Investigation before pricing, so you find out what is actually wrong before committing to a repair scope
Investigation & strengthening
Post Tension Repair Services UAE Tendon Investigation, Repair and Structural Strengthening
Most post-tensioned structures that develop problems do not announce them clearly. A rust stain at a slab edge, a crack that has widened since last year, a floor that has begun to sag slightly. Any of those can be trivial, and any of them can be the visible end of a corroding tendon. The distinction matters enormously, and it cannot be made by looking.
We provide post tension repair services across the UAE: tendon investigation, PT tendon repair and replacement, and structural strengthening where a building needs to carry more than it was designed for. Our base is Ajman and our DED Ajman licence covers every emirate. Each emirate has its own page on this site for local context: Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain.
Licensed by DED Ajman, License No. 127328. PTI certified.
Scanning to locate tendons in an existing slab before any intervention begins
Diagnosis by people who build post-tensioned structures, not only inspect them
Licensed by DED Ajman and PTI certified, working to Post-Tensioning Institute practice
Where our expertise comes from
What Qualifies Premium Post Tension to Diagnose a Failing Slab?
We will be straightforward about this, because the alternative would be to imply a repair portfolio we do not have. Our completed project record is new-build post-tensioning: four buildings in Ajman where we carried the design, materials, installation, stressing and grouting. In Al Yasmeen, in the Eastern Sector, two adjacent G+M+4+R residential buildings. In Al Jurf, in the Northern Sector, a G+4+R residential building and an 11-level structure built as G+2P+8T+R with two parking floors.
That is directly relevant to repair work, and here is why. Nearly every post-tensioning defect that surfaces years later originates in something that happened during construction: a tendon that sat at the wrong height, an anchorage that was not properly detailed, a duct that took damage before the pour, grout that bridged and left a void. Diagnosing those failures is largely a matter of knowing how they get created in the first place. We know, because building them correctly is our daily work. What we will not do is pretend to a repair case history we cannot show you. If you need a contractor with a long portfolio of completed remedial contracts, ask us and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right fit for your particular structure.
What we bring
How Does New-Build Experience Help on an Existing Building?
Four capabilities that come directly from building post-tensioned structures ourselves.
We know what correct looks like
Assessing whether an existing slab was built properly requires a clear reference for what proper looks like at every stage. Ours comes from doing it, not from reading about it.
We know the real slab parameters
Across our own buildings, slabs ran 220mm to 280mm thick with steel ratios between 55 and 80 kg per cubic metre. When we assess a slab whose records are missing, having genuine reference figures for comparable buildings in this market is more useful than a textbook range.
We can scan before we cut
Any intervention in a post-tensioned slab starts with locating the tendons. Cutting or coring blind can sever a tendon under full load, which converts a repair job into an emergency.
We can execute, not only report
An investigation that ends in a report leaves you looking for a second contractor. We can investigate, specify and execute.
Technical expertise
What Are the Warning Signs of a Failing Post-Tensioned Slab?
Nine indicators, and none of them is a diagnosis on its own.
Rust staining at anchorages or slab edges
Often the earliest visible sign, and among the more serious, because the anchorage is where the tendon force is transferred and where moisture most easily enters.
Cracking, and which cracks matter
Post-tensioned slabs do crack, and not all cracking is structural. What matters is pattern, width, location and whether it is progressing. A hairline crack that has not moved in five years is a different matter from one that has widened since the last inspection.
Deflection or visible sagging
A slab deflecting more than expected suggests it is not carrying load the way it was designed to, which can indicate tendon loss.
Exposed or protruding strand
Unambiguous, and a reason to restrict access to the area rather than schedule an inspection for next month.
Efflorescence or salt deposits
Evidence that water has been moving through the concrete, which is the transport mechanism that brings chlorides to the steel.
Popping or cracking sounds
Rare, and taken seriously when reported.
What investigation actually involves
Scanning to locate and map the tendons, visual and close inspection of anchorages, opening up selectively at chosen locations rather than randomly, assessment of grout condition where accessible, and structural assessment of the remaining capacity.
Repair versus replacement
A tendon can sometimes be repaired locally, and sometimes has to be replaced or supplemented by external strengthening. That decision depends on how much section has been lost, where along the tendon the damage sits, and whether the structure can be de-loaded during the works. It is a genuine engineering judgement, not a price list.
Structural strengthening
Where a building needs additional capacity, whether from deterioration or a change of use, external post-tensioning and other strengthening approaches can add capacity to an existing structure without rebuilding it.
See Inspection and Testing for how scanning and condition surveys actually work.
Investigation & repair process
How Do We Investigate and Repair a Post-Tensioned Structure?
Eight steps, from first site visit through to a verified and documented repair.
Step 01Site visit and visual survey
What is visible, where, and how it relates to the building's structure and history.
Step 02Gather whatever records exist
Original drawings, stressing records and grouting records if they survive. Their absence is itself informative.
Step 03Scan and map the tendons
Non-destructive location of tendons before anything is opened up.
Step 04Targeted investigation
Selective opening at locations chosen from the survey and scan, rather than a fixed number of random openings.
Step 05Assess condition and remaining capacity
How much has actually been lost, and what the structure can currently carry.
Step 06Report with real options
What is wrong, how urgent it is, and the realistic repair or strengthening routes with their implications. Including, where it applies, the option of monitoring rather than intervening.
Step 07Execute the agreed scope
Tendon repair or replacement, anchorage remediation, grouting of voids where feasible, or external strengthening.
Step 08Verify and document
Post-repair testing and a record of what was done, which becomes part of the building's history for whoever assesses it next.
See Inspection and Testing and Grouting Works for the related stages.
Opened up where the survey and scan point, not at random.
8-step process40+ projects delivered1 accountable team
Credentials
Is Premium Post Tension Qualified for PT Repair and Strengthening Work?
Licence and certification documentation is available on request.
DED Ajman trade licence No. 127328
Registered for concrete works and pre-tension construction units building and execution works.
PTI certified
We work to Post-Tensioning Institute practice, the reference standard covering post-tensioning materials, installation, stressing and grouting.
In-house design capability
Which matters on strengthening work, where the intervention itself has to be designed.
Established 2024
40+ completed projects and a team of over 50.
Why clients choose us
Why Bring Us In When a Post-Tensioned Slab Is in Question?
Because we investigate before we price. A repair scope quoted before anyone knows the extent of the damage is a guess presented as a quotation, and it tends to get corrected upwards once work begins. We would rather establish what is actually wrong first, even where that leads to a smaller job than either party expected.
Because we can tell you when the answer is to do nothing yet. Some findings genuinely warrant monitoring rather than intervention, and a contractor whose only product is remedial work has an obvious incentive not to say so. We build new structures for a living, so we are not dependent on finding a problem here.
And because we can carry it through. Investigation, design of the remedial scheme and execution sit in the same company, with in-house design capability behind the strengthening design. You are not managing an interface between a diagnostic consultant and a remedial contractor while a structure of uncertain condition stays in service.
Common questions
FAQs About Post-Tension Repair and Slab Investigation
All of the UAE. Our DED Ajman licence covers every emirate, and Ajman is our home base. Each emirate has its own page on this site.
It depends entirely on how far the deterioration has progressed. Early corrosion in one tendon may have no visible structural effect and be repairable locally. Advanced loss across multiple tendons reduces the slab's capacity and can produce deflection, cracking, and in severe cases sudden failure of individual tendons. This is why investigating early findings matters. The gap between "worth looking at" and "serious" is where the cost difference sits.
Some cracking is normal and not structurally significant. What matters is the pattern, width, location and whether it is still moving, plus whether it coincides with rust staining or deflection. Cracking alone is not a diagnosis in either direction.
Individual tendons can often be repaired or replaced, and structures can frequently be strengthened rather than demolished. Which applies depends on how much steel section has been lost, where the damage is along the tendon, and whether the structure can be temporarily de-loaded. That judgement needs an investigation behind it.
It depends on the size of the structure and how much of it needs surveying, so we will not put a figure here that we would then have to walk back. What we will say is that the investigation is far cheaper than committing to a repair scope without one.
Start your project
Concerned About an Existing Post-Tensioned Structure?
Tell us what you are seeing and where. If there is exposed strand or you have any reason to think a tendon may have failed, call rather than emailing, and restrict access to the area in the meantime.
Phone+971 56 530 0632
Emailinfo@premiumpt.ae
Premium Post Tension Concrete WorksBuilding 2, Plot 0687, Shop 3, Al Alia, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
HoursSaturday to Thursday: 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Friday: Closed
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