RAAC Survey in Thatcham
A RAAC survey in Thatcham answers the question every estates manager, bursar and building owner has been asked since 2023: is there RAAC in this building, and if there is, what state is it in? Structured Carbon carries out RAAC surveys across Berkshire from our base in Finchampstead, a few miles from Thatcham, 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, 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. Thatcham is local to us.
How we survey RAAC in Thatcham
RAAC looks like ordinary concrete from below, which is why buildings in Thatcham 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.
When a building in Thatcham needs a RAAC survey
Any building with a flat or low-pitched roof built or extended between the 1950s and the mid 1990s should have RAAC ruled in or out. In practice the requests we get from Thatcham and the rest of Berkshire come from school business managers and academy trusts working through Department for Education guidance, NHS and primary care estates teams, council property teams, leisure operators, churches and charities with halls, and commercial landlords whose insurers or buyers have asked the question.
The other common trigger is a sale, a lease renewal or a refurbishment where the design team needs to know what the roof is made of before they touch it.
School, academy, NHS and council RAAC surveys in Thatcham
Most RAAC surveys we are asked for in Thatcham come from four places: schools and academy trusts working to Department for Education guidance, NHS and primary care estates teams, council property departments, and the owners of halls, churches, sports centres and offices with flat roofs from the 1950s to the mid 1990s. Each gets the same two-part offer. A visual survey, from £395, identifies and records the RAAC. An engineering inspection and structural assessment, priced per building, classifies every panel and tells you what to do, signed by a Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers.
For a school or academy trust that needs a RAAC surveyor who can also provide a management and remediation strategy after the inspection, that is what the two-part offer is for.
Why Thatcham has buildings of the RAAC era
We know Thatcham well: it is a town on the Kennet with large industrial estates at Colthrop and a big post-war housing stock, with post-war schools and community buildings that grew with the housing, and the industrial buildings at Colthrop, and around 25,500 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.
A practical starting point in Thatcham
If you are responsible for buildings in Thatcham, 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 West Berkshire Council area that will usually take in post-war schools and community buildings that grew with the housing, and the industrial buildings at Colthrop. 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.
From survey to decision
The report lands with John Staves (CEng FIStructE, MIoD), a chartered structural engineer and one of the UK's leading specialists in RAAC, and his assessment is where the survey turns into a decision for the building in Thatcham: what stays in use, what is propped or monitored, and whether the roof can be kept and strengthened rather than stripped out. On the tenders we cost, that last answer changes the budget by an order of magnitude. 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.
Every stage after that, from CFRP design to manufacture, installation and monitoring, stays with the same team under our RAACSafe™ Protocol.
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 Thatcham 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 survey FAQs
Is a RAAC survey the same as a RAAC assessment?
No. The survey establishes what is there and what condition it is in. The assessment is the engineering judgement about what that means and what to do. We offer both, and you can read about RAAC assessment in Thatcham separately.
How do I know if my building might have RAAC?
Flat or low-pitched roofs, sometimes floors and walls, in buildings built or extended between the 1950s and the mid 1990s. Schools, hospitals, clinics, halls, leisure centres, courts, offices and industrial units of that period are all candidates. If you are unsure, send us the age and type of the building and we will tell you whether a survey is worth doing.
Where do you cover?
We are based in Finchampstead, Wokingham, so Thatcham is on our doorstep. Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire are local to us, and we work across the UK.
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 Thatcham?
Yes, and that is most of our work. School and academy RAAC surveys in Thatcham 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 Thatcham 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 Thatcham?
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.
Also in Thatcham
RAAC assessment in Thatcham
RAAC structural assessment in Thatcham, Berkshire, by John Staves CEng FIStructE MIoD, working from Neil Smuts' survey.
RAAC assessment in ThatchamRAAC scanning in Thatcham
RAAC scanning in Thatcham, 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.