New fears over defects in balconies built during Celtic Tiger

APARTMENTS built during the Celtic Tiger era may be at risk of defects that could lead to balcony collapses, construction experts have warned.

The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) urged owners and property management to check balconies to ensure the safety of occupants.

It cautioned that the “potential collapse of balconies is a real possibility” and highlighted timber-supported balconies as a particular issue.

In a letter, seen by the Irish

Independent, the SCSI said that water ingress in timber supports is a concern.

It’s understood that this is not believed to be a widespread issue, but the SCSI says it could potentially affect a number of complexes.

It says that if timber joists are properly treated with preservatives and fully protected for water ingress, there is no concern for the integrity of the joists.

But the timber supports may not be visible due to cladding, so any deterioration may not be evident.

“There is real concern, however, that because timber-supporting balconies are clad with material, one might not identify signs of decay and the only warning of structural failure that will be given could potentially be too late,” the letter states.

The chair of the Building Surveyor group, Noel Larkin, said that regulation compliance during the Celtic Tiger era was not as robust as it is today, and that unskilled workers may have worked on them.

“At the time there was a fairly extensive volume of building. If you look at the volume 10 or 15 years ago compared to today, the building industry was at full capacity or maybe beyond it,” he said.

“It’s like everything else, if you’re looking at speed, cost and time, something has to suffer and unfortunately in this particular case, it was one of those, which was quality,” he added.

He said that the potential issues may be as a result of jobs undertaken by unskilled workers.

But he said it was rare that timber would have been used as a structure for balconies.

“The new and improved building control regime is far more comprehensive, where all designers, installers, and builders certify compliance with all aspects of installations according to the design,” he said.

“This means that there is a higher degree of inspections at key milestones, so that installations and materials are checked before they are covered up – for example, by cladding.”