Lochaber Housing closer to solving wall staining
Lochaber Housing Association (LHA) says it is getting closer to solving the problem of dark staining on exterior walls of some of its properties on the Plantation estate, Fort William.
The organisation was responding to queries by the Lochaber Times as to how work to tackle the problem was progressing.
The update from LHA followed our report last week of a meeting when two dozen fed-up Plantation estate residents met with local councillor Andrew Baxter to discuss the stained walls and other issues of concern.
LHA, together with private owners and Highland Council, successfully accessed Community Energy Saving Programme funding to apply external wall insula- tion to the properties in 2013.
But a number of properties have since developed ugly dark staining to their outside walls.
In December 2017, LHA told the Lochaber Times it planned to tackle the problem of stained walls at some of the properties it owns on the estate following the New Year.
But other non-LHA residents say they have had no success in getting any remedial action to resolve the problems.
Asked how work was progressing on finding a solution for its own properties on the estate, Sean Doherty, LHA’s head of asset management, said: ‘There is not an issue with the wall cladding in the Plantation. The issue is with algae growth on the surface of the render which we are experiencing on most of our properties in Lochaber.
‘We can’t power wash as you would normally due to the construction of the external wall insulation. We have applied different products on different areas to assess what product gives the best result. With some of the products, it takes three to six months to have full impact. We have also had an external consultant give guidance on the best way forward with algae growth and removal. Once we have this information, we will start with the best-suited product.’