Newstalk: Donegal Homes Crumbling by Emma Cawley

Everyone’s aware of pyrite and the misery and stress it’s caused, now Donegal could be facing a similar problem.

At this stage – everyone’s aware of pyrite and the misery and stress it’s caused for people.

Now there are fears that hundreds of Donegal homeowners could be facing a similar crisis.

Damien McKay is a chartered engineer based in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal. He did an interview on Highland Radio on the 17th of October on the issue of pyrite. Very quickly, the station was swamped with callers- all describing similar structural problems in their homes. In the two days after the interview Damien was called out to inspect 200 affected buildings.

In most cases, structural problems become apparent four or five years after construction. At first, fine webbed cracks appear in the plaster of outer walls. These usually appear on gable walls as exposure to the elements accelerate the problem. As the problem progresses, cracks get wider and lateral displacement can be seen as the blocks underneath the plaster disintegrate.

Rather than a simple diagnosis of pyrite – defective building blocks seem to be at fault. These blocks appear to have been used in the construction of homes and buildings throughout the country. As yet, the exact problem within the blocks has not been established and testing is underway. It could be pyrite, but Damien says a number of factors could be at play – such as a low cement content in the blocks, fine stone or Muscovite Mica.

The potential scale of the problem is only just emerging, and Damien says many homeowners may not yet even be aware that their homes are at risk. The cost of repairs could run into the thousands, and with so many homeowners already struggling with their mortgages, the question remains how will the situation be resolved?

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