Leak in shared entry causing damp

Enigma80

Hi all,

I live in a mid-terrace house with a shared entry between the houses for access to gardens (mine and next door neighbour). Myr neighbour has a condensation pipe coming from his boiler into the share entry and just drips down onto the path in the shared entry.

Over the past year or so I have been asking the landlord for next door (we own our house) to sort out his boiler as I've been worried about damp coming into our wall. With the gradient/level of the (slabbed) path, the majority of the water runs across the path and onto our wall.

Only about a month or so ago after having a clearout of the lada/understairs storage which is what's on the other side of that outside wall, I've noticed damp and some mould on of the cardboard boxes we had there.

I've cleaned it up and still noticed that it just isn't drying properly, it still feels damp. There are no water pipes/plumbing going though the lada just our gas and electric metre. So the damp must be from my neighbours leak.

I heard that the condensation pipe should be plumbed into a drain and not left dripping openly.

I've spoken to my neighbour time and time again, exchanged emails and txt's too, even sent him photo and video footage of the leak, but he doesn't seem to be bothered. He mentioned in his last email that he would get this fixed but hasn't.

I am now worried about the damp in our wall and how much it will cost to get fixed and wanted to know where I stand in terms of getting him to pay for damage and repairs as well as getting him to sort his boiler out as it'll keep leaking and cause the problem again if he doesn't get it sorted.

Can I simply send him a bill? Can a simple builder come and check for damp damage or would i need to get a proper surveyor out? Also how do I get him to fix his boiler so it doesn't happen again? Or is it a simple case of going through my insurance?

I'm really concerned about eventual subsidence which this may cause.

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks

Nas

anotherbaldrick

Is this entry passage a covered one ? ie; one where the building above oversails the passage ? Is there a drain gully anywhere in passage ?

Enigma80

Hi, it's covered, so the shared entry is on ground-floor only and our houses share the space above it 50-50 (we have a small storage space above it nd then our loft space obviously above that).

We both have drains at the end of the gully into which we have some pipes from down from the first floor (upstairs bathrooms). These are sealed/covered by cement, so the pipes actually go into the ground so there's no open drain like the ones that our gutters drain into.

I've just gotten of the phone to CAB who've suggested writing to him again and giving him a suitable period of time to respond to me, after which I should tell him I will be taking further action.

They suggested that if he doesn't comply to get in touch with the 'Civil Mediation Council'.

Enigma80

If I email him, do I still need to give him 14 days notice? Surely it's too long? I would've thought 7 days at most, at least if even to let me know what he's going to do about it and to arrange a suitable time for him to get the issue fixed considering it's been going on for a year or so.

warmhands.coldheart

Enigma80 wrote: »

Hi, it's covered, so the shared entry is on ground-floor only and our houses share the space above it 50-50 ....

But is it "open" at each end ie. just a gate or the likes?

I can't imagine a condensate pipe dripping into an open alleyway causing damp through an external wall...

warmhands.coldheart

Enigma80 wrote: »

........ With the gradient/level of the (slabbed) path, the majority of the water runs across the path and onto our wall.

Only about a month or so ago after having a clearout of the lada/understairs storage which is what's on the other side of that outside wall, I've noticed damp and some mould on of the cardboard boxes we had there.

I've cleaned it up and still noticed that it just isn't drying properly, it still feels damp. There are no water pipes/plumbing going though the lada just our gas and electric metre. So the damp must be from my neighbours leak.

I heard that the condensation pipe should be plumbed into a drain and not left dripping openly....

On Reading this, in theory (correct me someone if I'm wrong) the concrete on the outside alleyway should be below the level of the damp proof course of the house so in theory this should not be a "cause" of the damp.... it however could be a contributing factor if .....

• Your damp proof course is non existent or knackered.

or

• the concrete path in the alleyway is too high and is therefore above the damp proof course

So in theory it could be that it's a contributing factor but there could be other issues too...

Also if the understairs storage area is crammed full and there is no air flow through it, this can't help the matter either..

Just my thoughts

Enigma80

A solid wood door on the front, and full height gates which lead in our our gardens.

The path is below the damp-proof, but our lada inside the house is level with it. So basically to access our lada from the living room you have to open a door and step down into it, just one step. Which from speaking to a couple of other neighbours is the same in their homes as well, it's a 1930's build if that explains/makes a difference to anyone?

I've attached a photo and the white pipe is on neighbours wall. As you can see from the photo the water is flowing onto our side of the alley/path.

warmhands.coldheart

That's a serious amount of water to be coming out of a boiler condensate pipe if have thought! You sure that's what it is? Flaming Nora!!!

warmhands.coldheart

Why not just get a bit of 35mm plastic waste pipe and a 90 bend and make up a little "extension" waste pipe to the white pipe yourself as a bit of a quick fix. Should only cost a few quid. At least then with the water away you can see if it sorts out the damp issue. If it does at least then you know that's the problem so you can then push the landlord of the other house for a more permanent solution.