Lymewood Mews

Hi all,

Happy New year to you all!!! Just a quick one ( actually 2! ). Being on the ground floor, can anyone please tell me if the sound proofing is kept on when floors / carpets are being laid? Either the people above me are extremely noisy or they have no sound proofing on!

Secondly, has anyone seen the playground??? Does anyone know if this was on the plans?

Thanks for the help!
Lisa

hi,

I'm new to all this. I'm not on the ground floor - but there is a black rubber like stuff on the floors to begin with. You're not allowed put down wooden floors (says in the contract i signed anyway) but i'm going to put them down anyway - so i'm going to put down soundproofing on top of the stuff thats already there, then put down the floor, just to be on the safe side. if the people above you are very noise, and they have wooden floors down, you could probably get them to remove the floors.

Hi Vladamir,

Interesting stuff - no wooden floors allowed - was that on the contract from the builders? I should really investigate further!!!
Bye the way, have you seen the playground? Any comments?

Hi Lucky,

I got my keys to Block B apartment just before Christmas and am in the process of moving in. Away at the moment so haven't seen the playground - where is it and how big is it?! Didn't see anything about it in plans.

Thanks, Schoko

Hiya Shoko,

Its at the back where the landscape gardens were supposed to be and its a bloody eye sore. I've been onto HOK, the builders and even Fingal co.co about it. Its approx 50 feets away from the block and its fairly sizeable and by all accounts its gonna effect everyone facing south in the apartments. Was even in my next door neighbours last night and she's going as mad as I am about it! I reckon it my even de-value the place! I got my own plans out and saw nothing, so I am actually gonna head to Swords planning office in the morning to see what the craic is - dont get me wrong I understand why there is a playground, but is it really necessary to put it on our doorsteps?? Dont know about you, but after all this saving, I'm not prepared to let something like this devalue the place!
Tell me this, did you check the plans or are you only talking about the brochure???

Hi Lucky,

We are west facing so haven't seen the playground at all yet, I can't even imagine where exactly it is - is it a private Lymewood playground?? Must have a look at the weekend. It must be pretty awful if you think it's going to devalue your property? I totally agree with you though - follow it through with the planners and see what the plans were - what did HOK/Lydonbarry have to say about it??

Re the soundproofing - there was cork-type underfloor on the floor when we moved in and the carpet guys just laid the underlay and carpet over that. There was a stipulation in the contract that you couldn't have wooden floors in the apartments (there was a conversation about that previously in this thread although dont' know whether it was moved over when the thread was moved) but I know a lot of people have put wooden floors down anyway. You should confirm this with your solicitor, or possibly the builders solicitors, O'Donnell Sweeney, just to make sure.

M

Hiya Muffin,

Thanks for the feedback. By the looks of things it is specific to Lymewood and everyong South facing is looking out at it regardless of what floor you're on! By any chance, did you manage to have a look at the plans before buying ( other than that that HOK gave us in the brochure! ) Of course, when I rang HOK and Lyndonbarry, they said that Fingal Co.Co instructed them to do it and of course, when I called Fingal they said that thats always when the builders say so as not to get involved in the hasstle! I'll plod on with my campaign though as I know my neighbours are disgusted also!

Never knew about the clause for the wooden floors - must give O'Donnell Sweeney a shout and see what the criac is - will keep you all posted!

L

Hiya

No worries. Supposedly the management company should be calling a meeting of the residents sometime this month so you can bring it up then as well - they probably will have nothing to do with it but at least it'd be an opportunity to see what others think as well.

Don't think we looked at the plans before buying, beyond the HOK brochure plans. We saw plans when we went to our solicitors to sign the contracts but don't remember seeing anything about a playground (although to be fair I wouldnt' have given that much thought anyway). Our solicitor did point out the no wooden floors bit of the contract to us which is how we knew about it. Good luck anyway.

M

Lucky,

thanks for info on playground - very interesting. No I didn't check plans either. I am not overlooking the playground but I think this is something that could affect all residents. I would worry about non-residents "hanging around".

Keep us posted.

Schoko

Thanks Guys! Exactly what ourselves and our neighbours were thinking, expecially, with no disrespect intended, with the section 23 housing across the way and the Ballymun entrance - imagine during the summer????
Will keep you updated!
Thanks again!

i'm in block A (or will be hopefully at some stage, been waiting two years this month!) and i'm facing the road (north facing?) so no, i haven't seen any playground. definately worth checking the fingal offices in swords alright - my solicitor advised me to do that before i signed the contracts in the first place to make sure nothing undesireable was planned for the area. i did check at the time, but i haven't a clue if a playground was there or not as it was so long ago now.

re the wooden floors - definatley not allowed - it was in a part of the contract called 'farm fee agreement' or something like that - i remember asking my solicitor before i signed what would happen if i put down wood floors and someone underneath complained - he said i'd have to take them up - he didn't even hesitate.

sorry if i'm covering old ground here - i read through a lot of the previous stuff on this topic but there's a lot of it! i expect to be doing a snag sometime this month, is there anything major i should look for? i'm getting a pro to do it, but i'll check myself too - i'm only getting a one bed - so the wardrobe problem in the second bedroom doesn't arise.

did people have trouble getting couches in the doors?

sorry for all the questions. thanks.

Hi all!

Just heard that in a few months work will begin on 380 apartments across from Lymewood Mews. Didn't realise something had been planned for so soon as it didn't say anything on [broken link removed]

Does the playground actually belong to Lymewood? Was it planned for people in the apartments with kids? Is it fenced around to make it part of the grounds? It's the first time I've heard of anything like that.

all our management fees are used for the upkeep of our block, but they are also used to build up a 'sinking fund' - is that correct?

the sinking fund is then used in the even of something major going wrong - i.e. a lift breaking down or so on.

maybe i'm being paranoid here - but if kids are arriving into the playground from god knows where - presumably, in time, issues of negligence will arise? presumably the management co. of lymewood mews would be named as a defendant in any potential litigation? i'd hate to think our sinking fund could be piliged to make payments to kids who aren't even living in the block instead of what its supposed to be for?

do we have civil liability insurance on the playground? how much does this cost? how many people in lymewood are moving in with children? are we paying massive civil liability insurance to protect against the risk of injury to children from elseswhere who decide to use the playground? think a few phone calls will have to be made.

Hi Hokey,

Where are these 380 apartments been built? Is it by the waste ground next to block C which is near the nursing home?
Seem like a very big development considering Lymewood is only 200 apts.
Also in relation to the playground, does anyone know if its going to have slides and swings etc. because if it does our insurance bill will go through the roof!

Mac

Hi all

saw a digger working on the ground just across from Block C and up towards the TLC centre this morning - more muck to walk through to get to the bus - fabulous. I did see a sign at the Ballymun end of the complex for apartments called Hazelwood or Hazelbrook or something - maybe they're the new apartments. And anyone know anything more about the retail park going to open right beside us - they seem to have built an entrance into it practically beside the roundabout beside us - traffic's going to be horrendous!

Vladamir - we have a one bed as well and had no problem getting couches etc. in the doors. RE snagging - it all went fairly smoothly, they were a bit slow coming back to us for the final inspection but apart from that, no complaints. A lot of the seals on our windows were split or non-existant so that was a big thing on our snag - anyway, hope you get in to your apartment soon, I know how frustrating our wait was!

M

I just found this site today, it is very interesting and entertaining! I bought in block C almost 2 years ago and I'm finally in. I originally moved in at the beginning of November and the day after I moved in woke up to find the whole place flooded. All the floors were ruined not to mention all my stuff that was lying around on the floor. Apparently it was due to some kind of "plumbing error". I lived in a hotel for 3 weeks before it was habitable again. Luckily enough the builders were reasonable and fixed everything up again including replacing all the floors exactly the same.
I wouldn't worry about wooden floors, every single apartment I have seen in the place has them. I just wear socks the whole time to prevent noise (and dents). Lots of things still don't work though, like the intercom and radiators. Is anyone else having these problems?

Hi SM1

that's terrible about your place flooding, glad to hear the builders sorted it for you although you had to shell out for staying in the hotel I assume?

Can't say we've had any trouble with the radiators or the intercom, both are working fine. The builders will fix them as well if they're not working I would imagine so get them onto it. Are none of your radiators working??

M

Hi all

this playground sounds like a nightmare - and I'm not just saying that because I don't have kids! If it is for Lymewood residents only, how do we ensure that only residents have access? I don't even want to think about it not being for lymewood residents only! Insurance is a big concern. Re-management company and sinking funds, there is lots of discussion ongoing about legal protection for apartment owners re-management companies, annual increases, etc. Apparently it is not uncommon for the company not to allocate a sufficient percentage of annual fees into a so-called sinking fund which would be used to cover the costs of major work. In such instances, owners have had to pay up hefty sums to cover the cost of work that should have been covered by the annual fee it the fund had been managed correctly. At the moment residents have no legal comeback and it is up to residents to supervise their management company and the accounts tightly. Don't want to scare anyone but as we are all new residents in lymewood possibly best if we adopt a professional approach as possible from the start with the management company.

Schoko

schoko said:

Don't want to scare anyone but as we are all new residents in lymewood possibly best if we adopt a professional approach as possible from the start with the management company.

Schoko

Click to expand...

Hold on. All apartment owners are members of the management company. The management company appoint agents-eg Wyse or similar. The management company will appoint a committee at the agm (made up of owners). The agm of the management committee will appprove the budget. Basically if you are concerned about the amount going into the sinking fund, you need to convince your fellow owners to increase the amount (and their management fee).
The aganet act on the instructions of the company.

Dear All,

Would have been back before now, however, the Magnet network has been down since yesterday ( another disaster!!! - we've had more down time than up time at this stage!! FYI, we're gonna get it taken out and go with the usual suspects as it is becoming a complete nightmare!! )
Anyway, back to the playground!!! Spent an hour at the Fingal Co. Co yesterday and took a copy of the plans. It looks as though this childrens facility has been planned for way back in 2003. Yes, there are swings, see-saw etc, 2 benches and 2 bins!! I spoke with the guys down there as well and according to them, the only wya we can get somethying done is if we all stick together and make a joint complaint otherwise we are wasting our time. I was also chatting to the builders about it this morning and they totally agree with us and mentioned it to the architect yesterday ( Penny ) who replied that there was no way she was going to have it moved! The builders do agree that it will definitely devalue the property, not just mine or my neighbours, but the ahole of Block A and Block B as it is more prominent to them. I asked what was going to happen when the residents of Geraldstown woods ( affordable housing scheme facing the apts ) brings their children over and teenagers who decide to go knacker drinking in the summer decide that our playgound would be an ideal location - will security be able to differentiate between residents and non-residents??? I dont think so!!! In addition, for all south facing residents - there is no plan to plan any trees between ourselves and the gym, so in essence, we have a lovely vire of the gym car park - completely unacceptable - is this what were paying a management fee???

As far as the wooden floors are concerned - my neighbour has had someone move in above her and the noise is unreal - I can guarantee that if this clause has been built into a contract, it is going to create a lot of ill feeling and up roar if there is no respect for fellow residents.

Ok, so I know I may be going a little over the top here, however, if your anything like me, I haven't spent the last year or so saving and paying for this apartment in order for it to be instantly devalued!! Its not as if it was handed to us on a plate!

Anyway, if anyone is interested in meeting up to discuss these issues further and to throw a few ideas around, let us know and perhaps we can set up some sort of a meeting!

Lucky