RAAC

The report mentions a suspected RAAC plank next to a link to a former classroom. Has sampling the home survey did not do been tested, or only named?

Only named. Sampling that the home survey did not do has not been tested. A suspected RAAC plank is a form of concrete panel that IStructE says needs investigation, and here it is named next to a link to a former classroom. The classroom link is a reason the question arose. It does not identify the material and it does not sample it. The survey has recorded a suspicion and the link. It has not investigated the plank, has not taken a sample, and has not decided that the panel is that material or some other concrete.

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?

School buildings of a certain period used concrete planks, and a house that took over a classroom link can inherit the question without inheriting an investigation. Suspicion is a visual prompt: span, thickness, or the way the panel sits. IStructE says this form of concrete panel needs investigation. Investigation means a proper look by people instructed to do it, not a sentence in a home survey. This visit did not open the plank and did not sample it. The former classroom explains the context. It is not a result.

Tell the solicitor there is a suspected plank and that no sample was taken. A structural specialist can carry out the investigation IStructE describes, which this report has not started. Do not tell a lender the panel was confirmed or cleared. Keep the classroom link as history, not as identification. Until that separate investigation happens, the survey's position stays where it is: a named suspicion, with the plank itself unsampled.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Was the plank recorded as suspected rather than identified?
Did any sampling take place, or was sampling only named as not done?
Does the former classroom link identify the material, or only the setting?

What are the typical next steps?

Leave the plank as suspected and unsampled.
Tell the solicitor no investigation was started.
Ask a structural specialist if you need the look IStructE describes.

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 link to a classroom prove the plank is RAAC?

No. A link to a former classroom explains why the question was asked. It does not identify the panel. RAAC here means a form of concrete panel that IStructE says needs investigation, and this home survey did not sample it. The suspicion stays a suspicion. The classroom history is not a test result.

If the plank looks intact, has the investigation been done?

No. An intact look is not the investigation IStructE describes, and it is not sampling. The survey named a suspected plank and did not test it. Condition at a glance does not decide the material. The panel remains uninvestigated until a specialist instruction, which this visit was not, looks at it properly.