Next door have taken out fireplace to install a woodburner

GDB2222

Doozergirl said:

GDB2222 said:

I would talk to a solicitor, immediately! If there's ongoing work, you can get an injunction to have all work stopped.

You're not serious?  This isn't what the Act is meant for, not in letter or spirit.  

The builder has actually breached the party wall, through utter incompetence. They should have known how thick the wall was before making serious holes in it. I'd want an independent surveyor to view the work and supervise the remediation. So, unless the neighbour agrees to an immediate cessation of all work, I'd seek an emergency injunction.

It simply is not just "one of those things" that competent builders do. 

Doozergirl

GDB2222 said:

Doozergirl said:

GDB2222 said:

I would talk to a solicitor, immediately! If there's ongoing work, you can get an injunction to have all work stopped.

You're not serious?  This isn't what the Act is meant for, not in letter or spirit.  

The builder has actually breached the party wall, through utter incompetence. They should have known how thick the wall was before making serious holes in it. I'd want an independent surveyor to view the work and supervise the remediation. So, unless the neighbour agrees to an immediate cessation of all work, I'd seek an emergency injunction.

It simply is not just "one of those things" that competent builders do. 

Are we reading the same post?  They drilled a hole/s in the wall and you'd want a surveyor?  At no point did the OP say 'serious' holes.  There's no reason for drill holes to affect the structural integrity of an entire wall.  All sorts of heavy things get drilled into and attached party walls - often several kitchen units, for example.   The act does not apply.  

A competent anybody makes occasional mistakes.  It's called being human.

An emergency injunction for a minor something that has already happened is definitely not going to happen.   It's like using a cannon ball to kill a fly.  

Tea and cake and reasonable adult behaviour should be happening.   

GDB2222

Maybe I misunderstood, but I think the OP said that the neighbours are installing a new lintel over the fireplace? I thought that would involve extensive work to the party wall.

So, yes, perhaps we read the OP differently, or I overestimated the work being done.

Sandtree

Pennyhafod said:

Do I have to let them or do I have the right to do the repairs myself and ask for compensation

You have the right to do it yourself and claim back the cost of doing so... £3.50 for a tube of polyfiller and a sample pot of paint

FaceHead

GDB2222 said:

I would talk to a solicitor, immediately! If there's ongoing work, you can get an injunction to have all work stopped.

Then you'd have an injunction, no relationship with your neighbour and a £5k solicitors bill which you can't recover. Would have been cheaper to get get your own decorators in and have the whole hall re done. 

OP - what have they fitted on the fireplace? A decorative e.g. timber beam attached to the wall above it, or have they changed the structural lintel, which allows them change the size and shape of the fireplace opening? Depending on the work, it affects whether it's PWA applicable, and therefore whether the builder who insists it's not PWA applicable might have made an honest mistake vs. being dishonest/incompetent. 

Rosa_Damascena

Doozergirl said:

GDB2222 said:

I would talk to a solicitor, immediately! If there's ongoing work, you can get an injunction to have all work stopped.

You're not serious?  This isn't what the Act is meant for, not in letter or spirit.  

What is the purpose of a toothless act that gives responsible homeowners a headache and hefty bill?

GDB2222

Rosa_Damascena said:

Doozergirl said:

GDB2222 said:

I would talk to a solicitor, immediately! If there's ongoing work, you can get an injunction to have all work stopped.

You're not serious?  This isn't what the Act is meant for, not in letter or spirit.  

What is the purpose of a toothless act that gives responsible homeowners a headache and hefty bill?

The PWA is far from toothless. The question is what is actually going on with the party wall?

 If the neighbours were putting up a new mantle piece over the fireplace, without making structural alterations, that’s not covered, and doesn’t need covering, even though they inadvertently drilled a couple of small holes through the wall.

 If they were removing part of the party wall, to insert  a new lintel, as the OP apparently reported, that ought to be supervised by an independent surveyor.  I assumed that the wall had been significantly damaged  as otherwise there didn’t seem too much point in posting here.

FreeBear

Struggling to see how/why holes would have been drilled through a party wall for a lintel - There would be a chimney breast some 400-500mm deep in the way. and one would normally use this to support either end of the lintel.

The only scenario that takes sense is if the chimney breast has been removed and a gallows bracket installed to support the (considerable) weight of bricks above.However, most (all ?) building control departments no longer accept gallows brackets as good practice - They cause way too many problems if the wall is not thick enough or built using a soft lime mortar.

Might be worth giving the local BC a call and see what they have to say...

Doozergirl

Rosa_Damascena said:

Doozergirl said:

GDB2222 said:

I would talk to a solicitor, immediately! If there's ongoing work, you can get an injunction to have all work stopped.

You're not serious?  This isn't what the Act is meant for, not in letter or spirit.  

What is the purpose of a toothless act that gives responsible homeowners a headache and hefty bill?

The next door neighbour is always responsible for any damage, PWA or not.  

It's not toothless, but it's not for trivialities.   When we built a four storey extension and created a new party wall next to a neighbour's roof terrace, the Party Wall Act and agreement was pretty important.  Ditto if we were building near to it, or even if someone was building a single story extension with a new party wall, or for removing part of it or adding to it.  It's for major work that could potentially undermine a structure.  

Drilling a hole in a wall is something that should be able to be dealt with simply, without surveyors that cost much more per hour than any potential superficial damage.  

greyteam1959

FreeBear said:

Struggling to see how/why holes would have been drilled through a party wall for a lintel - There would be a chimney breast some 400-500mm deep in the way. and one would normally use this to support either end of the lintel.

The only scenario that takes sense is if the chimney breast has been removed and a gallows bracket installed to support the (considerable) weight of bricks above.However, most (all ?) building control departments no longer accept gallows brackets as good practice - They cause way too many problems if the wall is not thick enough or built using a soft lime mortar.

Might be worth giving the local BC a call and see what they have to say...

Agree get Building Control in to see exactly what is going on.