The curse of Mica house blocks in Donegal homes - Read mod warning in Post No: 1

RobMc59

NIMAN wrote: »

Some of the houses I have seen are worthless.
Just some images if you search "mica donegal"

https://www.google.com/search?q=mica+donegal&rlz=1C1GCEA_enGB805GB805&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj69ZWIp7fhAhUM8IMKHb97B-gQ_AUIDigB&biw=1680&bih=907

As for paying less, there was a minimum of €90 for houses up to €100k.
I'm not sure if Mica house owners are exempt tbh.

Some of those pictures are shocking!
I'm looking to relocate to Donegal from the UK and have been looking at houses online for a year or so-I only found out about the mica problem by chance when I saw a house for sale in letterkenny which seemed ridiculously cheap-it said the vendor had had it tested and it had a high mica content.I was under the impression this is only a problem in houses built from the 80s on-would you think it prudent to have a survey for this regardless of the age of the property?

muffler

RobMc59 wrote: »

Some of those pictures are shocking!
I'm looking to relocate to Donegal from the UK and have been looking at houses online for a year or so-I only found out about the mica problem by chance when I saw a house for sale in letterkenny which seemed ridiculously cheap-it said the vendor had had it tested and it had a high mica content.I was under the impression this is only a problem in houses built from the 80s on-would you think it prudent to have a survey for this regardless of the age of the property?

You would need to get a pre-purchase survey carried out on any property you are thinking of buying and the presence of or symptoms of mica should be flagged in any such survey.

There is a Facebook group I believe that may be able to offer some help and advice but I think this problem started with defective blocks used in housing from the 90's onwards

NIMAN

RobMc59 wrote: »

Some of those pictures are shocking!
I'm looking to relocate to Donegal from the UK and have been looking at houses online for a year or so-I only found out about the mica problem by chance when I saw a house for sale in letterkenny which seemed ridiculously cheap-it said the vendor had had it tested and it had a high mica content.I was under the impression this is only a problem in houses built from the 80s on-would you think it prudent to have a survey for this regardless of the age of the property?

Houses from the 80s are fine, the Mica issue only really started in houses from maybe 2000/2001 onwards.

I would definitely insist on a proper check or survey before buying any house in Donegal.

The redress scheme should fix things, if it ever arrives. I have my doubts they will be able to afford to fix all the bad houses.

NIMAN

I see that there are some setbacks in the redress scheme according to local news outlets.

1) It is delayed

2) It is going to cost so much that it looks like home owners will have to pay 10%-20% of the cost to get their homes fixed

3) There will be no way for people who have already fixed the problem to claim back the cost.

Penfailed

NIMAN wrote: »

I see that there are some setbacks in the redress scheme according to local news outlets.

1) It is delayed

2) It is going to cost so much that it looks like home owners will have to pay 10%-20% of the cost to get their homes fixed

3) There will be no way for people who have already fixed the problem to claim back the cost.

It's a complete joke. Those affected by pyrite in Dublin didn't have to pay a penny.

muffler

Has anyone got any update on the proposal to claim against the supplier of the defective blocks and / or the quarry?

What a about home insurance.... did anyone have any success on that front?

NIMAN

muffler wrote: »

Has anyone got any update on the proposal to claim against the supplier of the defective blocks and / or the quarry?

What a about home insurance.... did anyone have any success on that front?

I think its widely accepted that any large groups of claims against the block supplier will just result in them closing the business, and then there is no-one to get the money off. They, nor their insurance, will be able to cover a fraction of the cost involved.

Home insurance, severely doubt that either. Couldn't see them paying out.

Only hope for some might be claiming off whoever did your structural survey on your house, if you bought one already built. For new builds, not sure if you could claim against whoever signed it off as sound??

I remember when the guy did the structural survey on my house in 2010 when we bought, he said that the only part of the house not covered by his insurance would be the septic tank, as he couldn't inspect that properly or testify that it was working properly. But he said everything else would be covered.

If I found I had Mica, my only hope would be a claim against his insurance. Hopefully I don't have it!

Penfailed

Penfailed wrote: »

It's a complete joke. Those affected by pyrite in Dublin didn't have to pay a penny.

It's a matter of numbers voting. More seats to be gained or lost in Dublin, so they get looked after. Justice or equal treatment for the people of Donegal? Not if the records of successive past Governments are any indication.....

NIMAN

Anyone have any idea what Pyrite cost the state?

I think Leo said they the Mica issue is too big to be covered completely by the State, as estimates say it could run to €1bn+ as a worst case scenario.

Its a shame for the homeowners, who bought houses in good faith, they had no part in the whole debacle, except paying their mortgages.

I'd say some houses will have to be demolished and rebuilt, so I'm sure you are looking at €200,000 --> €250,000 at least for some families. If they have to cover 20% of that, how do you think people are going to find up to €50,000 to put in themselves as well as continuing to pay mortgage repayments?

DrPhilG

Why are Donegal County Council using Cassidy's as a supplier?

NIMAN

DrPhilG wrote: »

Why are Donegal County Council using Cassidy's as a supplier?

Well I am assuming that they are now ensuring their blocks meet the strictest standards in terms of quality? I would very much doubt they are still supplying bad product.

And maybe they are the cheapest?

NIMAN

NIMAN wrote: »

Anyone have any idea what Pyrite cost the state?

I think Leo said they the Mica issue is too big to be covered completely by the State, as estimates say it could run to €1bn+ as a worst case scenario.

Its a shame for the homeowners, who bought houses in good faith, they had no part in the whole debacle, except paying their mortgages.

I'd say some houses will have to be demolished and rebuilt, so I'm sure you are looking at €200,000 --> €250,000 at least for some families. If they have to cover 20% of that, how do you think people are going to find up to €50,000 to put in themselves as well as continuing to pay mortgage repayments?

It's completely ridiculous to expect the homeowners to pay.

I wonder if something could be arranged that the Government pays for the repairs, and are reimbursed over a period of time by the block suppliers?

They did have a duty of care to their customers, afaik.
Wouldn't they be better off paying in gradual installments, as opposed to having their business seized to pay its debts?

Atlantic Dawn

The suppliers seem to be protected like the Catholic Church.

NIMAN

Deleted User wrote: »

It's completely ridiculous to expect the homeowners to pay.

I wonder if something could be arranged that the Government pays for the repairs, and are reimbursed over a period of time by the block suppliers?

They did have a duty of care to their customers, afaik.
Wouldn't they be better off paying in gradual installments, as opposed to having their business seized to pay its debts?

You really think the block supplier, a relatively small local company, are going to be able to repay hundreds of millions (at least) of Euros?

Penfailed

muffler wrote: »

Has anyone got any update on the proposal to claim against the supplier of the defective blocks and / or the quarry?

What a about home insurance.... did anyone have any success on that front?

The supplier of the defective blocks has already gone out of business and a new company, with a similar name has started in the same premises.
House insurance doesn't cover structural issues...

NIMAN

NIMAN wrote: »

You really think the block supplier, a relatively small local company, are going to be able to repay hundreds of millions (at least) of Euros?

Well, since they're now (supposedly) gone, it's a bit of a moot point, but I think it should originally have been possible to claw back at least some of the costs, over a long period of time. As it stands, the victims are apparently being expected to pay, while those responsible just shut down, and reopen under a slightly different name, and they're free and clear. There's no justice in that.

So, maybe it's time for our TDs to introduce legislation to close those legal loopholes, and try for a justice system that actually tries to deliver - justice!

muffler

I heard in a roundabout way that the redress scheme has yet to be implemented. Anyone have any news on this or indeed what the up to date position is in general?

NIMAN

Well it has definitely yet to be implemented, that's for sure.

Meant to be the start of the year. Not much since.

They did announce that it would be too expensive to fully fix all the issues, and instead that home owners would have to contribute between 10-12% of the cost. This didn't go down well as you can imagine. People being asked to contribute up to 30k for something they had no part in.

ednwireland

highland radio tweet this morning
It's been revealed that the MICA redress scheme will apply only to a principal private residence, retrospective payments will not be made and accommodation or storage costs will not be covered. More on Highland Radio News in the morning.

Technique

I think that it sums up everything that is wrong with this country that Cassidys' biggest customer is Donegal County Council.

muffler

Technique wrote: »

Cassidys' biggest customer is Donegal County Council.

How?

Technique

muffler wrote: »

How?

It was put to the councillors at the meeting last night and they resolved to look into it.

malinheader

A site in inishowen was targeted last night because it appears the construction company involved are using blocks supplied by Cassidys in the construction of council houses.
Extensive graffiti was used mainly against Donegal county council for still using Cassidys for their materials.
It was also claimed footpaths that the council put in have to be taken out again as concrete not fit for purpose.
Petition has been set up with over 7000 names signed in under an hour wanting the council to boycott all Cassidys materials.

NIMAN

malinheader wrote: »

A site in inishowen was targeted last night because it appears the construction company involved are using blocks supplied by Cassidys in the construction of council houses.
Extensive graffiti was used mainly against Donegal county council for still using Cassidys for their materials.
It was also claimed footpaths that the council put in have to be taken out again as concrete not fit for purpose.
Petition has been set up with over 7000 names signed in under an hour wanting the council to boycott all Cassidys materials.

I seen the video from that Diver fella.

It is a disgrace if there is any possibility that the concrete they are supplying now still has a mica content, after the damage they have caused, which could potentially run to hundreds of millions of euros (at least).

Edit: just seen another video of a Clonmany house with the worst mica I've seen. Walls literally fell off in the winds the other night.

Penfailed

malinheader wrote: »

A site in inishowen was targeted last night because it appears the construction company involved are using blocks supplied by Cassidys in the construction of council houses.
Extensive graffiti was used mainly against Donegal county council for still using Cassidys for their materials.
It was also claimed footpaths that the council put in have to be taken out again as concrete not fit for purpose.
Petition has been set up with over 7000 names signed in under an hour wanting the council to boycott all Cassidys materials.

Proper order. Should have happened years ago.

NIMAN

I've said it many times, if this Mica had happened in Dublin, a redress scheme would have been up and running years ago.

malinheader

Seen the clips of the houses on Facebook. These people are at the end of their tether now with their homes they have all worked so hard for crumbling round them.
The so called government have had long enough to bring some help to them but have failed them all. And the way the council is carrying on still dealing with the company who has destroyed many people's lives is just beyond belief. Something very wrong in this county when this is happening. I can see this escalating badly yet, to many people sick of being taken a hand at.

muffler

malinheader wrote: »

A site in inishowen was targeted last night because it appears the construction company involved are using blocks supplied by Cassidys in the construction of council houses.
Extensive graffiti was used mainly against Donegal county council for still using Cassidys for their materials.
It was also claimed footpaths that the council put in have to be taken out again as concrete not fit for purpose.
Petition has been set up with over 7000 names signed in under an hour wanting the council to boycott all Cassidys materials.

Is this a Council site and what works are ongoing ... one house or multiple houses?

malinheader

muffler wrote: »

Is this a Council site and what works are ongoing ... one house or multiple houses?

I think there is to be 50 houses. Someone had said that it was the contractor who is dealing with Cassidys at the minute because the houses are not handed over yet, but at the end of the day the council using Cassidys products in other projects. And I'm sure the council would have some say in the spec and quality of materials.

Penfailed

muffler wrote: »

Is this a Council site and what works are ongoing ... one house or multiple houses?

Multiple houses going by the video I saw on Facebook.