Shed too close to wall? 11 December 2013 at 2:01PM in In my home (includes DIY) MoneySaving 24 replies 19.1K views

mightywhites29111971

Annie123 when I went to the neighbours property to advise them of the situation we discovered that the property is rented by the owner, which is why we have only been contacting her by phone and email. I asked if we could look at the back of the shed as we cannot see clearly from where we live. When I looked at the back I saw foliage growing up the wall and on the floor there are a lot of wooden blocks which you would think will be for an open fireplace. They are uncovered so open to the elements , and they go all away along the perimeter of the shed and up the wall by approx 1ft. There look to a around 100+ of these. Will this be a problem? She said she will move them but hasn't done so.
We are contacting the previous owner as they stated they had a DPT done and had the brickwork repointed. They have already advised us the shed was not there when this work was done. We are trying the details of who did this work and when. Do you think we should be chasing up the people we employed to do it as well?

annie123

Without a photo it's difficult to get everything in place, but if you're saying that the bricks are piled up against your wall, then they will be blocking your air vents, and holding moisture in against your wall.
So I'd email her and tell her and tell her you're moving the bricks at the weekend or whenever is good for you and the vegetation against your wall. Ask her where she wants them or tell her you'll put them at the side of the shed etc.
Whilst there check the condition of your air vents and make sure that the ground is below your DPC. If it's not then dig away enough soil to make sure it is.
You may need to go back in the summer with weed killer depending on what the greenery is.

Yes I know it's someone else problem really but it's affecting you more and there are times when the best course of action to remain sane and get it done quickly is to deal with it yourself.

mightywhites29111971

Thanks Annie. I will get onto it.

mightywhites29111971

annie123 wrote: »

Without a photo it's difficult to get everything in place, but if you're saying that the bricks are piled up against your wall, then they will be blocking your air vents, and holding moisture in against your wall.
So I'd email her and tell her and tell her you're moving the bricks at the weekend or whenever is good for you and the vegetation against your wall. Ask her where she wants them or tell her you'll put them at the side of the shed etc.
Whilst there check the condition of your air vents and make sure that the ground is below your DPC. If it's not then dig away enough soil to make sure it is.
You may need to go back in the summer with weed killer depending on what the greenery is.

Yes I know it's someone else problem really but it's affecting you more and there are times when the best course of action to remain sane and get it done quickly is to deal with it yourself.

Annie, with Christmas and work issues as well as trying to sort out Japanese knotweed in the garden I have only now just managed to get around to dealing with this. I am going round to the neighbours on Saturday to see if they have moved the wooden blocks. With the deluge of rain we have had in the last month the walls are not looking as bad as I thought they would, but the chimney breast is looking worse than I thought.
When the DPT chap came over to assess after the problems we have I remember him sounding surprised when I told him it was an external wall. Is DPT different for internal and external walls? When I say it is not too bad, the walls are still worse than what they were before the new treatment, but I am taking the rain into the equation for this.
Thanks for your help or if anyone can help in advance

Chris