Risks of Potential RAAC Roof Collapses
In 2018 a UK primary school roof collapsed. Thankfully, the incident occurred over a weekend and there were no casualties however it was this incident that prompted the Standing Committee on Structural Safety (Scoss) to publish a warning for buildings built using reinforced aerated concrete (RAAC). The report noted that risk assessments should be undertaken and consideration is taken to discontinue the use of the space underneath any presence of these concrete planks until remedial work to strengthen or replace has been undertaken.
Since this initial incident, there has been further evidence of the unreliability of this building material including a further primary school in Gravesend experiencing severe structural damage across several areas of the school.
Schools have every right to be concerned, as the Government pledges to eradicate these ‘RAAC planks’ from hospitals but has not made the same commitment to educational buildings. Although all state-funded schools have been invited to complete a survey in order to help ministers understand the severity of the issue, it appears that due to a lack of understanding of the potential dangers of this material, there has not been a great response rate to the survey and the matter continues to be of great concern as we are warned of the ‘unthinkable consequences’.
Artisan Environmental is now urging education settings to identify and where necessary manage, the presence of RAAC in their buildings which is most likely to be found in floors, walls, and roofs of buildings constructed or modified in the 1950s through to the mid-1990’s. Our new identification survey will confirm if RAAC beams are present and we can then direct you through the next stages of responding to a positive presence of this material.
Contact a member of our team to make your enquiry and book your survey via our Contact Us page.