Party wall - loft conversion

House_Hunter

Hiya all,

I live in a terrace in which one of my neighbour's has already converted their loft wth a dormer.

My other neighbour is now planning on doing the same - convert loft and put a dormer on the back.

I have a few questions and any help/advice would be MUCH appreciated!!

- Will having a dormer built either side of us in anyway stop us from doing a loft conversion/dormer in the future?

- Any pointers in things I should be specifically looking at - guessing make sure their steels don't come through into our wall, their dormer doesn't pass the boundary? Others?

- Under the party wall act, what can I realistically request?

- Is it advisable to appoint my own surveyour to check things over for me?

Many thanks!!

tomfun

If both your neighbours are having dormers fitted they will both have to have submitted planning permission.

I can`t think of any reason why a dormer either side of you would stop you having the same as well.

You can just keep an eye on what is going on next door ,but unless the builders turn up on horse back wearing large hats and smoking cigars you should be o.k

C_Mababejive

Watch out for any kind of overhang...get a copy of the plans/proposals if possible. I think dormers on terraces are extremely ugly and can reduce the value of the home and/or its neighbours. Velux conversions are better.

If theyve both got steels in,what will happen if you decide to convert?

andrew-b

It probably won't be subject to planning permission at all (assuming it's at the back of the property and doesn't raise the roofline) which means you have little say in the matter. However it will be subject to compliance with building regulations. The building control inspectors will make sure it's done right.

Just let them get on with it if you want an easy life. You don't want to get into a neighbour dispute if you can help it so don't interfere/obstruct it as i'm sure you wouldn't want the same if you do convert your own loft. So no need to worry!

Canucklehead

House_Hunter wrote: »

Hiya all,

I live in a terrace in which one of my neighbour's has already converted their loft wth a dormer.

My other neighbour is now planning on doing the same - convert loft and put a dormer on the back.

I have a few questions and any help/advice would be MUCH appreciated!!

- Will having a dormer built either side of us in anyway stop us from doing a loft conversion/dormer in the future?

- Any pointers in things I should be specifically looking at - guessing make sure their steels don't come through into our wall, their dormer doesn't pass the boundary? Others?

- Under the party wall act, what can I realistically request?

- Is it advisable to appoint my own surveyour to check things over for me?

Many thanks!!

Good morning: excellent info on all types of building works, including loft conversions, is available on the Planning Portal .

Also, try here.

HTH

Canucklehead

edgex

andrew-b wrote: »

It probably won't be subject to planning permission at all (assuming it's at the back of the property and doesn't raise the roofline) which means you have little say in the matter. However it will be subject to compliance with building regulations. The building control inspectors will make sure it's done right.

Just let them get on with it if you want an easy life. You don't want to get into a neighbour dispute if you can help it so don't interfere/obstruct it as i'm sure you wouldn't want the same if you do convert your own loft. So no need to worry!

obviously only if they know about it

Canucklehead

edgex wrote: »

obviously only if they know about it

Hi...and by the number of bodged loft conversions/extensions/renovations reported by MSErs on this forum over the last couple of years it would seem Building Control is often out of the loop.

Canucklehead

edgex

Canucklehead wrote: »

Hi...and by the number of bodged loft conversions/extensions/renovations reported by MSErs on this forum over the last couple of years it would seem Building Control is often out of the loop.

Canucklehead

yep

so a good thing for the OP to do would be to actually contact their local building control team/dept in the council & find out if they have been notified.

dander

I think a good idea would be to keep in close contact with the neighbour who is doing the work. Ask them if you can see the plans and if you have any questions start by asking them to clarify and have a nice chat about it over tea and biscuits, that way you can establish that it's just genuine concern about your property and you're not going over their heads and "reporting them to the authorities" etc and if you do have any issues they should be more inclined to work with you.

Personally, my biggest concern would be how close the dormer is coming to my roof and what guarantees I would have that my roof is still going to be safe and waterproof once the knocking through has taken place, and based on other users I've seen on here, I would watch for any removal of shared chimney stacks. That could mean that should you want to remove a chimney breast in your home at a later date, you are left with the expensive job of having to remove the entire chimney.

House_Hunter

Hi all,

Many thanks for your replies - I agree totally. Am pretty certian Building Control are aware as I managed to download the plans prior to part wall notification off the plannign website - but will ahve a chat to make sure.

In terms of them lookign ugly - couldn't disagree more; the rear profile of the roof is fairly L shaped and other dormer's on the street look really good.

I was a lit concerned about steel subject though - I know my other neighbour has inserted steels half-way through the way on their side - and the new one will also. This won't stop my ability to add steels in the future in anyway?

As the dormers are fairly "full-width" does anyone have any experience of how the roof/boundaries would work if we added a dormer as well? Would we connect to both neighbours to make 1 long seemless line? Or would you have small mini-gaps in between?

Many thanks again all!

andrew-b

Indeed edgex your totally correct that if they have concerns they should contact building control and check notification is made... thanks for pointing out (must have been sleepy when i posted):).