RAAC Survey in Pangbourne
Structured Carbon provides RAAC surveys in Pangbourne and across Berkshire. The survey 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, and it is designed to give John Staves (CEng FIStructE, MIoD), a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC, exactly what he needs to assess each plank and tell you what should happen next.
- Led by Neil Smuts, MCIOB MInstNDT FRCSP, President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard
- Findings assessed by John Staves, CEng FIStructE MIoD, a chartered engineer who specialises in RAAC
- School RAAC surveyor and academy RAAC surveyor: most of our work, arranged around the timetable
- Non-destructive: RAAC and its reinforcement confirmed without opening up the roof. Visual surveys from £395
- Usually on site in Berkshire within one to two days; report within five working days of the visit
Based in Finchampstead, Wokingham. Pangbourne is local to us.
How we survey RAAC in Pangbourne
A RAAC survey has three jobs: confirm whether RAAC is present, record the condition of every panel, and gather the measurements an engineer needs to assess it. We do all three in one visit where access allows. Non-destructive scanning identifies RAAC and the position of its reinforcement without cutting into the roof, and a panel-by-panel inspection records bearings, cracking, deflection, moisture and past repairs against a location plan.
The report goes straight to John Staves (CEng FIStructE, MIoD), a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC, so the survey is planned around the questions his assessment has to answer rather than around a generic checklist.
When a building in Pangbourne needs a RAAC survey
A RAAC survey is usually prompted by one of four things: guidance from the Department for Education, NHS or a professional body; an insurer, lender or purchaser asking for confirmation; a planned refurbishment or extension; or something visible, such as a sagging ceiling, cracking or water staining, that has made someone nervous. All four are good reasons. For a building of the right age in Pangbourne, the cost of not knowing is far higher than the cost of the survey.
A RAAC surveyor in Pangbourne who can also tell you what to do next
A RAAC survey answers "is it there and what state is it in". The question that follows, from every school, academy trust, hospital estate and council in Pangbourne, is "so what do we do". Because our surveyor and our chartered structural engineer work as one team, the survey feeds an inspection and assessment that ends in a management and remediation strategy, not a list of findings. A visual survey starts from £395; an engineering inspection of a large or complex building is priced per building.
We survey schools and academies, NHS and GP premises, council and civic buildings, churches and village halls, leisure centres, offices and industrial units, anything with a flat roof of the RAAC era.
RAAC in Pangbourne
We know Pangbourne well: it is a Thames village with Pangbourne College and a station on the Great Western Main Line, with college, school and village buildings of every period, and around 3,300 residents under West Berkshire Council. Ask the RAAC survey question of any flat-roofed building here that predates the mid 1990s, because that is where RAAC planks were used.
Where to begin if you manage property in Pangbourne
The question is not "does Pangbourne have RAAC" but "which of my buildings might". The answer sits in the construction dates. Buildings of the RAAC era in and around Pangbourne, Purley on Thames and Theale typically include college, school and village buildings of every period. Pull the dates for each, note which have flat roofs, and treat every one that fits as unconfirmed until a RAAC survey says otherwise. We are happy to look at the list with you before anything is booked.
What happens after the survey
Three outcomes are possible once the survey is assessed. The panels are sound and can be managed and monitored. Some panels need propping or restricted use while a decision is made. Or the roof needs intervention, and the choice is between strengthening it in place and replacing it. The RAAC assessment by John Staves (CEng FIStructE, MIoD), a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC tells you which applies to your building in Pangbourne, and why. 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.
If strengthening is the answer, the design, manufacture, installation and monitoring are carried out by the same partnership that surveyed the roof.
What we bring to Pangbourne
We have surveyed thousands of square metres of RAAC, using 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. We can usually be on site in Berkshire within one to two days, evening, weekend and holiday visits are no problem, and the report follows within five working days of the site visit, depending on the size of the survey and the level of detail required. Professional indemnity insurance is held to a maximum of £10 million, with public and employers' liability arranged on a per-site basis.
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 survey FAQs
How much does a RAAC survey cost?
There is no blanket price, because buildings differ. 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. Tell us the building and we will give you a figure for it.
Do you survey schools and academies in Pangbourne?
Yes, and that is most of our work. School and academy RAAC surveys in Pangbourne are arranged around the timetable or in holidays, written so the trust, the Department for Education and the insurer can act on them, and followed, where you want it, by an engineering inspection and a management and remediation strategy from the same team. Neil is DBS checked.
How long does a RAAC survey take?
It depends on the size of the building and how much of the roof is accessible. A single-storey school or hall in Pangbourne is typically a day on site; larger or multi-building estates take longer. The report follows within five working days of the site visit, depending on the size of the survey and the level of detail required.
How quickly can you get to Pangbourne?
We are based in Finchampstead, Wokingham, so we can usually be on site in Berkshire within one to two days. Evening, weekend and holiday visits are no problem.
Do you need to open up the roof?
No. We confirm RAAC and locate its reinforcement using non-destructive scanning from the underside or the roof surface. Where a small opening is already present we will use it, but the survey does not depend on cutting into the building.
What equipment do you use?
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. We have surveyed thousands of square metres of RAAC with them.
Are you insured?
Professional indemnity insurance is held to a maximum of £10 million, with public and employers' liability arranged on a per-site basis.
Also in Pangbourne
RAAC assessment in Pangbourne
RAAC structural assessment in Pangbourne, Berkshire, by John Staves CEng FIStructE MIoD, working from Neil Smuts' survey.
RAAC assessment in PangbourneRAAC scanning in Pangbourne
RAAC scanning in Pangbourne, Berkshire: non-destructive identification of RAAC planks and their reinforcement by Neil Smuts, President of the UK Concrete Scanning Standard.
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Related: RAAC strengthening, RAAC remediation in Berkshire, RAAC confirmed buildings register, RAAC in schools.