Insulation from a recently renovated block in Tutrakan falls off after storm
The insulation covering an entire façade of a residential block in Tutrakan that had recently undergone energy-efficiency renovation under a European-funded project peeled away and collapsed during the storm and torrential rain that hit the town on 19 July.
No one was injured, but the incident caused significant material damage and raised serious questions about the quality of the construction work carried out under the renovation project.
The damage
Residents of the block told “Za Istinata” that during the storm, the entire layer of insulation wool and render detached from the façade and fell to the ground.
The falling structure damaged the neighbouring Lilia apartment block and several metal garages located underneath.
“During the storm, the insulation came off. Since I live on the top floor, closer to the upper floors of the neighbouring block, which is taller, perhaps that is why my terrace took the biggest hit. The window frames and the wall were pushed inward, the glass was broken and the air conditioner was tilted to one side,” said Yulvie Mutisheva, a resident of Lilia block, which is directly attached to the renovated Istar 2 building.
The falling insulation also damaged property belonging to Nikola Nikolov, who owns a metal garage directly beneath the façade.
When the insulation fell, the roof structure of the garage crushed his car, which was inside at the time. Other metal garages beneath the building were also damaged.
Nikolov believes the collapse was caused by poor-quality renovation work. He lives in the affected block and says the section of the façade that has now fallen was already cracked when the renovation was completed and that there had been concerns about its quality.
He says the homeowners’ association representative initially refused to sign the acceptance certificate for the completed works.
According to Nikolov, insufficiently long and insufficiently numerous fastening elements – plastic anchors – had been used, which ultimately caused the insulation to detach during the storm.
What the contractor says
Nikola Dyakov, manager of the contractor SJ Stroy AD, disputes this account.
He says the number of fasteners was sufficient and that they had entirely suitable specifications for the job.
According to Dyakov, however, the wall of the building was distorted and curved inward. This forced the workers to apply a thicker layer of adhesive in order to level the surface.
It was this additional material, he claims, that ultimately contributed to the collapse during the storm.
The building also had another, more serious problem, according to the contractor: it was sinking.
Who will pay for the damage?
The insulation on Istar 2 remains under warranty, and SJ Stroy AD will pay for the restoration of the façade, Dyakov said.
The company has also undertaken to repair the damaged terrace of Yulvie Mutisheva in the neighbouring Lilia block.
The roofs of the damaged garages will also be repaired by the contractor, he added.
Meanwhile, the municipal administration has appointed an expert commission to assess the damage caused by the fallen insulation from Istar 2, as well as damage to other blocks in Tutrakan that have recently undergone renovation.
The renovation of Istar 2 was financed through the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
A contract worth more than €573,000
In March 2024, a public competition under the Public Procurement Act was launched for the renovation of the building. It was subsequently terminated because only one bid had been submitted.
A new procurement procedure was launched in July 2024 for “engineering services – design, construction and author supervision” for Istar 2, with an estimated value of €574,886.52 excluding VAT.
Four bidders took part, according to the public procurement register. Some had already carried out other energy-efficiency renovation projects in Tutrakan.
The bidders were NSK Sofia Ltd, Roto Engineering Ltd, SJ Stroy AD and the consortium formed by Building Comfort Ltd and Plan Konspect Ltd.
The contract was ultimately signed with Sofia-based SJ Stroy AD for €573,863.78.
That amounts to slightly more than BGN 1 million.
According to the technical specifications, the project included thermal insulation of the building’s external walls, roof and floor, installation of new windows and doors, replacement of lighting in the common areas and construction of a photovoltaic installation for the building’s own needs.
The contract was scheduled to run from January to October 2025.
In reality, construction work began in July 2025 and was completed this spring.
Istar 2 was the last of a number of residential blocks in Tutrakan renovated under energy-efficiency programmes in 2024–2025.
As “Za Istinata” previously reported, the renovation of residential blocks in Tutrakan under various programmes was one of the priorities of the previous government and featured prominently during a visit to the town last year by former Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov and Hamid Hamid, an MP from DPS–New Beginning.
