'A Gentle Whisper in Your Ear'

Building Materials, Irish Pyrite & Chinese Plasterboard – FUBAR !

2014-07-08:  Why do individuals and institutions wake up to a problem only when extensive damage to property, or horrendous injury to people, has already occurred … and the shit hits the fan … big time ?!?   What way is that to organize a society … or protect its communities ???

The Answer is Simple:  Prevention !   Not Cure … when damage cannot be effectively repaired … some injuries can never be healed … and it becomes very costly to do anything !!

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In Ireland … Part D of the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations, as amended, states the following …

Materials & Workmanship

Legal Requirement D1:  All works to which these Regulations apply shall be carried out with proper materials and in a workmanlike (i.e. competent) manner.

Definition of ‘Proper Materials’

Proper Materials:  Building/construction materials (or products, systems, assemblies, etc.) which are fit for the use for which they are intended and for the conditions/location in which they are to be used.

Reference European Union (EU) Legislation

EU Regulation No.305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 9 March 2011, laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC.

[ N.B. The 1989 European Directive on Construction Products (89/106/EEC) was repealed, in 2011, by Article 65 of EU Regulation No.305/2011. ]

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THEREFORE …

It is the duty of a Supplier … any Supplier, e.g. manufacturer, distributor, agent, wholesaler, whatever … of building/construction materials to clearly show that they are ‘proper materials’, i.e. they are fit for the use for which they are intended and for the conditions/location in which they are to be used.

Refer to SDI’s Technical Guidance Notes … www.sustainable-design.ie/arch/tgn.htm

AND …

It is the duty of the Design Professional in Responsible Charge of a construction project (whoever he/she may be – architect, engineer, etc., etc.) to demand of a Supplier … additionally and most particularly, where there are any doubts about any relevant aspect of that material’s performance … that he/she/they clearly show that the building/construction materials they are supplying are ‘proper materials’, i.e. they are fit for the use for which they are intended and for the conditions/location in which they are to be used.

SO …

When Pyrite, for example, shows up in the hardcore under a finished concrete floor, or in the blockwork of a completed wall, in an Irish building … we know who has ignored his or her legal/professional duty concerning proper and satisfactory compliance with Legal Requirement D1 … and who is liable.

For bureaucrats and the legal profession, this is the end of the story.

BUT …

At this stage – when building occupants are hurt and extremely annoyed following, perhaps years, of inconvenience and discomfort – it’s too late !   The damage cannot be effectively repaired … and such limited repairs which can, in practical terms, be carried out will be very expensive.

PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM …

In Ireland, have we properly learned any lessons from Priory Hall, Pyrite, or Chinese Plasterboard ?   No !

Could these or similar problems occur AGAIN on an Irish building site ?   Yes !

Because … aided and abetted by the professional institutes … a ‘blind eye’ is being turned to the greatest lesson of all … that self-regulation/self-certification does NOT work !!

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And Other E.U. Member States ???

The wording in national/local legislation may be slightly different … the language certainly will be different … but the legal intent is the same.

Legal/professional duties are similar.

Self-regulation/self-certification doesn’t work there either !

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END

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