Semi House Party Wall

ricky101

Hi,

My neighbour has said that they intend to install some steels into the gable end across to our party wall as the basis for a loft conversion.

We get the impression this is a diy job and that the plans have not been approved and building regs site inspections etc will not be made.

Find this surprising as it would clearly create problems for them when trying to sell their house.

However my concern is how it may affect our property / relationship with them.

Any suggestions on the best way to deal with this situation and to protect our house against any physical problems.
Do not think they will like the idea and obvious cost of doing it the proper way will full approvals.

Annie1960

The regulations are there to protect properties for generations to come, and whether or not the neighbours like the idea should not be relevant.

If your priority is to protect your own property, then I suspect you will need to get your neighbours to pay for a party wall agreement, going through proper channels.

It is a positive sign that the neighbour has spoken to you in advance about this - it would be much worse if you just found out about it afterwards, so perhaps the neighbour just doesn't understand the party wall system?

ricky101

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

Know they will be well aware of the rules as they have other family members with the relevant knowledge.

Probably they do not want a BI round to check on the way they want to it, rather than what regulations say it must be.

With or without a party wall agreement, is there anything we should be doing to protect ourselves should the worse happen ?
eg advise the house insurers, get a surveyor to check our side of the house ?

Afraid we are getting too old for this kind of thing - its a worry.

Annie1960

You could talk to a surveyor who specialises in party walls - not all do. They can advise you on options. It may well be that the proposed work is minor and they can put your mind to rest on this.

Alternatively, if the work is major and could have an adverse impact on your property, at least you will know and can make a decision about how to proceed armed with better knowledge.

Good luck.

ricky101

Thanks, we appreciate your helpful comments.

MisterP123

Out of curiosity, how old are the houses? Do you know what roof structures they have?

If it's a modern style truss roof then the steels are a lot more critical than other roofs as they need to support the floor and the roof (which practically needs new structure building in the roof space.)

Basically, not something particularly DIYable, certainly not something you'd carry out without structural engineers drawings and calcs.

ricky101

Hi,

Yes they are trusses with W shaped supports , if you know what I mean, with a tiled finish, 1980s design.
All internal walls are stud partitions.

Think the one saving grace is that the houses are split level by about 2ft so each has their own roof.