RAAC

Should a pencilled RAAC note, seen beside a cupboard beam, be treated as a verdict on a plank the note does not sample?

No. A pencilled RAAC note beside a cupboard beam is not a verdict on a plank the note does not sample. The pencil records a suspicion. The survey has not investigated or sampled the plank. RAAC is a form of concrete panel that IStructE says needs investigation. A handwritten label does not carry out that investigation, and it does not decide that this beam or plank is the material. What the material is, and what should be done about it, stays undecided.

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?

RAAC panels can look plain and light, and a cupboard may hide all but an edge. A pencil note is someone flagging that edge for a later question. It is not a core, not a laboratory result, and not a design check. The home survey has not opened the plank and has not sampled it. IStructE's point is that this form of concrete panel needs investigation when it is suspected. Suspicion written in pencil is the start of that thought, not the end of it.

Tell the solicitor there is an unconfirmed note, not a completed investigation. If the beam matters to the purchase, ask for a specialist instructed to investigate suspected RAAC, and do not ask this survey to pretend it sampled the plank. Do not treat the pencil as a clearance either. Until that investigation exists, the material stays unidentified. The report has not classed it and has not passed it.

What should you ask your surveyor?

What exactly was visible of the cupboard beam?
Does the pencil note say the plank was sampled, or only suspected?
Has a specialist been asked to investigate the suspected material?

What are the typical next steps?

Treat the pencil note as suspicion, not a sample.
Do not describe the plank as investigated.
Instruct a specialist if RAAC needs to be investigated.

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

Was the cupboard beam opened up?

No. The visit did not sample the plank, and a pencilled note is not an opening-up. Only an edge or a label may have been seen. What is inside the beam stays unknown. The survey has not investigated it. A suspicion is not a sample.

Does a pencil note decide the material?

No. It records a suspicion beside the beam. RAAC is a form of concrete panel that IStructE says needs investigation. The note has not carried out that investigation and is not a verdict. The material stays undecided. The cupboard beam was not opened.