RAAC Strengthening for Public Sector Buildings

Councils and public bodies face RAAC across ageing estates with budgets that will not stretch to replacing everything. Structured Carbon strengthens RAAC in place with bespoke CFRP, so libraries, town halls, civic and community buildings stay open and a fixed budget covers far more of the estate.

The RAAC challenge across public estates

RAAC is spread across the public estate, in town halls, libraries, civic centres, community and government buildings of the same era. Local authorities and public bodies are rarely dealing with one structure; they are managing risk across a whole portfolio, under public scrutiny, with statutory duties to keep buildings safe and capital budgets that are already stretched thin. Closing a service to residents is a decision of last resort.

Why the public sector needs an alternative to replacement

Replacement is the most expensive and disruptive route, and across an estate the numbers quickly become unaffordable. Every building taken out of use is a service lost to the community and a temporary-accommodation cost on top of the build. For councils balancing competing pressures on capital, an approach that restores safety while keeping buildings open, and which lets a fixed budget reach many more structures, is far better aligned with how the public sector actually has to operate.

How we strengthen RAAC in public buildings

We follow our five-stage RAACSafe™ Protocol. Neil Smuts surveys, scans and assesses the RAAC across the estate; John Staves designs a bespoke CFRP strengthening scheme to the exact capacity each building requires; the CFRP is manufactured in the UK and installed in place; and the strengthened structures are monitored. Because nothing is stripped out, work is phased around public access and opening hours.

• Services kept open, with phased working around public access and opening hours.
• Whole-estate survey and prioritisation, so spend goes where the risk is greatest first.
• A fixed budget reaches further, at a fraction of the cost of replacing buildings.
• Engineer-certified assurance for the officers and members accountable for safety.

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 public services keep running during RAAC strengthening?

In most cases, yes. Because CFRP is applied in place, work can be phased around opening hours and public access, so libraries, town halls, leisure and community buildings stay open rather than closing services residents rely on.

Can you assess RAAC across a whole council estate?

Yes. Neil Smuts, President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard, leads survey, scanning and monitoring, so a local-authority portfolio can be assessed building by building, risk-ranked and prioritised against the available capital budget.

Does strengthening help stretch a tight capital budget?

That is the point. Strengthening in place is typically a fraction of the cost of replacement, so a fixed budget covers far more of an estate. 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.

Is the work certified by a structural engineer?

Yes. Every scheme is designed and certified by John Staves (CEng FIStructE), a chartered structural engineer and recognised RAAC specialist, giving the responsible officers the assurance they need for a public building.