damp from wall - my responsibility or neighbours or both?

wallofbeans

Hi All,

Some context - My kitchen was extended long before i moved in. When I arrived, my next door neighbours had a cheaply made wooden conservatory type structure that matched my extension, it was quite makeshift and just added onto the existing building.

Two years ago, those neighbours moved and then, one year ago, the new neighbours knocked down the wooden conservatory and didn't replace it, instead extending the width of the kitchen by filling in the side return.

So -- now the exterior wall of my kitchen is exposed to the elements and I'm starting to patches of potential damp coming through, which I would like to address asap...

My assumption is, my wall so my problem, but I wonder if they had a responsibility to make sure that wall was damp proved when they removed the adjoining conservatory structure..? And should be talking to them about it?

They are nice people and don't want to bring it up, if it's not their problem - but equally, I don't want to take the hit for all the cost, if they should be contributing in some way.

Any advice on this?

stuart45

Is it a cavity wall?

ThisIsWeird

Your wall entirely, your extension entirely, your responsibility entirely.
Unless they actually damaged it in some way. 
Very good chance that their wooden construction was added after your extension too? So your wall would have originally been built as an 'external' wall, and exposed to the elements before now.
The only time there is a responsibility is if the wall was a 'party' type, and built to serve both properties - Ie, this shared wall would effectively be an 'internal' type for you both, say you both had a proper kitchen extension built at the same time. Then, if one of you removed your own extension, exposing their side of this shared internal wall to the elements, they'd have a responsibility to effectively turn it back into an 'external' type to protect the remaining extension.
That doesn't appear to be the case here?
Have you been able to have a good look at the outside of this wall?

twopenny

Yes the first thing to do is go and ask nicely if you could go round and see why you might be getting damp patches.

Quite possibily it's something simple like the rendering/paint/mortar that has become poor in the time it was butted up to the conservertory.

Look to see if the soil has increased against the damp course, the air bricks etc.

Is there soil and a flower border there now?

Is there anything that might hold moisture against the wall?

If it is something they've done like making a border there where the soil may be damp you could ask them to make a gap between it and the wall and you pay for it..........just be flexible.

wallofbeans

ThisIsWeird said:

Your wall entirely, your extension entirely, your responsibility entirely.
Unless they actually damaged it in some way. 
Very good chance that their wooden construction was added after your extension too? So your wall would have originally been built as an 'external' wall, and exposed to the elements before now.
The only time there is a responsibility is if the wall was a 'party' type, and built to serve both properties - Ie, this shared wall would effectively be an 'internal' type for you both, say you both had a proper kitchen extension built at the same time. Then, if one of you removed your own extension, exposing their side of this shared internal wall to the elements, they'd have a responsibility to effectively turn it back into an 'external' type to protect the remaining extension.
That doesn't appear to be the case here?
Have you been able to have a good look at the outside of this wall?

I assume the previous wooden extension was added after my extension, as I think it was attached to the extension wall on their side...

And so yes, I assume my wall was created as an external wall... apparently just not a very good one! I'm amazed that the previous wooden structure helped so much though, and it can't have been added imediately after my extension, so didn't the previous owners of my house notice any damp when it was first done and why didn't they sort it out...

I haven't looked at it properly yet, just peeking over the fence... I wanted to check what I was going to ask of them before having a chat. They are really nice, so it should be fine...

wallofbeans

twopenny said:

Yes the first thing to do is go and ask nicely if you could go round and see why you might be getting damp patches.

Quite possibily it's something simple like the rendering/paint/mortar that has become poor in the time it was butted up to the conservertory.

Look to see if the soil has increased against the damp course, the air bricks etc.

Is there soil and a flower border there now?

Is there anything that might hold moisture against the wall?

If it is something they've done like making a border there where the soil may be damp you could ask them to make a gap between it and the wall and you pay for it..........just be flexible.

They've just got paving stones in that whole area now, so no soil as far as I'm aware... There might be a drain pipe of some sort, but I need to take a look.

wallofbeans

Thanks all - it seems, as I assumed, that this is entirely my problem. Now i have to worry about how much it might cost to resolve... any rough ideas? 

ThisIsWeird

It really comes down to what the cause of your damp is.
Almost certainly, yes, your extension wall would (should) have been built to be an 'external' wall. Ideally that would mean a 'cavity' type, tho' 'solid' is a possibility. Either way, it should be fully weatherproof in its own right.
Soooo, this damp... Where is it appearing? Any chance of some photos?
Lots of possibilities, from the original wall being inadequate, to damage being caused by attaching the timber construction to it, to your neighb having raised the ground level to a point where it effectively breaches your DPC.
So, where's the damp, and photos, please

Doozergirl

Go and take photos of the outside of that wall.  As much context as possible, please, so include up to the roofline etc.  

And the corresponding inside photos.  Then cone back here with them.  

That's all you need from the neighbours right now, just to work out what the issue is.  

wallofbeans

I've uploaded some photos of the issue inside. My neighbours aren't home so I can't get access to take photos of exterior wall yet, but will come back with those ASAP.

https://imgur.com/a/KAsahK5

ThisIsWeird

wallofbeans said:

I've uploaded some photos of the issue inside. My neighbours aren't home so I can't get access to take photos of exterior wall yet, but will come back with those ASAP.
https://imgur.com/a/KAsahK5

You can upload such pics directly on to this site - see the wee 'mountain pic' icon top-middle of the 'leave a comment' box?

It'll be interesting to see the other side. The obvious damp just above floor level could be a DPC breach issue, but we'd need to see. The higher-up marks are unusual, and obviously suggest an issue further up.

Where does the rainwater gutter run for that roof?

How long ago was your extension built? I don't suppose it's shown on your LA's Planning Portal?

What's further along to the left of that radiator wall? I presume an end wall facing your garden? This will have a window or door in it? If so, could you take a couple of accurate measurements, please - one inside, one out.

Inside; from the door/window 'reveal' - ie where it steps into the wall - to the radiator wall.

Outside; from the exact same starting point as the inside - so you'll need to transfer that point outside - to the outer (neighbour) surface of that wall. 

Subtract the two to get wall thickness - just to see if it throws up any surprises.