Party Wall Surveyor & Damage From Next Door

[pototea]

Hi,

My neighbours had a basement built (London mid terraced) and as a consequence, we had significant cracking to one room and a few cracks to three other rooms.

We had an independent party wall surveyor who took photos before and after and he believes that there is no arguement that the cracks are caused by the building work next door.

He said that he will draft a letter to the neighbours party wall surveyor outlining the damage. We asked to see the letter to discuss the contents before and he said no, he works for the party wall and not us and that we are to trust him.

He has now sent a letter to the neighbours party wall surveyor and suggested they pay us £2,125 + vat so that we can redecorate ourselves rather than have the neighbours builder correct the cracks.

We are not confident that this is enough money to fix the cracks and have the rooms painted so that it is all the same colour rather than patch work. We paid £1,500 per room to have each stripped back, replastered and painted 3 years ago. The surveyor has told us we cannot expect the neighbours to redecorate the whole room.

Ideally we would either like firm quotes to correct the damage and ask the neighbours to pay this cost or we want the neighbours builders to correct the damage back to its original standard.

So I have two questions really.

1) Now that he has sent the letter to the neighbours surveyor already asking for the £2,125 + vat, what are our rights to reject this?

2) Are we entitled to have the whole room repainted or just the affected wall? If only the affected wall is painted then the colours won't match so we'll be out of pocket to have the room redecorated.

 

[tony1851]

Are these cracks structural, ie needing something like helical bar inserts, or are they just cosmetic and in need of a bit of Pollyfilla?

 

[pototea]

He said they are cosmetic.

One room is brick, plaster and paint.
One room is brick, wallpaper and paint.
Two rooms are plaster board and paint (which he said needed to be cut out and refilled)

All rooms have two walls affected by the cracks.

 

[^woody^]

I cant see how cracking can be described as merely cosmetic when a basement has been formed. There must have been some structural movement

Also, I can't see how he can conclude this from just a visual check

You are entitled to have the room put back into the state it was before the damage - which implies a full redecoration if a partial redecoration would mean mismatched walls and ceilings

It is important to consider the cause of the cracking and ensure that movement has stopped, or at least a repair will control or prevent futher cracking

The PW Act does not prevent or restrict your rights to claim damages off the neighbour under common law. You could ask the PW surveyor to reassess the costs and include a comment on the cause/rectifying the cause, and expect him to explain his reasoning and calculations.

You could also get the work valued separately by other surveyors/structural engineer or get quotes from builders

 

[pototea]

Thanks for your response, it's reassuring to know that we can challenge the surveyors opinion and that we are entitled to have the rooms put back to what they were before the neighbours commenced.

Here is the worst of the damage. This was taken in February & since then, further plaster has fallen off the wall in chunks. The surveyor reassures us that it is cosmetic only, however I will ask him on what basis did he deduce that.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/713/yt9g.jpg/

The cracks run from floor to ceiling on two walls in all 4 rooms that were damaged. The room adjacent to this one and the two rooms directly above were impacted.

Do we need to accept the level of compensation that the surveyor has suggested then persue the neighbours for the remainder or can we reject the compensation the surveyor has asked the other surveyor for and tell him we want the compensation to be the average of 3 quotations?

 

[Joe Malone]

Whether or not cracks are structural or only of a minor decorative nature is based on the BRE crack interpretation guide. This isn't a subjective issue and the guidance is very clear and I've inserted it below.

Damage categories with descriptions of typical damage. Ease of repair in italics.

0 - Hairline cracks of less than about 0.1 mm which are classed as negligible. No action required.

1 - Fine cracks that can be treated easily using normal decoration. Damage generally restricted to internal wall finishes; cracks rarely visible in external brickwork. Typical crack widths up to 1 mm.

2 - Cracks easily filled. Recurrent cracks can be masked by suitable linings. Cracks not necessarily visible externally; some external repointing may be required to ensure weather-tightness. Doors and windows may stick slightly and require easing and adjusting. Typical crack widths up to 5 mm.

3 - Cracks that require some opening up and can be patched by a mason. Repointing of external brickwork and possibly a small amount of brickwork to be replaced. Doors and windows sticking. Service pipes may fracture. Weather-tightness often impaired. Typical crack widths are 5 to 15 mm, or several of, say, 3 mm.

4 - Extensive damage which requires breaking-out and replacing sections of walls, especially over doors and windows. Windows and door frames distorted, floor sloping noticeably. Walls leaning or bulging noticeably, some loss of bearing in beams. Service pipes disrupted. Typical crack widths are 15 to 25 mm, but also depends on number of cracks.

5 - Structural damage that requires a major repair job, involving partial or complete rebuilding. Beams lose bearing, walls lean badly and require shoring. Windows broken with distortion. Danger of instability. Typical crack widths are greater than 25 mm, but depends on number of cracks.

In general, categories 0, 1 and 2 with crack widths up to 5 mm can be regarded as ‘aesthetic’ issues that require only redecoration. Categories 3 and 4 can generally be regarded as ‘serviceability’ issues, that is, they affect the weathertightness of the building and the operation of doors and windows. Category 5 presents ‘stability’ issues and is likely to require structural intervention.

 

[noseall]

I reckon those pesky cracks have been filled and re-filled by now Joe.

 

[Nakajo]

pesky archaeologists