Neighbours attached boiler to party wall

Suzkin

Hope it's okay to put this on the forum..

My neighbours have attached their combi boiler on the party wall in their kitchen. It's a mid-terraced house, like mine, which adjoins theirs.

Is this allowed? :rolleyes:

My concerns are:
1) They didn't inform me. (not sure if it falls within the Party Wall Act).
2) I'm concerned that the wall is't really strong enough: it's just single brick ad no cavity wall.
3) Apparently, they are always having problems with it...
3) It's really noisy!

The owners have let the house, and the lettings agents appear to do what they like, regardless of informing the neighbours.

toffeegirl

I have a victorian mid-terrace and my new combi boiler is on the party wall... the boiler has always been in the same place since heating was first installed. (Where was their old boiler?)

I don't believe that your neighbour / their agent has to tell you about any comings and goings to the house any more than you have to tell them about yours I'm afraid. Though I'm not sure what you mean by:

the lettings agents appear to do what they like

Finally, the house next door to mine is rented out... Luckily my 'neighbour' soon realised it was better to rent the house out as a whole than try and rent rooms individually. It was a rocky start - but once she changed how she let it out, things have been fine. I have found that it helps to meet the new people as soon as they move in .... as you are then immediately a real person to them, rather than a faceless neighbour.

If you don't know the owner, then the letting agent is the best point of contact for concerns - though if the new tenants have an issue with the boiler too - you could lend support to their complaints to get it sorted....

I know that it can be unsettling being next door to a rental... however rental neighbours can be nicer than owner-occupiers (I should know.... next door but one aren't on my Christmas card list) and can also stay for longer...

BargainGalore

Just a quick look on google and found this

http://www.diydata.com/planning/party_wall_act/party_wall_act.php


What work can be done without notice/permission.
Under the Party Wall Act some work is not covered. Such work include:

• Putting up shelves and wall units.
• Replastering.
• Electrical rewiring.

What work needs a notice and permission.
The general principle of the Party Wall Act is that all work which might have an effect upon the structural strength or support function of the party wall or might cause damage to the neighbouring side of the wall must be notified. If in doubt, advice should be sought from a local Building Control Office or professional surveyor/architect.
Work covered by the Party Wall Act include:

• To demolish and/or rebuild a party wall.
• To increase the height or thickness of a party wall.
• Insertion of a damp proof coarse (either chemical injection or a physical dpc).
• Cutting into the party wall to take load bearing beams.
• Underpinning a party wall.
• Excavations within 3 metres of a neighbouring building where the excavation will go below the bottom of the foundations of the neighbouring building.
• Excavations within 6 metres of a neighbouring building where the excavation will go below a line drawn 45° downwards from the bottom of the foundations of the neighbouring building.

toffeegirl

... I always hate these collections of 'mights' v 'musts' because sometimes I end up more confused than before!

The guidance I was given was, that since I was replacing a boiler with a boiler, there was no issue with its position. The one thing that had to be considered was the location of the flue / outlet pipe and its proximity to the neighbour's house.

Suzkin

toffeegirl: when you mention the proximity of the FLUE pipe to the neighbouring house, please can you expand?

The neighours flue pipe is parallel to my wall, (i.e. it juts outs into their garden, but even though the air 'points' into their garden, there is an old grill with a vent in my utility room wall, which is inline with the 'air' coming out of their flue.

Hope this makes sense!

toffeegirl

I do know what you mean...... however, I don't remember the exact distances mentioned by the installers who came to do a survey / quote.

You could try https://www.planningportal.gov.uk/

Pssst

Have they attached anything else to the party wall such as kitchen cupboards,plugs,light switches or wallpaper? How do you know the wall is only one brick thick? that doesnt sound like an awful lot !

knowledgepower1

What's a party wall?

jimbo_the_jetset

Suzkin wrote: »

toffeegirl: when you mention the proximity of the FLUE pipe to the neighbouring house, please can you expand?

The neighours flue pipe is parallel to my wall, (i.e. it juts outs into their garden, but even though the air 'points' into their garden, there is an old grill with a vent in my utility room wall, which is inline with the 'air' coming out of their flue.

Hope this makes sense!

Building regs part J, page 42 for flue distances

moneysaver

I am not sure if i am 100% correct, but I heard that if the flue from their boiler is near any of your window's it is illegal on a new installation. It would mean you would get the fumes in to your house( very dangerous).


Moneysaver

naijapower

knowledgepower1 wrote: »

What's a party wall?

Answer: A wall for holding parties...lol lol

On a serious note, an internal wall that separates two houses is known as a party wall