Neighbours' Extension Might Block Vents

calopez1

Thanks all for your replies, even if they're not good news as far as we're concerned! With hindsight, I would have done things differently fifteen years ago but, to be honest, it never occurred to me at the time that it was wrong or that it would cause any problems in the future.

Aylesbury_Duck

It may not be too difficult to reroute your kitchen extraction if the kitchen is on the back of your extension. It could come out of the back wall? I assume the shower room is in the middle of the extension with only the party wall to the outside? That will prove tricky unless you can come out through the ceiling and loft to the soffits at the front or rear and that would require a powerful fan to propel the air a longer distance. The trickiest one will be the boiler which presumably will have to be relocated.

calopez1

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

It may not be too difficult to reroute your kitchen extraction if the kitchen is on the back of your extension. It could come out of the back wall? I assume the shower room is in the middle of the extension with only the party wall to the outside? That will prove tricky unless you can come out through the ceiling and loft to the soffits at the front or rear and that would require a powerful fan to propel the air a longer distance. The trickiest one will be the boiler which presumably will have to be relocated.

Our extension is single-storey with a flat roof. I'm hoping it will be possible to take the boiler flue vertically through it - there certainly appears to be provision for a top flue in the boiler casing. The boiler is the one I'm most worried about.

Davesnave

calopez1 wrote: »

Our extension is single-storey with a flat roof. I'm hoping it will be possible to take the boiler flue vertically through it -.

Unlikely to be a problem, though if it's 15 years old, there might be a case for renewal anyway.

We had a case last year where someone acquired a prescriptive right to a flue outlet over a neighbouring property, but to do that, 20 years of unopposed use is needed.

In your case, the neighbour gave permission, so I don't think prescriptive rights would apply, as they operate like adverse possession.

calopez1

Davesnave wrote: »

Unlikely to be a problem, though if it's 15 years old, there might be a case for renewal anyway.

Thanks, that's quite reassuring. The boiler may be old, but it continues (touch wood!) to give excellent service, with only one minor problem in all that time.

Doozergirl

I’d have a little think about how you’d feel if the shoe was on the other foot

Could these things not just be vented up instead of out?

lwhiteman88

calopez1 wrote: »

Our extension is single-storey with a flat roof. I'm hoping it will be possible to take the boiler flue vertically through it - there certainly appears to be provision for a top flue in the boiler casing. The boiler is the one I'm most worried about.

This should be fine. There are plenty of proprietary products out there for this. I would just ensure you speak to a roofer as well as a gas engineer. Penetrating through the roof will require some making good of the roof membrane. Traditionally the boiler flue would be installed first with the membrane then being lapped over and up the flue flashing.

Here is one I found with a quick search:
https://www.screwfix.com/p/worcester-bosch-vertical-flue-kit-60-100mm/73895?tc=LT2&ds_rl=1249799&ds_rl=1245250&ds_rl=1249481&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsJzj_YvN2AIVq7_tCh02bwarEAQYASABEgK-4_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CICj7YCMzdgCFcES0wodLPcNAQ

With the kitchen extract you could always get a recirculating hood to avoid extracting to the outside. You can't get these for bathrooms however.

calopez1

Doozergirl wrote: »

I’d have a little think about how you’d feel if the shoe was on the other foot

Could these things not just be vented up instead of out?

Had the shoe been on the other foot fifteen years ago, I wouldn't have had a problem with the vents, as indeed my neighbour at the time didn't, given their positioning.

And had the shoe been on the other foot fifteen years later, I would have been inclined to have had an informal chat with my neighbour when I was thinking about an extension, just to see what issues might potentially arise.

Upwards venting is likely to be the solution. Had I known then what I know now, that's what I would have gone for with the boiler flue. But it's easy to be wise after the event.

Doozergirl

calopez1 wrote: »

Had the shoe been on the other foot fifteen years ago, I wouldn't have had a problem with the vents, as indeed my neighbour at the time didn't, given their positioning.

And had the shoe been on the other foot fifteen years later, I would have been inclined to have had an informal chat with my neighbour when I was thinking about an extension, just to see what issues might potentially arise.

Upwards venting is likely to be the solution. Had I known then what I know now, that's what I would have gone for with the boiler flue. But it's easy to be wise after the event.

Well, the point at which they spoke to you doesn’t actually change the issue in hand and you didn’t exactly do the right thing 15 years ago either, so I am sure you can forgive them.

Nigel_Stutt

Info on party wall disputes copied below , if I was you I would ask the next door neighbour to relocate his extension as you can make things very difficult for him by appealing to the county court etc if he disregards your right to access etc he really should have taken this into consideration during the design of his extension.

What is a party wall dispute?

A party wall dispute occurs when a Building Owner serves a notice that they intend to undertake building works under the Act, but the Adjoining Owner objects to the work or fails to respond to the notice.
In this situation, the neighbours may each appoint a surveyor or jointly appoint a single surveyor to act for both. The role of the appointed surveyor (s) is to act impartially in the implementation of the Party Wall Act and to draw up a document that settles the dispute between the two owners in much the same way as a judge would in court. This legally binding document is referred to as an Award.
The Award may relate to the works themselves, such as the extent of the works, restrictions on timing of the works, and any additional works that might be required. With cases that result in loss or damage suffered by the adjoining owner, the Award will also include the level of compensation payable.
If either Owner disagrees with the surveyor’s Award then they may appeal this to the county court. Owners have 14 days to do this and the Award will only be overturned if the court feels that the surveyors have not abided by the dispute resolution procedure, set out in the Act.