Any help with a party wall issue?

Doozergirl

GDB2222 said:

The advice seems to divide neatly into two camps:-

A … People who have had building work done think the PW act is iniquitous.

B … Neighbours who have had this work inflicted on them think the PW Act is great. 

C... People who have had neither but have sat in the middle of both parties and wondered why on earth two surveyors are needed.  

  

The majority of people have no idea how the act works and where it is most important.  We've got people on this board who think a party wall surveyor is needed for all sorts of situations where it is not.  And not many people with experience of situations where it is *incredibly* important to the structural stability of buildings and might benefit from two sets of eyes looking the structural engineer's calculations.  

That isn't really continuing the party wall for a modest residential extension.   It's interesting that the government guidance now encourages restraint.  

GDB2222

Doozergirl said:

GDB2222 said:

The advice seems to divide neatly into two camps:-

A … People who have had building work done think the PW act is iniquitous.

B … Neighbours who have had this work inflicted on them think the PW Act is great. 

C... People who have had neither but have sat in the middle of both parties and wondered why on earth two surveyors are needed.  

  

The majority of people have no idea how the act works and where it is most important.  We've got people on this board who think a party wall surveyor is needed for all sorts of situations where it is not.  And not many people with experience of situations where it is *incredibly* important to the structural stability of buildings and might benefit from two sets of eyes looking the structural engineer's calculations.  

That isn't really continuing the party wall for a modest residential extension.   It's interesting that the government guidance now encourages restraint.  

I agree that one surveyor is absolutely fine in nearly all circumstances. That's what we had, and I have no complaints about the work he did. That was a one-floor underground plus two floors above ground extension, right up to our boundary, with the properties on a hill. 

It's very common now for the courts to insist on single joint experts in legal cases. Otherwise, the judge has to listen to two lots of expert testimony and, as a non-expert, decide which lot he prefers. 

mug2007

Martyn_H said:

One advantage of having a Party Wall Award (as they call it) is that you can limit the times when the builders are able to make a noise.

Drawing up an award for limiting builders noise is unnecessary. Don’t forget the award only covers the party wall works which is often only a tiny part of the works, e.g. 2 days of a 10 week build.  The local councils planning permission dictate the noise hours and covers the whole works including the party wall, which often means the noise hours in your party wall agreement are pointless.

Our neighbours thought the award could contain all sorts of things, noise plans, restriction over the scaffold ensuring they retained their side gate access etc…all got dismissed by the party wall surveyors.  The scaffold wasn’t part of our party wall and the noise plan would have been for one/two days work of a year long project.  

They would have got a better deal if they had been prepared to deal directly with us.

Once I’d lost a few grand down the party wall, I didn’t feel inclined to keep them posted on our project anymore, it was needle to the grindstone to get the project done.

I can understand a need for a party wall surveyor for a basement and 2 story extension on the boundary.