Neighbours guttering

charleneann09

IAMIAM said:

If you have just moved in and they might have asked the previous owners if they could do it. Why don't you just get civil and knock on and ask them what it is and why. Like normal neighbours. What is wrong with people. 

Noone lives there. Someone bought the house a month before I bought mine they flipped it and are now selling it. All I ever saw was workmen

charleneann09

Bendy_House said:

TheGardener said:

Looks like the neighbour's central heating boiler condensate pipe to me - not a drain as such. 
There is no obscured glass upstairs so I'm guessing the bathroom is actually the one with obscured glass on the ground floor to the left of the photo - that would be the usual place for a bathroom in a terraced house like that. 

Good call - that's what it looks like.

And fitted by Mickey Mouse.

They were looking for a plastic drain, I guess, rather than send it down their tiled extension. But that layout is bizarre, and I personally would be expecting them to remove it.

How to oblige them to, tho', I don't know.

Who 'owns' that alleyway, OP? Is your part possibly a flying freehold? Does this neigh possibly believe they have a 'right' over it?

I can see no valid reason why that pipe isn't being fed into what looks like a soil vent pipe close by. Is access difficult due to these extensions?

But, man, that's an oddball route.

OP, do you have LegProt on your new house insurance? They can provide advice and guidance should it be needed. 

It's not a flying freehold that came up in the purchase. Neighbours own the front part I own the back part the window it goes underneath is owned by me

charleneann09

TheGardener said:

Brie said:

TheGardener said:

Looks like the neighbour's central heating boiler condensate pipe to me - not a drain as such. 
There is no obscured glass upstairs so I'm guessing the bathroom is actually the one with obscured glass on the ground floor to the left of the photo - that would be the usual place for a bathroom in a terraced house like that. 

So why would someone arrange for that to drain into the neighbours gutter?  Surely they have their own drain that could be used.

I haven't a clue. The OP would need to ask. I'm guessing it was the easiest way  - the pipe could run down the neighbour's extension roof but would be less likely to freeze up in cold weather (a common fault in combi-boilers) if it hugs the building.  

I don't know if the OP owns or rents the house but it's not uncommon round here for landlords to own several houses on a street - maybe someone owns both houses? 

I own my house no idea who owns next door I've never seen them they just bought it to flip and sell 

Bendy_House

Brie said:

Bendy_House said:

How to oblige them to, tho', I don't know.

No one lives there.  Ladder over fence, rearrange pipe to drain onto their roof?  Deny all knowledge if asked.

Condensate would likely damage the tiles, and the OP would be liable.

Bendy_House

Section62 said:

Bendy_House said:

But, man, that's an oddball route.

 

Not really.

The ideal may have been taking it in the opposite direction, but perhaps that downpipe belongs to the other neighbour and they refused permission to connect to it, or maybe access is too difficult.

Discharging the condensate onto the roof would be a bodge, and make a mess of the tiles/slates.  It also isn't clear what is going on with that parapet wall/gutter - and what condition the lead is in.  I wouldn't choose to discharge condensate onto a roof with that arrangement if there was another option.

The condensate drain could be piped down the roof, but that leaves a not particularly well supported 40mm pipe which could get damaged or knocked.  And there's still the issue of the parapet wall to contend with.

Running the drain along the house wall as it is means it can be securely fixed at an appropriate rate of fall, and will benefit from some degree of warmth/shelter from the house.  The chosen alignment is relatively neat and unobtrusive.

The only issue is whether the owner got permission to discharge into the gutter.  Which is an unknown at the moment.  And that does assume permission was needed.

Zooming in, the vent pipe and waste pipe to its left, do seem to belong to the neighb to the left, right enough, so permission would also be needed that way.

It still leaves what is surely a very obvious route down that sloping roof, just beyond that parapet, and into their own gawdamned gutter.

It's either a large enough diameter pipe, or it has been well lagged; it's very unlikely to suffer from flying down that slope.

Bendy_House

charleneann09 said:

Bendy_House said:

TheGardener said:

Looks like the neighbour's central heating boiler condensate pipe to me - not a drain as such. 
There is no obscured glass upstairs so I'm guessing the bathroom is actually the one with obscured glass on the ground floor to the left of the photo - that would be the usual place for a bathroom in a terraced house like that. 

Good call - that's what it looks like.

And fitted by Mickey Mouse.

They were looking for a plastic drain, I guess, rather than send it down their tiled extension. But that layout is bizarre, and I personally would be expecting them to remove it.

How to oblige them to, tho', I don't know.

Who 'owns' that alleyway, OP? Is your part possibly a flying freehold? Does this neigh possibly believe they have a 'right' over it?

I can see no valid reason why that pipe isn't being fed into what looks like a soil vent pipe close by. Is access difficult due to these extensions?

But, man, that's an oddball route.

OP, do you have LegProt on your new house insurance? They can provide advice and guidance should it be needed. 

It's not a flying freehold that came up in the purchase. Neighbours own the front part I own the back part the window it goes underneath is owned by me

It's a bit of an eyesore, and possibly a bit of a liberty. Other than that, I suspect it won't be an issue.

Should you sell and a pedant notice it, it could - possibly - then become an issue.

Or, if your downpipe empties into a concrete gulley, it could well cause long term damage - condensate is an acid and will damage concrete.

If it is, then that would be a good reason to insist it's removed.

Otherwise, it's just your call.

Section62

Bendy_House said:

It still leaves what is surely a very obvious route down that sloping roof, just beyond that parapet, and into their own gawdamned gutter.

But there is no straightforward way to clip/support a pipe which is running down a sloping roof, meaning the pipe is free to move around or get knocked out of position. Good practice is to make sure plastic waste/drain pipe is correctly supported and restrained.

The easiest option is to clip it to the wall, even though the pipe run is longer.

Put it another way, if you needed to run a cable out of the wall at the same position would you leave it flopping around loose down the roof, or clipped horizontally along and then vertically down the wall?

charleneann09

Bendy_House said:

charleneann09 said:

Bendy_House said:

TheGardener said:

Looks like the neighbour's central heating boiler condensate pipe to me - not a drain as such. 
There is no obscured glass upstairs so I'm guessing the bathroom is actually the one with obscured glass on the ground floor to the left of the photo - that would be the usual place for a bathroom in a terraced house like that. 

Good call - that's what it looks like.

And fitted by Mickey Mouse.

They were looking for a plastic drain, I guess, rather than send it down their tiled extension. But that layout is bizarre, and I personally would be expecting them to remove it.

How to oblige them to, tho', I don't know.

Who 'owns' that alleyway, OP? Is your part possibly a flying freehold? Does this neigh possibly believe they have a 'right' over it?

I can see no valid reason why that pipe isn't being fed into what looks like a soil vent pipe close by. Is access difficult due to these extensions?

But, man, that's an oddball route.

OP, do you have LegProt on your new house insurance? They can provide advice and guidance should it be needed. 

It's not a flying freehold that came up in the purchase. Neighbours own the front part I own the back part the window it goes underneath is owned by me

It's a bit of an eyesore, and possibly a bit of a liberty. Other than that, I suspect it won't be an issue.

Should you sell and a pedant notice it, it could - possibly - then become an issue.

Or, if your downpipe empties into a concrete gulley, it could well cause long term damage - condensate is an acid and will damage concrete.

If it is, then that would be a good reason to insist it's removed.

Otherwise, it's just your call.

So is condensate classed as foul water? I thought rain water and foul water can't be mixed and can result in a fine? Had to get a washing machine plumbed in and was told they can't be mixed. Don't want to pay a fine for something I haven't even done

Eldi_Dos

OP, if it is bothering you and you would like it removed get onto selling agents and express your wishes to them. They will pass on your concerns to owners, who might resolve quite quickly if a sale is involved.

Bendy_House

Section62 said:

Bendy_House said:

It still leaves what is surely a very obvious route down that sloping roof, just beyond that parapet, and into their own gawdamned gutter.

But there is no straightforward way to clip/support a pipe which is running down a sloping roof, meaning the pipe is free to move around or get knocked out of position. Good practice is to make sure plastic waste/drain pipe is correctly supported and restrained.

The easiest option is to clip it to the wall, even though the pipe run is longer.

Put it another way, if you needed to run a cable out of the wall at the same position would you leave it flopping around loose down the roof, or clipped horizontally along and then vertically down the wall?

Silly me, you are quite right. The best way is to extend your condensate pipe on to your neighbour's property.

I've also just done a crap on their lawn.

(Sorry - it's hot here...really hot...)