RAAC Doesn’t Mean Demolition!

For months, the headlines have said the same thing: “RAAC is Dangerous – Demolish Now”

Schools, offices, and public buildings have been shut down. Emergency funds are being thrown at rebuilds. Entire communities are being displaced. But here’s what’s not being said loudly enough:

RAAC Doesn’t Automatically Mean Demolition

RAAC Fix

RAAC Fix

There is another way – and we’ve already proven it.

Our team has engineered a robust, long-term RAAC repair solution using Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP). It’s fast to install, structurally certified, and already successfully implemented on a live site – under critical infrastructure, no less.

The Result?

A building that had been propped up for three years – with limited access and severely reduced functionality – was made structurally sound.

No Relocation. No Disruption. No Huge Cost

Too often, RAAC fixes are dismissed as “temporary” or not worth the effort. But our CFRP method isn’t a patch. It’s a permanent reinforcement strategy that delivers the performance and reliability needed to bring buildings back to full use – safely and efficiently.

RAAC repair

Successful RAAC repair project Network Rail

As national leaders in RAAC investigations and remediation, this solution is:

  • Certified by structural specialists
  • Quick to install
  • Non-disruptive, even in occupied buildings
  • Cost-effective compared to rebuilds

The outcome?

Millions Saved. Buildings Retained. Downtime Avoided

So before another structure is condemned and communities displaced, ask:

Is Demolition Really The Only Option?

Or is it time to look again at the engineering?

Want to find out more? Check out our case study with Network Rail – click here


ISO 9001


Most people understand what an architect does.

Did you know that on 95% of residential building projects you will also need advice from a structural engineer?

So what does a structural engineer do?

Structural engineers make sure that buildings are structurally sound and won’t fall down!

7 Occasions When You’ll Need A Structural Engineer


1.Knocking Down An Internal Wall You’ll need to know whether your wall is load bearing, or not! If you take out a load bearing wall without adequate support (the correct beam size) you are at risk of your house collapsing!


2. Building An ExtensionMost extensions are knocking out either the back, or the side wall of the house to create an opening into the new space – not to mention the structure of the extension itself!Making sure that you have the correct support to hold up your house is critical!



loft conversion


3. Converting A LoftWhether you are creating a new storey or converting an existing loft, you will be making significant structural changes that will affect the whole house.


4. Installing Bi-Fold DoorsVery popular at the moment – if you are increasing the size of any opening, you will need to check not only support of loads from above, but also the lateral stability of the whole structure.




5. Investigating Defects eg cracking. Need to determine whether it’s something to worry about or not. Either on your property or one you are purchasing.


6. Underpinning Your HouseIf movement is continuing (the cracks are getting larger) you’ll need to monitor and stabilise your house. If movement is shown to have stopped, you’ll need to repair. Both outcomes will require specialist structural advice.



chimney removal


7. In Disagreement With another party over a structural matter related to your home. A Chartered structural engineer can provide an unbiased view, in the form of an independent report and advice on your options.

When Would I Appoint A Structural Engineer?

If you are planning an extension or renovation, the earlier you talk to a structural engineer about your project, the better your design will be.

Anything can be built; it’s just how much it’s going to cost you!

Sometimes a lavish design is all well and good. However, suppose you have not had the expertise of a structural engineer inputting their knowledge and experience into your project during the initial stages.

Some elements of your design may not work when it comes to site (that’s when any changes get expensive!).

Are You Planning A Project?

Click here to check out our ‘3 Little Structural Hacks’ that you can use to improve your design (and keep your costs down).

What is a Certificate of Structural Adequacy?

A Certificate of Structural Adequacy is issued if you have had work completed on your property, typically where you have had subsidence, heave, or landslip. It can also be issued by an independent Chartered Structural Engineer to provide reassurance to the building owner that what has been built, is what was designed.

In the case of subsidence, the certificate of structural adequacy details the causes of the damage, the repair work undertaken and confirms that the work was carried out correctly and that the property is now structurally sound.

Who Usually Issues a Certificate of Structural Adequacy?

Loss adjusters, mortgage providers and insurers normally require the certificate to be issued by a Chartered Member of the Institution of Structural Engineers.

When is a Certificate of Structural Adequacy Issued?

Following completion of any building work and/or structural repairs and (in the case of underpinning) after a period of monitoring.


Is Building Regulations Approval Required for Structural Repairs eg underpinning aswell?

Yes. If you are carrying out underpinning work, under the Building Regulations it is deemed to be “building work” and would require Building Regulation approval.

Can I Get A Retrospective Certificate of Structural Adequacy?

Yes, but you would need to expose all of the structural elements of the build so that the engineer would be able to see that what has been built is correct (eg. as per the engineers’ design drawings), so the best thing is to have the engineer inspect during the works

Why Do I need a Certificate of Structural Adequacy if I have obtained Building Regulations Approval – Building Control Inspect Don’t They?

Building control only inspect a limited number of parts of the build.

The Chartered structural engineer would inspect at regular intervals to check to make sure that his/her design was implemented correctly. The Certificate of Structural Adequacy closes the loop. It makes sure that the builder has built what he has been paid to build.

Does A Certificate of Structural Adequacy Guarantee the Work?

In effect, the structural work will be guaranteed by the chartered engineers’ professional liability insurance. This insurance covers the design and advice provided and with satisfactory inspections it is clear where responsibility lies.  If the builder hasn’t correctly implemented the design, this devalues the benefit of the insurance.

How much does a Certificate of Structural Adequacy Cost?

They can vary from £195+VAT to £295+VAT .

How Much Does Is Cost To Have a Chartered Structural Engineer Oversee The Build?

Again, this can vary, depending on the complexity of the job and hence the number of visits required to ensure the design is correctly implemented.

A Recent Example

This was a small project in Reading, Berkshire but demonstrates what can go wrong when you trust the builder to follow the approved plans, without any independent checks

  • The client obtained Building regulations approval for their project.
  • The builder built what he thought was correct (didn’t follow the drawings).
  • The client was none the wiser, as they didn’t know how to read the drawings.
  • The builder didn’t call out building control to inspect the works (even though there was a building control application and inspections should have been made).
  • Only after the works were completed did the client realise – he hadn’t received anything from building control.
  • Building control confirmed that they hadn’t inspected at all.
  • The client had photographs of the works being carried out, unfortunately, it was clear that the builder had not built to the approved drawings.

How Did the Client Resolve The Matter?

Sadly, this is not yet resolved.

The builder left site with the clients money and the client is left with a bill to sort out, or live with a structural defect and a potentially devalued property (as conveyancing solicitors would typically warn their clients not to buy a property without the final completion certificate). 

The 3 Key Questions To Ask Yourself before You Start Your Project.

  1. Do you understand what those stages are when building control need to inspect?
  2. How are you making sure that the builder is notifying building control to check the work at the right time?
  3. Are you confident doing that?

Are You Having Building Work Carried Out On Your Home?

Would you like an independent engineer to inspect the works as they proceed?

Please contact us today to see how we can help you.

Contact us

planning an extension


Planning An Extension?

Planning An Extension? Catch up with this article by our very own Managing Director, John Staves in the Self Builder and Homemaker magazine.

A Clear Project Plan

The decision to extend your property should not be taken lightly.  Especially if you are altering your home.  It will be inconvenient, messy and disruptive to normal family life.  And that is if the project is well executed.  A clear project plan is essential.

It is important that you get your thoughts clear. 

  • What are you looking to achieve with the project? 
  • Why doesn’t the current home layout work for you? 
  • Is an extension the best solution? 

Sometimes adjustment of the internal layout can solve the problem.  And be more cost-effective than extending.

Brief Your Professional Team

When you can outline the purpose of the changes, you are able to brief your professional design team.  An Architectural Designer will work on layout. 

Improve Buildability – Reduce Costs

Your Structural Engineer will make sure alterations can be made safely.  But more than that, they will suggest ways to improve buildability.  And thereby reduce costs. 

Client, Architect and Engineer should work collaboratively.  From early in the project. 

The Architectural design should not be completed and then the Engineer be asked to make the design stand up. 

That invariably leads to unnecessary structural complexity and cost.  You may consider appointing a practice that handle both Architecture and Structure internally to ensure collaboration and single supplier responsibility for the outcomes.

Sequence of Work

If you intend to remain in the property during the works, it is important that the design takes the necessary work sequence into account.  A good design will do this, as well as making sure that the final layout is what you want, and all is structurally sound. 

Statutory Approvals

Don’t forget time.  Statutory approvals – Planning and Building Regulations – will take time.  A simple extension that needs Planning approval can easily take six months to design and get approved.  Then when the builder prices the detailed design, they may not be able to start for several months.

Realistic Budget

And budget realistically.  For the build and for professional fees.  It is worth spending a little to establish a sensible brief and budget before committing fully to the project.  There is no point getting a design and Statutory approvals completed, only to find the build cost is unaffordable.

Enjoy making your house into the home you want.

Are you planning an extension? We’d love to hear about your plans.

Click here to read the full article.

get in touch

3 Reasons Why a Surveyor Shouldn’t try to Be A Structural Engineer;

1.   It’s Unprofessional

2.    It’s Costly

3.    It’s Dangerous

Today I’m talking to Debbie, a homeowner, who recently completed a self build project in Wokingham.

Debbie, can you give me a brief overview of what happened to you and your family.

Planning A New Build

We moved to Wokingham 9 years ago and for about 7 years we have been planning to build our new home in our existing back garden.

Planning Permission Granted

Planning permission came through in October 2016 and we started the build in April 2017.

Initial plans were to retain the existing bungalow (our existing home) and reduce the size of it by 1m to provide a larger access down the side of the bungalow.

Because the garden widens about half way down our plot, we wanted to make sure that we maximised the size of the new house by building as close to the boundary as possible.

We appointed someone to design our home, he was recommended to us.  He was very successful in obtaining planning permission in the local area. We did all the right things – we arranged to see a previous project that he had designed and talked to the homeowners – they seemed very pleased with his work.

We were confident in his abilities, so we appointed him to design our new home. Planning permission was granted and we set about looking for a builder who could bring our home to life.

After much research we appointed a builder and work started on site in April 2017.

Problems Early On

From an early stage the builder wasn’t very happy with the drawings – there just wasn’t enough detailed information, compared to other jobs that he had worked on.

One obvious problem was that the builder couldn’t understand why the designer hadn’t designed the roof!


Design Approved – But Couldn’t be Built!

“The design had been approved by Wokingham Planning and Building Control – why had a design been approved when it couldn’t actually be built? Surely the Council would have checked that our design was structurally sound?”


Missing Details

The builder kept talking to the designer showing him the plans and asking him for more details as what was shown wouldn’t work – it couldn’t be built. The designer would say that he was chasing his structural engineer and would get back to us. Lots of waiting and emails backwards and forwards.

There Wasn’t A Structural Engineer …

“The reality was that he hadn’t instructed a structural engineer – the “designer” had taken it upon himself to submit the “structural design and calculations” himself and they weren’t in sufficient detail for a builder to use to build the house safely”.


Didn’t Trust The Structural Design

The builder only felt confident building up to first floor, as he didn’t want to build anymore as he didn’t trust the structural design – the information that he was given was incomplete.

We pushed him for the structural details for the gable wall – this is when the “designer” appointed an actual structural engineer to design this specific part.

But the builder had lost confidence in the design. The designer responded by saying;

“I was appointed to obtain Planning and

Building Regulations Approval and that is what I did”

The fact that his design was incomplete and couldn’t be built was irrelevant to him!

We were very frustrated and for our build to carry on we had to find our own Structural Engineer who would be able to help us.

Start Again

We had to bite the bullet and start again; otherwise our build was going to grind to a halt.

We were recommended a solicitor who we could make contact with to try and re-coup some of our money from the original designer.


However, were advised that we’d have to take the designer to court and it would cost £30,000 + and we would be lucky to received 70% back.

We decided not to pursue him via the legal route.


Extra £22,000+

Overall I think it cost us an extra £22,000 + the extra steelwork not to mention the stress involved.

Appointing A Structural Engineer

The builder had worked with Michael Aubrey Partnership before and we wanted to go with someone he trusted, as we didn’t want anything else to go wrong!

How Did Michael Aubrey Help You?

You made sure that we could build our house correctly!

I was in a bit of an emotional state as the stress was getting to me.

I spoke to John Staves and he reassured me that you could help us get our project back on track and complete the build safely.

We Had A Full Set of Proper Drawings And Calculations!

The detailed drawings and calculations that Michael Aubrey produced highlighted how incomplete the original package of information had been from the original designer.

We now had a full set of proper drawings and calculations!

I would recommend you to anyone – you really helped us out when we were up against it.

In hindsight we were doing a new build and it was the first time that we had done anything like this; you trust what people say.

What Would You Say To Someone Who Is Planning Any Building Work?

Do your homework.

Research the people who are going to be helping you.

Our designer was very good at obtaining Planning permission, but he was quite vague on some areas, then that carried through to the structural side.

Did The “Designer/Structural Engineer” Have Any Qualifications?

He was a surveyor, an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB).

Not a Structural Engineer.

It Ended Up Costing Us More Money in the Long Run

I think we did cut corners – we used a designer who wasn’t as expensive as other quotations that we received – but it ended up costing us more money in the long run.

He pulled the wool over our eyes and he knew that it wouldn’t be worth our while taking him to court.

It became very personal and upsetting at the time. But I had to draw a line under it and move on.

Thank You

Even with all the issues that we had, we were only delayed three weeks.

Our builder and the team at Michael Aubrey did a fantastic job of helping us out and I am very grateful to them.

Are you starting a project like this? have you got the right team in place? or have you experienced something similar? please get in touch.