RAAC Strengthening for the Defence Estate

The defence estate cannot take operational buildings offline lightly. Structured Carbon strengthens RAAC in place with bespoke CFRP, phased around live sites and security requirements, so accommodation, training, storage and operational buildings stay in use instead of being rebuilt.

The RAAC challenge on the defence estate

RAAC is present across the defence estate in buildings of the same post-war era: single living and mess accommodation, training and instructional buildings, workshops, stores and operational facilities. The estate is large, often remote, security-controlled and under constant operational demand, so taking buildings out of use to strip out and replace roofs is acutely disruptive to the activities a site exists to support.

Why the defence estate needs an alternative to replacement

Replacement means clearing and closing buildings on a working site, displacing personnel, training and operations, often where there is no easy alternative space and where access is tightly controlled. The cost and programme of rebuilding across an ageing estate are substantial. An approach that restores structural safety while keeping buildings operational, and which works within site security and access constraints, is far better matched to how the estate functions.

How we strengthen RAAC on defence sites

We follow our five-stage RAACSafe™ Protocol. Neil Smuts surveys, scans and assesses the RAAC; John Staves designs a bespoke CFRP strengthening scheme to the exact capacity each structure requires; the CFRP is manufactured in the UK and installed in place; and the strengthened structure is monitored. Because nothing is stripped out, the works are phased around operations, access controls and the security regime of the site.

• Operational buildings kept in use, with phased working around the site.
• Worked to site security and access, with clearance and vetting handled at mobilisation.
• A fraction of the cost and programme of rebuilding across the estate.
• Decades of added safe service life from a permanent, moisture-immune solution.

See the numbers on our case study, where, across the tenders we cost, strengthening tailored to the exact roof comes in well below 15 per cent of replacement cost, and read more about CFRP strengthening and RAAC remediation.

Frequently asked questions

Can RAAC be strengthened on a live, secure site?

In most cases, yes. CFRP is applied in place, so work can be phased around operations and access controls, keeping accommodation, training, storage and operational buildings in use rather than taking parts of a site out of service.

Can you work to the security requirements of the defence estate?

The low-intervention, in-place method is well suited to controlled environments, and works are planned with the estate team around site security, access and operational constraints. Clearance and vetting requirements are handled as part of mobilisation.

Is strengthening cheaper than rebuilding defence buildings?

Typically by a wide margin, and without the operational disruption of taking buildings offline to rebuild. Across the tenders we cost, a bespoke scheme tailored to that exact roof frequently comes in well below 15 per cent of the cost of replacement; on one tender a roof costed at around £40 million to replace was priced for strengthening at under £4 million, with no decant.

Who certifies the structural design?

Every scheme is designed and certified by John Staves (CEng FIStructE), a chartered structural engineer and recognised RAAC specialist, working from survey and monitoring led by Neil Smuts, President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard.