Roofing help

Bergaspeed

Hi

I am looking for some advice. On friday our next door neighbour came to us saying she had a damp problem on her upstairs and downstairs walls which are flush with our chimney breast, she seemed to thing that water was coming through the chimney and onto her walls.
My husband told her we would get someone out to have a look at our roof (which is leaking, but nowhere near her house).
Today her son in law came round to say that he has had a look on the roof and the flashing on our roof is not flashing but only pointing which does seem slightly cracked and asked me when we are getting someone out to look at it. (he also described to mould as looking like a tea stain) There is no flashing round her side of the chimney and her roof , she states is the original one.
We have no money at all to pay for repairs at the moment. We have lived in the house for 3 years and have looked at our survey which states that the roof is sound.
My question is, if water is leaking on her side and not ours who is responsible for sorting it?

ormus

assuming the chimney is shared one?
and the leak is only on her side, then its her problem.

totalsolutions

Since when does shared equal one?

olias

Can you not check inside where the chimney breast passes through your loft. If there is water coming in via the flashing/pointing around the chimney, then I would have thought that was where it would be obvious.

Olias

ormus

totalsolutions wrote: »

Since when does shared equal one?

since a chimney stack is commonly shared, but the property line is down the middle.

Bergaspeed

ormus wrote: »

assuming the chimney is shared one?
and the leak is only on her side, then its her problem.

The chimney is not a shared one. but I will look in the loft for any sign of a leak.

Bergaspeed

Ok I have checked in the loft and there is no sign at all of any water getting in so now what?

new_home_owner_3

I recently moved house and we have two chimneys, we knew before there was a problem with the flashing which was bought up on the survey, anyway i had a friend who is a roofer look at it and he said the damp had probably came from that there wan no cowell on the chimneys and water would travel down the chimney, he then explained to me that if people do not have their fires on this can cause damp as the rain will travel down the chimney brest and not evaporate if the fire is not used.

This is the case at my house and he looked around at other houses in the area and he said to me that most of the houses without cowels would have damp,if they dont use the fire regulary to dry the chimney out, our house had sat empty for over 12 months.

west_ham_till_i_die

When you say her roof is the original one does that mean that your roof is newish ?

Bergaspeed

Our roof is a lot newer than hers (we estimate it to be about 12 years old)!! our houses are nearly 150 years old and she has lived there over 40 years and has never had the roof done - it was her words that it was the original roof.

west_ham_till_i_die

Bergaspeed wrote: »

Our roof is a lot newer than hers (we estimate it to be about 12 years old)!! our houses are nearly 150 years old and she has lived there over 40 years and has never had the roof done - it was her words that it was the original roof.

And I right in saying the chimney is total on your side and her roof buts up to it if so I can't understand why there is no lead flashing on her side unless there was a sand and cement upstand which has fallen away if this is the case then it is down to her to get sorted.