Work on our side path and possible damage to next door's property

rj1000

Hi all,

Would appreciate some advice on this as i'm not sure what to do.

We're planning to lower the drive at the front of a house we've just bought and also lower the pathway at the side of our house. The wall of our neighbour's house is right next to our side path.

At the bottom of the neighbour's wall they have (what looks like cement) rendering about a foot high and this extends to about halfway down the length of the house. It looks in very poor condition and a lot of it is flaking away.

The builder who is lowering our path (about 6-9 inches) has said that this render will most likely come away when they excavate, and also from the whacker-plate vibrations when they lay the sub-base.

We were planning to just take photos of the state of their render and then if they say we should replace it we would just show them the photos and say that it was falling apart anyway. After another chat to the builder I have decided to speak to the neighbour first and tell them exactly what we are planning and see what their reaction is to their render coming away when we do the side path.

I can see that we are going to be causing 'damage' to their property by doing the work but it seems unfair to me for us to pay to replace all the render when it was in such poor condition anyway. Can anyone please give me some advice on this or the best way to take it forward.

Also, there is a vertical crack about halfway up their wall, and it looks to me like this is where their extension is coming away from the house. I'm worried that vibrations from our works will worsen the crack and i'm worried about raising the possibility of this with the neighbours as they may use this against me if the worst happens!

I'd be grateful for any advice on this. I appreciate that I will probably need to be as open and honest with the neighbour about the planned works and the possible effect to their property but I think I should also make it clear to them that their wall is already damaged. I also plan to take loads of photos and a video of the wall before the works start and hope that this covers me if it all gets messy.

Thanks

a_j_mair

first thing is first and speak to the neighbour

there is no point of if's but's and maybe's

as for their extension coming away from the wall. if you are no where near it i wouldnt worry

but speak to your neighbour about your plans

tanith

I agree with the point about speaking to your neighbour first, but I also think that if the work you are doing causes the render on your neighbours wall to come off then really you are making worse the already flaky render so I wouldn't blame your neighbour if they expected it to be repaired by you.. hopefully your neighbour may see this as an opportunity to repair the render and share the cost with you or if you are really lucky pay for it all..

swagman

Yes, establish good relations about the whole project first and discuss the possible implications re their property. Be open about your fears regarding the effect on the rendering.

Otherwise any deterioration which you cause to their property could become a source of dispute, land you with neighbours you wish you did not have, and with the possibility that they would win a small claims court action for costs they may incur.

lagi

For the small amount of render, i would tell your neighbour your plans and suggest that you make good at the end. Just because their render is in a bad state they shouldn't be expected to pay. The cost will be negilible to you as you have builders on site.
Also if it is tidy it will look better by the side of your house. I would point out the crack on their wall to them beforehand and take some pictures.

mikey72

If you knock their render off you should replace it.
As to the crack, if their house may have moved in the past but is stable now, if you cause further damage to it by excavation and if your builder thinks the whacker plate may open the crack up as well, I'd be expecting a heavy claim to be honest. No matter what they say now, if it gets worse their insurance company will pursue you as they ultimately will be handling it for them if they put in a claim.

Oh quick edit, do you really want your neighbours to re-render and paint right above your brand new path, particuarly if you have just upset them by knocking it off in the first place?