Care of concrete pathing slabs

All our first floor flats have balconies with concrete paving slabs? laid out on them.Some residents are having problems where these are becoming very slippery and hazourdous, especially for the older residents. We regularly clean ours, a little washing up liquid, stiff brush and some elbow power and have not had this problem, so not sure what is causing it. Someone has tried to explain it to me in the past but didn't really understand, it is due to some kind of moss/algae type organism as I understand it.I am sure some of you will have a much better idea of what is going on than I do.The question I have is the solution down to simple cleaning of the balcony? Is there a simple way of getting rid of what is causing them to be slippery? Failing this, or the resident is physically unable to maintain the slabs is there a simple solution to make the balconies safe?If worse comes to worse we can get our contractor to do it, but once we take on the commitment we become responsible for it. It falls outside normal repairs so would be a long time financial commitment and one the board is reluctant to get involved with.

Thanks BGS.

It pretty much confirms what I had been told, ie that this is usually put down as the tenant's responsibility. I'm a little unhappy about things as part of being a TMO is to provide a better service then the council, which we do, but also so that people are at the centre of what we do.

I have made no secret that when sitting on the interview panel for prospective tenants the main questons I ask myself are will this person benefit from what we offer and will they do so without disturbing their neighbours unreasonably. If a balcony is too slipery and present a clear h&s issue how can they benefit?

I guess the next step is to find out how much of a problem this is on the estate and then do something similar to what the HA did. I guess one thing we can do is provide a grant to those tenants on housing benefit to cover the cost which would include an agreement that the tenant retains responsibility for the balcony. This way no one is unreasonably disadvantaged.

Would our maintenance guy be able to apply the coating, or do we need to get in a specialist company? If the latter any ideas what to google?

Replies

Graeme @ BGS February 16, 2009 at 1:05pm

Algae and moss can as you stated be removed by scrubbing down with good old household detergent or use a bio-degradable product containing dialkyldimethyl ammonium chloride.

I believe that it is the moisture retention in the materials used for the balconies that are probably the primary reason for the build up of algae.

There are of course a number of factors to take into consideration but I have found that after cleaning the hard surfaces the moss/algae can be minimised with a range of protective coatings.

On a similar point, a company I know raised the same problem on a HA site about the potential risk of slippage and the H&S implications but the HA was more concerned with being held responsible if they were seen to take this on as it was deemed to be the tenants responsibility.

They got around this by getting a fixed price and advising the tenants what a special deal they have arranged if they wanted to take up the offer, but clearly stating it was down to the individual tenant to decide / pay for it.
dgeorgea February 16, 2009 at 1:34pm

Thanks BGS.

It pretty much confirms what I had been told, ie that this is usually put down as the tenant's responsibility. I'm a little unhappy about things as part of being a TMO is to provide a better service then the council, which we do, but also so that people are at the centre of what we do.

I have made no secret that when sitting on the interview panel for prospective tenants the main questons I ask myself are will this person benefit from what we offer and will they do so without disturbing their neighbours unreasonably. If a balcony is too slipery and present a clear h&s issue how can they benefit?

I guess the next step is to find out how much of a problem this is on the estate and then do something similar to what the HA did. I guess one thing we can do is provide a grant to those tenants on housing benefit to cover the cost which would include an agreement that the tenant retains responsibility for the balcony. This way no one is unreasonably disadvantaged.

Would our maintenance guy be able to apply the coating, or do we need to get in a specialist company? If the latter any ideas what to google?
Graeme @ BGS February 16, 2009 at 2:20pm

Can't see why your maintenance guy couldn't do it. Just need to be careful that you have the right product and he is aware of the H&S requirements.

Have a look at http://www.carrspaints.com/protect.html for starters.

Alternatively a contractor may be a better option just a question of choicing the right one as there are a lot of patio cleaning "experts" out there!
dgeorgea February 16, 2009 at 4:29pm

BGS,

Do you have the name of the Housing Association?
Graeme @ BGS February 16, 2009 at 4:38pm

dgeorgea said:
BGS,

Do you have the name of the Housing Association?

I will Email you the name if they are happy for me to release it.
Graeme @ BGS February 16, 2009 at 4:42pm

I use Mogeton for moss removal on hard surfaces but on areas such as balconies and patios I would suggest using a protective coating.
dgeorgea February 16, 2009 at 4:49pm

Thank you, much appreciated. If they have a name we can contact to discuss the issue this would be a huge help.

BGS LTD said:
dgeorgea said:
BGS,

Do you have the name of the Housing Association?

I will Email you the name if they are happy for me to release it.
Graeme @ BGS February 16, 2009 at 4:51pm

BGS LTD said:
I use Mogeton for moss removal on hard surfaces but on areas such as balconies and patios I would suggest using a protective coating.

The product that PRO GARD suggested does protected surfaces from algae and moss growth for up to 6 months.
dgeorgea February 16, 2009 at 5:02pm

I want to thank everyone for their contributions.

The residents have been advised on how to manage the problem, and I thank you for further ideas. However I was looking for a longer term solution we may take as an organisation. The one case I am particularly aware of the tenants are an elderly mother and daughter, who has health issues of her own. It is really for people like this I would like to find a solution, so they are able to use their balcony, especially in warmer weather.
Graeme @ BGS February 16, 2009 at 5:09pm

You're a good man George.

Ever considered standing for your local council?