Defective building material used by second housebuilder

A second housebuilder has been identified as having used the defective building material that caused cracks in walls and floors of houses in north Dublin earlier this year.

Several houses in Castlecurragh in Dublin 15, an estate of mostly social and affordable houses built by Shannon Homes, have tested positive for the presence of pyrite, a mineral that caused major structural damage to hundreds of houses built by Menolly Homes in north Dublin.

Fingal County Council has confirmed that six units at Castlecurragh have been tested for pyrite and so far, five have returned positive results for the presence of the mineral, used in stone infill under the floors of the houses.

The estate of more than 700 houses and apartments has 190 private units and about 530 social and affordable homes and was built between 2001 and 2003 by Shannon Homes in a public-private partnership with Fingal County Council.

The council said all of the units tested so far are "private homes" and are not occupied by council tenants. "To date, no social/council units at Castlecurragh have reported symptoms or requested testing for the presence of pyrite," it said.

However, the council said that testing for pyrite is only conducted if a complaint is reported by the house owners or tenants.

The problem came to light this summer when large cracks emerged in about 40 houses in the Drynam Hall estate in Kinsealy, built by Menolly Homes three years ago.

The company subsequently carried out further tests on houses in Drynam Hall and their other developments, at Beauparc in Clongriffin and Myrtle in Baldoyle. It has emerged in recent weeks that up to 300 Menolly-built homes have been affected by pyrite.

Menolly Homes is conducting remedial work on all affected houses. The work involves digging up the floor, removing the stone infill, replacing it with pyrite-free infill, repairing any structural damage and restoring the floor and wall surfaces. The process takes 12-14 weeks and Menolly has offered alternative accommodation to householders during this time.

Menolly Homes has initiated legal action against Irish Asphalt, the quarry company that supplied what Menolly claims was defective material. Irish Asphalt has denied its material was defective.

It is not known if Shannon Homes had used the same quarry. When contacted by The Irish Times yesterday, Shannon Homes said no one was available to comment on the issue.