RAAC

Is a plank soffit in a garage a RAAC finding about the house?

No. It is a finding about the garage, and only if the surveyor saw planks there. A plank is not identified as RAAC because it is a plank; IStructE describes RAAC as reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, most commonly precast roof panels. The house roof is a different structure unless the survey saw the same material there and said so.

Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.

What is the fuller explanation?

Garages of the period can have concrete planks, timber, or a sheet. The survey should name what it could see and on which building. If the soffit might be RAAC, the next step is a chartered or incorporated structural engineer for that structure, which is the route IStructE describes. Do not copy the word onto the house tiles or onto a timber flat roof over a kitchen. A home survey does not sample the plank.

Staining on a garage soffit is water and appearance. It is not an identification and not a grade of the house. The RICS consumer guide does not set a national tariff for the survey, and it does not publish a price for this distinction. Do not invent one. Tell a lender which building, if any, is suspected. Suspecting the garage is not suspecting the bedrooms.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Which building has the plank soffit?
Are you identifying RAAC, or only describing planks you could not name?
Did you see the house roof structure? Is it the same material?

What are the typical next steps?

Keep the garage soffit off the house construction line.
If the garage planks may be RAAC, ask a structural engineer about the garage.
Do not drill the soffit to compare bubbles.

Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.

Also asked about this

Does a concrete lintel in the house mean the garage planks are RAAC?

No. A lintel and a roof plank are different elements. Neither is named RAAC by the word concrete.

Is a timber garage roof a RAAC roof?

No. Timber is not RAAC. Ask the survey to say timber if that is what it saw.