COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

south dublin county council crest

MEETING OF CLONDALKIN AREA COMMITTEE

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

QUESTION NO. 7

QUESTION: Councillor M. McDonagh

To ask the Manager to provide a full list of all remedial works carried out in the last 12 months on the 39 units from Balgaddy Housing Scheme detailed in the CPLN funded Buckeridge Forristal Partnership Report into Búirg, Méile and Tór an Rí (20 June 2011)?.

REPLY:

The building survey commissioned by C.P.L.N. was carried out early in 2011 by B.F.P. Consulting Engineers and was the subject of a detailed report to the November 2011 meeting of this Committee. 

South Dublin County Council received an annotated copy of the report linking the problems stated to the 39 addresses covered (11 in brief general terms and the remaining 28 in more detail) at the end of July 2011. This was reviewed against the Council’s programme of remedial works ongoing at Balgaddy since early last year and any fresh information supplied was factored into the ongoing work schedule.  The contents of the report were broadly in line with the surveys carried out by our own staff and already being addressed by on site teams.

All 39 units identified in the B.R.P. report were inspected by the Council’s Architectural Services team and this included mechanical and electrical issues, alleged latent defects and routine maintenance etc.

All electrical queries have been examined in regard to the 13 units identified with the exception of 2 units where access could not be gained.  The majority of issues were of a minor maintenance nature such as replacement of bulbs, immersion switches etc. and they have all been completed.  Further efforts are being made to gain access to the two remaining units.

All 26 units with mechanical issues have been examined with the exception of 5 units where access proved difficult.  In 5 units no mechanical issues were identified as claimed.  In the majority of other cases problems were due to normal wear and tear.  In three instances, issues were identified which appear to be latent defects and have been dealt with as such. Again all works have been completed with the exception of the 5 units with access difficulties and this is being pursued.

In relation to the other items identified in the report, these have been thoroughly inspected by our Technical team and relate to issues such as:

It was found that the most prevalent issue related to fire doors and door closures, followed by fire stopping issues.

From our inspections of the Balgaddy B phase, small gaps were identified between adjoining properties in some attic spaces which could in certain circumstances give rise to the spread of smoke or fire and immediate works were undertaken by a specialist contractor to remove this risk. All units in this phase have now been certified by the company as being in full compliance with the relevant Building Regulations. 

Following discussions with the Dublin City Council Fire Officer and a Fire Consultant, teams of Council technical staff have systematically examined all other phases of the scheme to confirm compliance in this regard.  These examinations have not uncovered any further instances of this problem. A Fire Consultant is now being formally engaged to review the actions taken and confirm their adequacy.

Leaking balconies and roof leaks were the next issue, followed by condensation and problems with sliding doors. Any works warranted have now been 90% completed, including decorating and making good any areas following repair.  The remaining 10% are works of a minor issue and will be completed within the next month or so subject to access.

Some of the issues identified such as condensation were tenant related issues and no works were warranted. Any routine maintenance issues that have arisen are being dealt with directly by the Housing Maintenance Depot as part of their normal maintenance programme.

A Pilot Scheme for the replacement of sash windows has been completed in 17 of the 19 two-storey houses in Méile an Rí.  A Tender has now been accepted for the replacement of all other defective sash windows and doors. This work commenced this week and is expected to be completed within four months for all housing units in the overall Balgaddy scheme identified as requiring attention to comply with relevant fire and thermal bridging regulations.

Problems relating to external plasterwork and painting will be addressed in a programme to be undertaken in Spring / Summer 2012 when weather conditions improve.

The Council is liaising directly with the tenants in question and considerable progress has been made in relation to these 39 units.