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RAAC surveys in Sevenoaks. The UK's reference point for RAAC.

RAAC Surveys Sevenoaks | Identification and Assessment | NDTScan

RAAC identification, condition assessment and reporting to IStructE guidance across Sevenoaks, Kent and the surrounding area. NDTScan attends from its Oxford base, anywhere in the UK.
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RAAC plank end bearing with exposed reinforcement, recorded on an NDTScan survey

Overview

RAAC surveys in Sevenoaks are carried out by NDTScan, the UK's specialist in the identification and analysis of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete. The planks were installed in Kent 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.

The Department for Education's list of education settings with confirmed RAAC, published in February 2024, includes 8 settings in Kent, among them Westlands School, Birchington Church of England Primary School and Godinton Primary School. The Department of Health and Social Care's list of hospital sites with confirmed RAAC includes Medway Maritime Hospital in Kent. Orchard Theatre has also been publicly reported as containing RAAC. NDTScan names these buildings to show that RAAC is a live issue in Kent, not to suggest it has worked on them. The published lists cover education and NHS estates only. The same planks sit in council offices, housing, leisure centres, theatres, shops, depots and private commercial stock around Sevenoaks that no national list has ever counted.

NDTScan surveys RAAC in Sevenoaks in two stages that are usually completed on the same visit. First, identification: GPR and the plank's own signature, its width, its transverse reinforcement and its bearing detail, establish plank by plank whether the element is RAAC at all. Second, condition: each confirmed plank is inspected for cracking, deflection, bearing length, water ingress, corrosion and past repair, and the results are classified in line with IStructE guidance. The report says what was found, what was not found and how confident each reading is.

NDTScan's advice to Sevenoaks owners is consistent: survey before you decide. A RAAC roof that has been identified and assessed plank by plank can be managed, propped, strengthened or replaced on evidence. One that has only been glanced at will be closed, propped or replaced on fear, and that is where budgets go. The survey is the smallest cost in the chain.

Scan before you repair. That is the standing advice for every Sevenoaks client, and the reason NDTScan reports what the concrete contains before anyone specifies what to do about it.

Services Available in Sevenoaks

  • RAAC Identification Survey GPR based, plank by plank identification of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in roofs, floors and walls across Sevenoaks. 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 Kent 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 Sevenoaks owner needs an independent second opinion on a survey or a remediation proposal.

RAAC in and around Sevenoaks

Instructions in and around Sevenoaks 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 Kent owner has been given a survey or a remediation quote and wants a second opinion before spending. NDTScan works for the Department for Education, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Office of Government Property funded bodies as well as private owners, and attends Sevenoaks from its Oxford base.

NDTScan also provides RAAC surveys in Maidstone, Gillingham, Ashford, Chatham, Dartford and Rochester and the rest of Kent. The rest of the region is covered from the South East 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 Sevenoaks 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.

Sevenoaks RAAC Services

  • RAAC Identification GPR based, plank by plank identification of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in Sevenoaks roofs, floors and walls, without opening the structure.
  • Condition Assessment Cracking, deflection, bearing, water ingress, corrosion and previous repairs recorded for every confirmed plank in Sevenoaks buildings.
  • IStructE Classification Findings classified in line with IStructE guidance so Kent owners and engineers can decide on closure, propping, management or replacement.
  • Schools and Colleges Identification and assessment for education estates across Kent, planned around term dates and occupied buildings.
  • NHS, Council and Housing Estates Hospitals, clinics, council buildings, leisure centres and housing stock in and around Sevenoaks, with reporting that supports estate-wide decisions.
  • Nationwide from Oxford NDTScan attends Sevenoaks and the whole of England from its Oxford base, whenever the work demands it, with every survey interpreted and reported in full.
Sales Support?

02080
888 724

Technical Support?

info@ ndtscan.com

Yes. NDTScan attends Sevenoaks and the rest of Kent from its Oxford base, and works across the whole of the UK. RAAC identification and condition assessment is a core service, delivered by the company's own specialists and reported in line with IStructE guidance.
With ground penetrating radar and the plank's own signature. RAAC planks return a distinctly different radar response from dense concrete, hollowcore and timber, and their widths, transverse bars and bearing details confirm the reading. NDTScan checks every plank rather than sampling one corner, so a Sevenoaks owner gets a complete picture without opening the roof.
Yes. NDTScan records each plank's condition and classifies the findings in line with IStructE guidance, which is what engineers, insurers and public bodies expect to see. For a Sevenoaks building that gives the owner a defensible basis for deciding on closure, propping, management or replacement.
No. Schools and hospitals are on the published lists because government asked for them to be surveyed. The same planks went into council buildings, housing, leisure centres, theatres, shops, offices and light industrial units across Kent, in Sevenoaks as much as anywhere. If a flat roof dates from 1955 to 1995 and its construction is unknown, it should be identified.
NDTScan's own specialists, not a subcontractor. The company is the UK's specialist in RAAC identification and analysis, and the person who reads the radar data and classifies the planks is a specialist in this material. The Sevenoaks report is the interpretation, not a set of marks on a ceiling.
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Our scanning systems are smart, secure, and fully compliant with UKAS, ISO 9712, and sector safety protocols. We bring the right tech to every job, no compromise.

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Sevenoaks RAAC Survey FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions.

Common questions about RAAC identification, condition assessment and reporting in Sevenoaks and across Kent, answered by NDTScan.
Yes. NDTScan attends Sevenoaks and the rest of Kent from its Oxford base, and works across the whole of the UK. RAAC identification and condition assessment is a core service, delivered by the company's own specialists and reported in line with IStructE guidance.
With ground penetrating radar and the plank's own signature. RAAC planks return a distinctly different radar response from dense concrete, hollowcore and timber, and their widths, transverse bars and bearing details confirm the reading. NDTScan checks every plank rather than sampling one corner, so a Sevenoaks owner gets a complete picture without opening the roof.
Yes. NDTScan records each plank's condition and classifies the findings in line with IStructE guidance, which is what engineers, insurers and public bodies expect to see. For a Sevenoaks building that gives the owner a defensible basis for deciding on closure, propping, management or replacement.
No. Schools and hospitals are on the published lists because government asked for them to be surveyed. The same planks went into council buildings, housing, leisure centres, theatres, shops, offices and light industrial units across Kent, in Sevenoaks as much as anywhere. If a flat roof dates from 1955 to 1995 and its construction is unknown, it should be identified.
NDTScan's own specialists, not a subcontractor. The company is the UK's specialist in RAAC identification and analysis, and the person who reads the radar data and classifies the planks is a specialist in this material. The Sevenoaks report is the interpretation, not a set of marks on a ceiling.