School Structural Surveys
Precast School Building Construction
Precast concrete buildings were widely used throughout the 1950s to the 1970s for the construction of school buildings. This mass manufacturing technique was brought in to speed up the construction of the larger school buildings needed.
System such as the Intergrid and Laingspan were used to build these modularised, standardised school buildings using precast concrete components. There are several hundred schools across the UK that still have buildings which contain these forms of building.
Evidence of Corrosion
During the 1970s it was noted in some buildings that there was evidence of corrosion of the tendons and reinforcement in some of the Laingspan and Intergrid buildings.
As most of these buildings are now over 50 years old, the concrete frame of the building may have deteriorated over the years due to water ingress. There may also be corrosion of the reinforcement due to the presence of chlorides within the concrete or the inclusion of high alumina cement within the precast concrete elements.
Our approach
With the de-centralisation of the responsibility for the maintance and inspection of school, college and academy buildings in recent years, independent acadamies or academy trusts may not have the required knowledge about the history or condition of their school buildings.
Our approach is to work collaboratively with schools to provide a priority matrix of repairs and method statements to enable the concrete repair work to be planned over a number of academic years.
Our experience shows that a thorough visual structural inspection of these school buildings is required to ascertain if defects are present. We have carried out concrete testing and carbonation testing, as well as ascertaining if buildings contain high alumina cement and high chloride content.
Where serious defects have been encountered as part of a survey, we have worked with schools to provide temporary works advice and safety advice to enable schools to stay operational.
We also provide, as part of our condition surveys, a photographic record and annotated drawings so that defects are clearly identified. A schedule of works is provided along with schedules or concrete repair work.
In instances where temporary works are required, we can provide a temporary works method statements and sketches showing how work can be carried out safely and allowing contractors to price the works.
Download our latest case studies below.
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Contact us today to discuss the condition of your school building.
01530 264 753
