Damp from neighbour's house?

milliebear00001

Hi there

Slightly unusual issue with damp. I have noticed a few spots of damp high up on my stair wall - close to the ceiling and down about two feet. They look like 'spots' of wet, but obviously I can't get close to really examine.

Because they are on an internal wall (terraced house) I am assuming they are coming from my neighbour's chimney. I'm not sure what to do about this. I would assume he also has damp spots, but isn't doing anything about them. I assume I cannot do anything from my side.

Am I reasonable in asking him to tackle his chimney stack? It's def due to leaking rainwater I think, as the spots are noticably worse after rain - esp. heavy rain.

bobthedambuilder

Sounds like a problem with the chimney or flashing above the roof. Is there some kind of a cap on the chimney pot? That would be my first solution. Otherwise it may involve repointing brickwork, re-mortaring the pot, or replacing damaged flashing. You need to get someone to look on the roof.

Before you contact your neighbour, are you sure it's his chimney only? If it's a terraced house, there's the possibility it's a shared chimney. Even if you no longer use the chimney and have closed-off fireplaces, I would think the responsibility for a party wall which includes a chimney is still shared. A good indication of a shared chimney would be a chimney breast in the downstairs room in your house below where you've seen the damp.

milliebear00001

Thank for the reply.

It's definitely his chimney as all my chimney breasts are on the opposite side of the house. Unusually for a terrace, none of the houses in our row share a chimney as they all stand on the wall opposite the hallways and landings - mine are attached to my other neighbour's hallway and understair cupboard for example.

The chimneys look capped, so I expect it is a problem with the flashings or stack as you say.

bobthedambuilder

OK. It's probably time to have a friendly chat with your neighbour and ask whether he is also experiencing any dampness from the chimney; if you're on good terms with him, show him your damp spot.

If you can agree that it's related to the chimney, and it's definitely his chimney, it should be down to him to sort it.