For a RAAC survey in Kirkintilloch, NDTScan brings something no general scanning contractor can: hands-on experience of identifying and analysing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete across the UK, in schools, hospitals, housing, public buildings and commercial estates. East Dunbartonshire has its share of the roofs and floors built with these planks between the late 1950s and the mid 1990s, and most have never been properly surveyed.
Kirkintilloch 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 East Dunbartonshire 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 Kirkintilloch owner can see at once which elements need action, which need monitoring and which are sound.
One rule applies to every RAAC survey in Kirkintilloch. 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 Kirkintilloch client.
Scan before you repair. That is the standing advice for every Kirkintilloch client, and the reason NDTScan reports what the concrete contains before anyone specifies what to do about it.
Services Available in Kirkintilloch
- RAAC Identification Survey GPR based, plank by plank identification of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in roofs, floors and walls across Kirkintilloch. 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 East Dunbartonshire 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 Kirkintilloch owner needs an independent second opinion on a survey or a remediation proposal.
RAAC in and around Kirkintilloch
Instructions in and around Kirkintilloch follow the RAAC lifecycle. Identification surveys where the construction of a flat or shallow roof is uncertain. Condition assessment of planks already known to be RAAC. Risk classification to IStructE guidance to support closure, propping or continued use decisions. Management plans and reinspection for planks kept in service. Independent review where a East Dunbartonshire owner has been given a survey or a remediation quote and wants a second opinion before spending. NDTScan works for the Scottish Government, NHS Scotland and the Scottish Futures Trust funded bodies as well as private owners, and attends Kirkintilloch from its Oxford base.
NDTScan also provides RAAC surveys in Bearsden, Bishopbriggs, Milngavie, Lenzie, Lennoxtown and Milton of Campsie and the rest of East Dunbartonshire. The rest of the region is covered from the Scotland 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 Kirkintilloch 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.