When we heard about some inside out windows on flats in Swiss Cottage, we thought we had to see it to believe it.
So we went along and met with some of the angry residents who said they are dumfounded that the windows were installed the wrong way round.
Some people who live in the Dorney and Bray tower blocks affected have complained about sweltering conditions because of the issue.
The new double glazing was wrongly installed in 85 flats in the Dorney block and in an unknown number of flats in Bray.
Now there is the prospect that the flats will overheat because of the inside out issue, just in time for spring and summer.
This is because window panes in the wrong orientation reflect sunlight directly into the flats, causing the flats to overheat.
Camden Council confirmed that each new window installation will take around 40 minutes to complete.
One resident, Michelle Urquhart, 59, is a full-time carer for her dad with dementia and says she is in therapy for anxiety.
She told Metro: ‘I can’t describe the stress. I’m actually having therapy for my anxiety.
‘I have to clear everything away from the windows. I can’t tell you the impact and stress this will cause now.
‘My dad will have to go through it as well and it is just not on.’
Michelle, alongside other residents, were evacuated before in 2017 after dangerous cladding, the same as that found in Grenfell, was found in the tower block.
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She said her issues with anxiety started then and have been ongoing ever since, and feels like the environment she lives in is increasing her stress levels.
‘I’m fuming as well. What idiot would put the windows in the wrong way around,’ Michelle continued.
‘I’m angry with how we’ve been put in this position, it’s just not good enough.
‘I’m just furious and I keep thinking of ways I can get around this because I can’t bear the thought of having to move everything.
‘I’m a full-time carer, so even though four hours doesn’t seem a lot, it is for me. What about people who have illnesses and are not well.
‘They think this will be sorted by May but that’s the best outcome at the moment.’
Paul Urquhart, 52, Michelle’s husband, said that the problem has become ‘annoying’.
‘When my flat was done last year, I thought this was all over for me,’ he told Metro.
‘All of a sudden we’ve got to have the glass taken out of the windows, have it turned around and put back in again.
‘It’s going to be annoying and inconvenient because things will have to be moved away from windows.
‘It’s particularly disappointing because we thought it was all over and now we have this issue.’
Grace, who didn’t want to give her last name, added to Metro: ‘I found out they were inside out on Sunday. I thought is this a joke.
‘I initially thought they were going to put on the scaffolding to flip it again but apparently they need to go into each individual flat.
‘This is a waste of time having them come back in the flats. It is something they should have noticed at an earlier stage.’
Some of London’s most vulnerable are impacted by this council gaffe
Having spent the day down at the Chalcots Estate reporting for Metro, it became apparent that many of those who are most vulnerable in our society are impacted by this issue.
Many of these residents have had ongoing work carried out in the block of flats for years.
At the scene, many residents are constantly interrupted by the droning sounds of building work carried out.
It is for people like Michelle where the situation of changing the windows is most stark.
Being a full-time carer for her dad who has dementia, having the windows replaced takes it toll on her physical and mental health.
A spokesperson for Camden Council said: ‘Following checks on the newly installed windows at the Chalcots, the council’s project team have found that some window glazing panels in Dorney and Bray have been incorrectly fitted by the contractor.
‘This is not a safety concern but will affect the reduction of overheating in the summer – so we will be putting this right straight away.
‘We are contacting the residents who this issue affects to arrange for our contractors to install the glazing correctly.
‘Each re-installation takes about 40 minutes and this will not be noisy work.
‘This corrective work does not extend the overall programme as it can be done simultaneously to the remaining work which needs to be done and will be of no extra cost to the council or the taxpayer.
‘All works on the windows will be checked independently once completed. We apologise to the affected residents for this additional work.’
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