will usually take in village schools and halls, several extended in the post-war decades. 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.
Scanning as part of a RAAC survey
Scanning is usually one part of a full RAAC survey in Twyford, alongside the visual and condition inspection of every panel. Where a building has already been surveyed visually and the question is simply "is it RAAC or not", a scanning visit on its own can settle it. Either way the results feed a RAAC assessment by John Staves (CEng FIStructE, MIoD), a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC, which sets out what can stay in use, what needs action, and whether strengthening in place is a realistic alternative to replacement. 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 Twyford 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 Twyford 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 Twyford 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 Twyford
RAAC survey in Twyford
RAAC survey in Twyford, Berkshire, by Neil Smuts MCIOB MInstNDT FRCSP, President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard.
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RAAC structural assessment in Twyford, Berkshire, by John Staves CEng FIStructE MIoD, working from Neil Smuts' survey.
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