RAAC surveys in Abergavenny are carried out by NDTScan, the UK's specialist in the identification and analysis of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete. The planks were installed in Monmouthshire buildings for nearly forty years, mainly in flat and shallow-pitched roofs, and they are now well beyond the design life their manufacturers assumed. Identifying them is the first step; understanding their condition is the one that matters.
Abergavenny does not feature on the government lists of confirmed RAAC, which only ever counted schools, colleges and hospital sites. The construction itself was used across Monmouthshire for three decades in council buildings, housing, community halls, offices and light industrial units. Where a flat or shallow roof dates from 1955 to 1995 and its make-up is unknown, NDTScan's advice is to identify it before the next winter rather than after it.
A RAAC survey from NDTScan starts with identification. Ground penetrating radar separates aerated planks from dense concrete, hollowcore and timber decks plank by plank, and the reinforcement pattern, transverse bars and plank widths confirm the reading without opening the roof. Condition comes next: cracking, deflection, end bearing, water staining, corrosion and previous repairs are recorded for each plank, and the findings are classified in line with IStructE guidance so the Abergavenny owner can see at once which elements need action, which need monitoring and which are sound.
One rule applies to every RAAC survey in Abergavenny. No remediation, propping, strengthening or replacement should be designed until each plank has been identified and its condition recorded. Some of the most expensive RAAC decisions in the UK were taken on roofs that had never been properly surveyed. The survey is the cheapest part of getting the decision right, and NDTScan will say so to every Abergavenny client.
Scan before you repair. That is the standing advice for every Abergavenny client, and the reason NDTScan reports what the concrete contains before anyone specifies what to do about it.
Services Available in Abergavenny
- RAAC Identification Survey GPR based, plank by plank identification of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in roofs, floors and walls across Abergavenny. Confirms what the element is made of without opening it up, and records plank widths, reinforcement and bearing details as evidence.
- RAAC Condition Assessment Plank level inspection of confirmed RAAC for cracking, deflection, bearing length, water ingress, corrosion and previous repairs, classified in line with IStructE guidance. Reported so a Monmouthshire engineer or estates team can act on it directly.
- RAAC Management and Reinspection Monitoring regimes, reinspection intervals and management plans for RAAC that is being kept in service, plus expert input where a Abergavenny owner needs an independent second opinion on a survey or a remediation proposal.
RAAC in and around Abergavenny
Typical Abergavenny instructions: RAAC identification in schools, halls, clinics and council buildings built between 1955 and 1995; plank by plank condition assessment of confirmed RAAC roofs and floors; risk classification in line with IStructE guidance to support decisions on closure, propping or continued use; reinspection and monitoring of managed RAAC; and independent review of surveys and remediation proposals for Monmouthshire owners and their insurers. NDTScan covers Abergavenny from Oxford in the same way it covers the rest of Wales.
NDTScan also provides RAAC surveys in Chepstow, Monmouth, Caldicot and Undy and Magor and the rest of Monmouthshire. The rest of the region is covered from the Wales RAAC surveys page, and the service itself is described on the RAAC surveys page.
About NDTScan
NDTScan is a specialist non-destructive testing company based in Oxford and led by Neil Smuts, author of The RAAC Book. It is the UK's specialist in the identification and analysis of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, and a Level 4 UKCSS Operator, the first in the UK to achieve that certification. RAAC surveys in Abergavenny sit alongside the company's concrete scanning and structural condition survey work, and every report is written to a standard suitable for engineering acceptance, insurers and dispute work.