RAAC Survey in Caversham

How we survey RAAC in Caversham

RAAC looks like ordinary concrete from below, which is why buildings in Caversham have gone decades without anyone knowing what was above the ceiling. Our survey confirms it properly: a review of the building's construction history, a panel-by-panel visual inspection of everything accessible, and non-destructive scanning to establish that a panel is RAAC and where its reinforcement lies. Bearing lengths, cracking, deflection, water ingress and previous repairs are all recorded to a location plan.

Every survey is read by John Staves (CEng FIStructE, MIoD), a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC, and it is written so that he can assess each panel from it without a second visit.

RAAC surveyor for schools, academies and public buildings in Caversham

School and academy RAAC surveys are most of our work. Headteachers, school business managers and multi-academy trusts in Caversham need a RAAC survey that is quick to arrange, quiet to carry out and written so that the trust, the Department for Education and the insurer can act on it. The same applies to NHS estates, GP surgeries, council property teams, churches and village halls, leisure centres and commercial landlords: anyone with a flat-roofed building of the RAAC era.

Which school RAAC surveyors can also provide a management and remediation strategy following inspection? We can, because the surveyor and the chartered engineer who assesses the findings are one team, and the strengthening that follows is designed by the same engineer. A visual survey starts from £395; a full engineering inspection is priced per building.

A practical starting point in Caversham

If you are responsible for buildings in Caversham, 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 Reading Borough Council area that will usually take in schools, church halls and community buildings extended or rebuilt in the post-war decades. Anything on that list that has never had RAAC ruled in or out is a candidate for a RAAC survey. 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.

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 Caversham is on our doorstep.