CLASP Building System
1957 to 2005
Mark 2 to Mark 6b
Our Knowledge & Expertise
The CLASP system was in continual development from 1957 (Mark 2) until June 2005 (Mark 6b). Each time there was a significant change in the System’s development a new Mark was introduced. The system had a design life of 60 years which was covered by a Certificate issued by the British Board of Agrèment (BBA).
Scape System Build Ltd is a trading company for the CLASP Consortium and under licence, develop and design the Scape building system, manage, market and use the CLASP archive to provide consultancy services to the CLASP Membership and other CLASP building owners.
Scape's staff have extensive knowledge and expertise in the CLASP system and can provide advice and guidance to help You to get the best from your CLASP building.
Identifying your CLASP Building
The Identification Guide gives details of the significant features for CLASP Marks 2 to 5, and can be used to help identify the Mark a building was constructed. Because there were so many CLASP buildings constructed, CLASP is sometimes used as a generic term to describe a building constructed using system technology, when the actual system used may not have been CLASP.
Click here to download the CLASP Identification Guide
If you are still unable to identify the construction type but you think it may be CLASP, please contact Scape Consult using the
Hotline Form or telephone 0115 958 3200. Scape will consult the CLASP Consortium's database which lists the majority of projects constructed using the CLASP system. The database has been developed from archive data provided by the nominated steel suppliers of the time, therefore the building names may not be those in use today.
Refurbishment/Remodelling Solutions
CLASP developed Replacement Window and Roof-recovering programmes for Marks 3-5 which have been used by public organisations nationwide for many years and form part of the CLASP IP. These programmes are now managed as Scape Frameworks.
Our team of experts can undertake feasibility & condition surveys including recommendations for refurbishing, remodelling or extending your CLASP buildings.
Free Hotline Service
Scape offer a free telephone/email hotline service to CLASP building owners. Please contact Scape before you embark on any refurbishment or remodelling work – structural alterations could prove detrimental to the integrity of your CLASP building - check with Scape first. Depending on the information required, a fee may be charged. Contact the Scape Consult team or complete and submit the Hotline form.
Asbestos and CLASP buildings
In 1974 the CLASP Consortium researched its archive for information relating to asbestos containing materials (ACMs) as specified in standard CLASP details and reported this information to its membership via a handbook. This research is ongoing and the asbestos handbook has been updated several times as more archive evidence was uncovered or information fed back from the CLASP Membership. The latest version of the handbook is called Asbestos in CLASP Buildings and is available to download below.
This handbook remains the only authoritative record in the use of ACMs in CLASP construction and contains location schedules showing where ACMs were specified by CLASP. However, project architects and contractors also specified ACMs and location tables are included to indicate where these ACMs have been discovered since construction. CLASP stopped specifying ACMs in 1980 but they continue to be found in CLASP buildings constructed post 1980.
The Handbook does not in anyway override or substitute for policies and procedures established in accordance with the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations, which should be followed on every occasion.