Neighbour has knocked down chimney breast

George_Clinton

Hi all, just after some advice please.

I live in a semi-detached property and the neighbour that the house is joined with has knocked down their chimney breast in their main bedroom which is the other side of my main bedroom. No notice was given, it has been done 'DIY' and when I knocked on their door to ask what was going on – the noise and vibrations have been something else – they said they were knocking down a wall. I mentioned it sounded like a chimney breast being removed and there was just silence in return. I am 100% sure it is the chimney breast that has been taken down.

I thought with this sort of work one needs to inform their neighbour and have the local council's building regs approve the works, but as it stands I have no assurance this has been done to the correct standards/procedure.

At the risk of falling out with the neighbour in question, I now have concerns about the structural integrity of the shared chimney stack: could it fall down? Will it eventually lean and years down the line need remedial work?

I didn't get much joy or a friendly welcome when I knocked on the door on Saturday, so wonder what steps should I be taking to ensure safety and no future problems?

Thanks in advance everyone.

Doozergirl

You can call the building control department at your local authority to check if an application has been made. If it hasn't, you can ask them to pop round but they may not - we alerted our local BC to similar and they just said they can't go unless invited?!

If it is the removal of a chimney breast, then the party wall act would apply really, but agreements should be put in place before the work takes place. It can't be done retrospectively. If they caused damage to your house now, it would be a court matter.

It's building control that matters though. It shows that the work has been carried out appropriately.

Davesnave

Look on the bright side; if your chimney bresat is adequately supported, any movement is only likely to go one way!

George_Clinton

Davesnave wrote: »

Look on the bright side; if your chimney bresat is adequately supported, any movement is only likely to go one way!

:rotfl::rotfl:

That's what I was thinking too!

Ruski

Check the bricks they are skipping (presumably) - if they have a black face on one side then you can safely assume they are from the stack/breast.

And then inform building control

HTH

Russ

George_Clinton

Ruski wrote: »

Check the bricks they are skipping (presumably) - if they have a black face on one side then you can safely assume they are from the stack/breast.

And then inform building control

HTH

Russ

Genius. I like that.;)

Fat_Walt

I hope for their sake they've removed it from the loft too and not just the bedroom.

DaftyDuck

Oh, and take lots and lots of photos of your side - before it collapses.

Just to help with the [STRIKE]Coroner's report[/STRIKE] insurance claim....

moneyistooshorttomention

You've had some good practical advice there.

I think you've got good reason to be suspicious the neighbour has done something "they didn't oughter" - as they didn't invite you in to have a look for yourself.

Back when I had a terrace house and the next door neighbour rang at the door saying words to effect of "It's your fault such and such has happened in my house" - I promptly invited them in to take a good look at the relevant bit of my house for themselves and said that I would be the first to want to know if my house had a problem I wasn't aware of. They had a darn good poke-around - and then had to eat their words - as we could both see it was nothing to do with me.

So - the fact they've not invited you in to see for yourself is suspicious imo.

lstar337

Get proof you went to building control. That way if they decide not to do anything you'll have proof that you highlighted it as in issue if/when you have to go to court for it.

May be worth mentioning to your home insurance provider, they may want to investigate or at the least make a note of it.

George_Clinton

Ruski wrote: »

Check the bricks they are skipping (presumably) - if they have a black face on one side then you can safely assume they are from the stack/breast.

And then inform building control

HTH

Russ

Blackened bricks have been spotted...