New Keltbray division to test for RAAC

Wentworth House Technical Services (WHTS) will provide testing and analysis of the integrity of materials in existing steel and concrete structures. 

It is in response to the need for “a more sustainable, circular economy-led approach” to the life of buildings and infrastructure, it said. 

Sitting within its Wentworth House Partnership specialist business, the team seeks to overcome the challenges of incomplete and imperfect structural data accrued or lost over a building’s history, to facilitate re-use, and as part of a wider range of engineering design activities. 

Technical services cover:  

• Surveys and investigations 
• Materials sampling and structural testing 
• Design support for these activities 
• Monitoring of structures 
• Structural strengthening and protection (extension to service life) 

“Our recent experience has revealed a fundamental shift in clients’ treatment of building assets at the traditional ‘end of life’ phase, with an increasing swing towards re-modelling and re-purposing of existing structures, away from the old de-facto model of ‘demolish and rebuild’,” said Tim Lohmann, Keltbray’s director of strategic engineering. 

“WHTS represents a step-change in our technical capabilities, enabling our clients to extend the life or re-use of existing buildings and structures, which would otherwise be destined for demolition. These specialist services provide an integrated offering that can deliver an incremental development as the investigations and design develop, an integrated end-to-end transformation, and bespoke technical solutions to structural crisis situations.” 

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