We diagnose the damage.
Then we rebuild the concrete.
Concrete Insight UK Ltd is a specialist consultancy for reinforced concrete suffering chemical attack, reinforcement corrosion, or physical damage, from chlorides and carbonation to ASR, sulphates and post-fire assessment. We survey, test, break out and reinstate.
Concrete
deteriorates.
Assets fail.
Reinforced concrete is a remarkable material, but it deteriorates. Chlorides break the passive film around the steel. Carbonation lowers the pH of the cover. Alkali-silica reaction and sulphates attack the concrete from within. Fire alters its microstructure permanently. Each mechanism looks different, but the outcome is the same: cracking, spalling, and a slow loss of structural capacity.
Left unchecked, spalls fall from soffits, cover to reinforcement is lost, and structural capacity quietly erodes. The fix is rarely a full replacement, but it does need to be specified and executed correctly, on the right mechanism, with the right materials.
We diagnose the mechanism, quantify the extent, and reinstate the element using an EN 1504-compliant methodology. One accountable team from first inspection to final finish.
Explore our servicesA four-stage
repair method.
Every project follows the same discipline, because reinforcement corrosion is a chemistry problem, not a cosmetic one.
Site survey, testing and defect mapping to prove the corrosion mechanism.
Selective removal of unsound concrete to a minimum 25 mm behind the affected bar.
Rebar cleaned to bare metal, then coated with a zinc-rich passivating primer.
Reinstate with an EN 1504-3 compliant repair mortar, cured and finished to profile.
What we do
on site.
Detailed visual, hammer-tap and instrument surveys to identify delamination, spalling and cover loss. We map every affected area and grade its severity before any works commence.
Core sampling and on-site testing to identify the mechanism at play, chloride ingress, carbonation, sulphate attack, ASR, or a combination. Sampling and laboratory work is scoped to answer the specific diagnostic question, so the specification follows the fact, not a guess.
Concrete broken out to a minimum of 25 mm behind the bar. Rebar cleaned to SA 2½, treated with a zinc-rich passivating primer, then reinstated with a compliant repair mortar or micro-concrete.
From isolated soffit patches to running façade spalls, we form, prime and rebuild in appropriate repair concrete, feathered and finished to match the substrate.
Where chloride contamination is extensive, we advise on galvanic anode and impressed-current systems, working with specialist installers to protect the whole element long-term.
Structured reports with plans, defect registers, photographs, laboratory data and a costed repair schedule. Written to be read by consulting engineers, insurers and asset owners.
Every failure has
a mechanism.
Repair follows diagnosis, and diagnosis follows the mechanism. Here are the five most common we see across UK reinforced concrete.
Salt-driven corrosion of embedded steel
The slow drift of CO₂ into concrete
Concrete cancer, an internal chemistry problem
Expansion, softening and loss of strength
Post-fire structural assessment & repair
Recent
surveys.
Concerned about a structure? Let's take a look.
Send us the site details and a photograph if you have one. We'll come back with a clear, no-obligation view on next steps.