RAAC

The fascia is timber and the flat roof deck is concrete. Why does a timber fascia not clear the deck of a RAAC question?

Because the fascia is timber and the deck is concrete, the timber fascia does not clear that deck of a RAAC question. The fascia is an edge board. The question, if there is one, is about the concrete deck, and the survey would not name the panel from the timber. A visual look at a fascia does not confirm what the deck is made of. IStructE guidance is the specialist source where RAAC has to be investigated. The home survey's view of timber does not finish that question.

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?

Different materials sit next to each other on flat roofs: a timber fascia, a concrete deck, a felt or membrane over the top. Clearing one does not clear the next. The survey can say the fascia is timber, where that was seen, and that the deck is concrete, where that was seen. It should not be read as naming the concrete, and it should not be read as ruling a question out because the barge was wood.

If the concrete deck is the worry, ask what was actually visible of it and what was covered. Do not ask the fascia note to do that work. A specialist looking at reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete follows IStructE guidance, not a conclusion drawn from a timber board. A poster in a community hall is not that inspection either. Keep the fascia sentence and the deck sentence apart. Timber has not cleared the concrete.

What should you ask your surveyor?

What did you actually see of the concrete deck, as against the timber fascia?
Would you name the deck panels from the fascia alone?
Is any RAAC question left open rather than cleared by the timber?

What are the typical next steps?

Keep the timber fascia and the concrete deck as separate notes.
Do not treat the fascia as clearing a RAAC question on the deck.
Use a specialist and IStructE guidance if the deck itself must be named.

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

If the soffit is also timber, is the deck cleared?

No. A timber soffit is another timber element. It does not name the concrete deck and does not clear a RAAC question about that deck.

Can a visual survey confirm the panels are not RAAC?

No. A visual home survey does not confirm RAAC, and it does not confirm the opposite, from a timber fascia or from the edge of the deck.