A couple have been awarded €291,000 damages after the High Court heard their newly constructed dream home turned to a nightmare because of damp and they eventually had to leave it.
Dolores and Stephen Nimmo sued builders Mulreid Construction Ltd over failure to install a proper damp course in the new two-storey over basement house at Tallansfield Manor, Tallanstown, Dundalk, Co Louth. The couple paid Mulreid, of Ardee, Co Louth, €326,000 to build the house and moved into it in May 2006.
Instead of a proper damp course, a thin plastic barrier, similar to a radon barrier, was put in during construction of the foundation with the result dampness seeped into the house, the court was told.
Judgment was entered last year against Mulreid Construction in absence of a defence and the case was before Mr Justice John Hedigan for assessment of damages. There was no appearance for Mulreid yesterday.
This was the type of case relating to poor quality building that was too often before the courts, the judge said. This house was supposed to be the Nimmo’s dream home but it turned out to be a nightmare and he was sorry for the trouble they had endured. He also said damp was a terrible feeling in any house and to varying degrees turned it “into enemy territory rather than a home.”
He awarded them €131,609 for costs of repairing the damp problem, plus €160,000 for trauma and suffering.Mrs Nimmo told the court she, her husband and three children, had moved from Dublin to Dundalk into what they expected would be a dream home.
The house was very costly to heat and there were a number of other problems which she brought to the attention of Mulreid’s Shane Rogers who himself lived in one of the houses of the small Tallanstown development, she said.
He initially said he would deal with the problems but eventually refused to engage with her and she decided to take legal action. Mediation also failed, she added.
Mrs Nimmo said the family lived in the house for six years before deciding to move out. The couple had earlier moved to Spain to care for Mrs Nimmo’s mother but their children, two of whom were university students, found they were unable to remain in the house because of the conditions.
As a result, they decided to rent a house in Dublin for €1,350 per month for the children, who pay towards the rent, and where the couple also stay on trips back from Spain, she said.
