Derry's crumbling homes on BBC One consumer programme

A Derry home described as the first in Northern Ireland with a confirmed case of ‘mica’ has featured on the BBC One consumer rights programme ‘Rip Off Britain’.

Danny and Kate Rafferty, from Beragh Hill Road in the Skeoge area of the city, carried out testing on their blocks when telltale 'spider cracks' appeared on the outer wall and chimney of their house, around 2009.

In the segment dealing with their plight, Danny and Kate revealed they had bought the concrete blocks used to build their house, between 2005 and 2006, in Donegal.

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Danny said because the North was in the EU at the time “it was normal to buy things on both sides of the border. “You went where you could get the best price,” he said.

Kate said their plan had been to build their “dream home and carry on living there forever”.

The couple got their first inkling there was something wrong with their home when they got it painted in 2009. Kate recalled: “It didn’t seem to be very long before the paint started to come off again.

“Then it started to get all damp looking again and peel and bubble around the bottom of the house. And then, there were quite a few cracks appearing as well.”

Initially Danny thought there was a problem with his home’s damp proof course. However, the cracks in the house were getting bigger and there was more bubbling. 

‘Rip Off Britain’ filmed Danny and Kate’s home in its present state -  plaster coming off walls and major cracking at the upstairs windows. “The cracks have got wider and there’s nothing you can do to stop it,” said Danny.

‘Rip Off Britain’ presenter, Julia Somerville said that when Danny and Kate first discovered the problems “they had no idea that their home would be caught up in one of the biggest scandals in construction … all to do with those concrete blocks.”

She said: “News reports revealed thousands of homes built in the Republic of Ireland, from where Danny had bought the blocks, were also affected by the problem and many were beyond repair.”

Danny and Kate subsequently commissioned a building survey into their home and according to “Rip Off Britain” the report was “damning”.

Danny read: “The superstructure block work, in my opinion, is defective due to the presence of pyrite on the outer leaf masonry. The only remediation works would be to demolish the outer leaf and rebuild. They are going to get worse. They are going to disintegrate and they are eventually going to fall down and become unlivable.”

Danny said: “Whether that happens in five years’ time or in 10 years’ time, we’re going to face that.”

Kate said she had a feeling of “absolute dread worrying about what’s going to happen”. 

“What’s going to happen? What’s the next step? What do we do now?” she asked.

Julia Somerville put the cost of repairing Danny and Kate’s home at £100,000.

The couple approached their insurer but their claim was declined. The insurance company said “defective materials” had been used in the construction of the house. 

Danny said: “I didn’t realise they were defective when I was buying them. Like, you buy everything in good faith.”

“If you’re paying insurance for years and years on your house, you don’t expect them to turn around and tell you ‘Oh, no, you’re not covered’. I think it is just terrible.”

According to Julia Sommerville, the couple’s last hope is legal action in the Republic of Ireland against a supplier and various public bodies. 

This is believed to be the case being pursued by Coleman Legal Solicitors.

Danny explained: “The only way we can get any compensation is through the courts in Dublin. We were the first people in Derry, north of the border, who were accepted as part of that.”

Interviewing the former President of the Royal Institute of British Architects, Paul Hyatt, regarding Danny and Kate’s experience, Julia Sommerville said: “Paul, all this feels horribly familiar off the back of the RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) scandal and the Grenfell fire cladding crisis. 

“To the outsider, it really does look as if the checks and balances of the industry, of which you are just a part in a way, just aren’t fit for purpose. What is your view on it all?”

Paul Hyatt replied: “Well, these kinds of problems are far too frequent. I think it points to systemic failures across the industry, all parts of it, from education of all professionals, architects as well. I think there will be no solution until the industry accepts, in the broadest sense, that things are not as they should be.

“There hasn’t been proper certification of new products and I think that, combined with a regulatory system that simply has not kept up to speed with the changes in the way we build, has meant that we have ended up with something which is not fir for purpose.”

Rip Off Britain  - Series 15: 31. Our 18-Year-Old Home Is Crumbling can be watched HERE.