Neighbour and change from conservatory to bedroom

youth_leader

Hello, I'm in a semi detached bungalow.  My neighbour has a conservatory straight onto the back of his bungalow, it is not attached to the shared wall.  I saw him yesterday and he said he has just had plans drawn up to change the conservatory to a bedroom and he'll invite me in to see the plans soon. 

Any tips on what questions I should ask please?  I'm assuming planning permission isn't required, I can't find anything on line.  

grumbler

What's the 'shared wall'?

theoretica

Your neighbour will probably need to take into account building control - many conservatories don't meet the requirements for being part of the house (ie boiling hot in sun, freezing in winter).  So from that you will have the question about major building work to be done and how it will affect your property.

youth_leader

I meant the wall attaching us, as semi detached bungalows. 

I moved in here a few years ago and my fence is attached to the outside edge of my bungalow.  The conservatory is 2 foot/60 cms away from the fence.

youth_leader

Thank you. 

grumbler

youth_leader said:

I meant the wall attaching us, as semi detached bungalows. 

I moved in here a few years ago and my fence is attached to the outside edge of my bungalow.  The conservatory is 2 foot/60 cms away from the fence.

Depending on the design of the new extension it's possibly worth discussing with the neighbours the new wall to be a party wall, continuation of the internal party wall. They will gain some extra space and in the future, should you decide to build an extension too, you can use it instead of building a new wall and creating a narrow inaccessible gap between two walls.

youth_leader

Thank you very much for the suggestion.  Currently it is a very narrow inaccessible gap between us. I had a peep over the fence today and the gap is gravelled, but he has a scaffolding type plank rotting there.

ThisIsWeird

"inaccessible" - that, and it being a waste of space. Other than for rotting boards.

Your bungalow is a 'semi', so presumably has an existing house party wall straddling the boundary. Your neighbour's conservatory is stepped in a foot or two from this? Grumb's point is a very good one, and likely to be brought up by your neighb if they are sensible, and they might possibly be concerned about how you might respond to a suggestion that their new extension's wall goes right to the boundary like the rest of their house, rather than remaining stepped in like their connie.

But I believe that this would be the most sensible option for a number of reasons. Should you, or a future owner, wish to build a similar extension or even a conservatory there, you'll also be able to maximise its width by also going right to the boundary - there would be no inaccessible gap that would make maintenance an ongoing 'mare. It'll also be significantly cheaper as one wall of your extension will already have been built for you . 

I understand it's considered the 'sensible' and right thing to do, tho' many folk are initially concerned that it could make future extending of their own property more complex. It should actually be the opposite. 

There are some caveats, tho'; the extension should be designed to allow for this future-proofing for you, so that means things like no overhanging guttering or waste pipes on that side, no windows, etc, things that could get in the way.

I've had this discussion on here a good while ago - where, exactly, should a party wall fall in relation to the boundary line, but I can't remember the answer! Also, what construction form should it take - is it ok to have a single shared 'external' skin straddling the boundary and each neighb then has their own inner skins - so three in total - or what? (IE, there would initially be two skins with the neighbour's extension, and you just add one more inner skin on your side when the time comes.)

If you are seriously considering a future extension yourself, or anticipate that a future owner would most likely wish to do this, then it may be worth having a suitable footing put in on your side of the line now to take 'your' future wall skin at the same time as your neighbour - at your cost of course, but the extra should be minimal. And obtain evidence that it's of a suitable size - the same as the neighb's - so BC will accept it in future.

Once you discuss and agree the way forward, you also have the choice, I understand, of just checking the drawn plans and ensuring anything that concerns you is carried out correctly, or you can ask for a Party Walk Surveyor at the neighb's expense to 'ensure' it is.

If they are decent folk and you are confident that you can follow the plans and keep an eye on any deviation that could affect you, perhaps there's even the option of "I'll forgo the PW surveyor and what that would cost you, if you increase the width of that party foundation to future-proof it for me?"

Others will hopefully confirm or add/modify the above. But whatever you do, when you look at their plans, do ensure there is nothing on it that could come over your side (other than, perhaps, half the outer wall skin which would then become a 'party wall'), or could affect any future extension built on your side. Make it clear that an extension is something that you 'could' be considering too, and/or would certainly anticipate it being a desirable option for a future buyer, so you cannot allow any aspect of their build that would hinder that option.

youth_leader

Thank you.  I've finally found us on Google Earth, and can see their conservatory, squarely attached to the back of their building.  The gap is just a waste of space as you say, I will look forward to being 'invited in' and discuss the options. 

Grumpy_chap

I disagree with the other posters here.  They may be entirely correct but my view on this is different.

Firstly, does the neighbour mean to knock down the conservatory and then build a new extension that will be used as a bedroom?  
That is what it would sound like, but is may be possible that the idea is to leave the conservatory standing and internally create a living space / bedroom that works (and satisfied building regulations).  My Brother had to do something similar for a kitchen (because of planning rules at that time).  
A middle ground on this might be the conservatory with the glass roof exchanged for "warm roof".

I agree with others that the extension is quite likely to be Permitted Development as the rules have become far more generous in recent years.  Obviously, there is insufficient information given for anyone to say based on this thread (plus, I am not up to speed on the current rules so I could not say in any case).

Where I disagree is about suggesting the build comes right up to the boundary. 
The current external wall is 2 foot away from the fence line - this is tight but adequate space for maintenance access as and when required. 
It is far enough away from the boundary that the foundations can be wholly within the neighbour's plot, and to ensure there is no boundary overhang from guttering or other external fitments.
This is the neighbour's extension and I would want that as far from the boundary as possible.
Of course, if it was my extension, I would want to get as close to the boundary as possible.

The current neighbours might be entirely reasonable folk.  In the future there might be neighbours that are not as amenable.

The difference would be if you plan an extension now and get the extension done at the same time by the same builder, so it truly is built as a party wall.
The idea of having a future party wall designed and footings laid now for some future possibility of your own extension seems like a non-starter to me:
 - building regulations may change
 - the builder might just cut a corner knowing they'll be long gone before you build the fictitious future extension
 - a future neighbour may demand a party wall agreement, or refuse any part of a new structure joining their extension.

Just my thoughts shared.  I realise I am not aligned with the majority view on the thread, but there you have it.

greenface2

what type of roof is on there now ?