knocking down garage advice

honey06

hi,

we are considering purchasing a 3 bed semi which needs modernising.
it has lots of potential but the garden isn't particularly large, and a lot of this is taken up with a garage which also isnt in a good state.

We would like to get rid of it to make the most of the space in the garden, but need advice as it is a double garage with an apex roof (almost like a semi! ) with the other half belonging to the neighbours. Their side is in good condition, and when we viewed the property the neighbour has already said we cant knock it down as its designed and built as a single structure.

any advice as to how we could demolish our side and make it secure/safe???
will it be a difficult job? are there any legal implications we should consider?

TIA

Charliezoo

Asbestos can be a big problem with garages so make sure this is checked out.

Bananamana

Probably the best advice is to speak to the neighbours - if you're paying for it and you show them the plans in advance they may not mind. They may even wish to contribute.

ab7167

It depends how the roof is constructed. There are some configurations of roof where it will be impossible to demolish only half a building eg trusses spanning across to party wall. In terms of legal aspects, I would start by investigating the party wall act. Note that you will have to appoint a surveyor to protect your interests, your neighbour will need an independent surveyor of their own - but you will have to pay for their surveyor. It sounds like a complete nightmare to be honest, and will annoy your neighbours before you've been there 10 minutes. Just a few points to consider...

honey06

hi Bananamana,

as i said, we had a conversation with the neighbour when viewing. He began by saying that he fell out with the previous owner of the house for sale as he advised her planting ivy against the garage would damage the roof....
we said we wanted to knock our side down and he said we couldnt, it was a single structure.

thanks Charlie, we know about asbestos issues, that isnt the concern with this one, it's the fact that it has an apex roof and how to demolish one side whilst ensuring the neighbours remains intact etc

honey06

hi ab1767,

thanks for the info
my partner says the trusses do span both sides :doh:

ab7167

So one end of the trusses is supported by your wall and one end is supported by your neighbours wall? Or do the trusses span from front to back? Trusses cannot sensibly be modified, so you can't cut them in half to take away half the building - you would have to take the whole roof off, demolish your half and then put a new roof back on. I can't see your neighbours agreeing to that... If they go front to back it may be more feasible.

honey06

sorry, just realised i didnt say in the original post, the garage is a free standing building, separate to the house.
one half is in their garden, one half in the property for sale.

there is an internal wall between the two halves, and the trusses run across (it is an a frame roof)


the condition of the garage on 'our' side is becoming dangerous because of its poor condition, and as i said we dont want to spend money renovating it, we dont want it there at all...

ab7167

OK, I had assumed free standing. Basically, based on what you have written above, demolishing half the building without taking the roof off completely is probably not possible. Therefore, whatever you do is going to rely heavily on your neighbours cooperation. Do you really, really want this house? If so, I would get a real life structural engineer (as opposed to one who is guessing based on limited information :-)) to go and look at it and give you some proper options. One of which may be that your half is unrepairable and therefore the whole lot will have to come down. I have no idea what legal can of worms that would open - and would, of course, be the opinion of your engineer. Your neighbours may be able to find an engineer who says it is repairable. I have no legal experience, but the whole thing sounds a bit traumatic to me...

tyllwyd

It does sound as if you'd have to take the roof off, lay a foundation for the middle wall and rebuild it, put on a new roof, and probably relay the floor of the remaining garage because it would have been damaged in the meantime. So you have the cost of demolishing and removing your half, and the majority of the cost of building a new single garage. And your neighbours would have to agree to the inconvenience. If you would absolutely have to remove the garage if you bought the house, I'd be inclined to walk away.