Neighbors in council house coverted loft

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Jakesully

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I'm a little stuck with what to do here.

I'm in a semi detached property in a rural location, we own our house but next door is still council owned.

We have done extensive work on ours, all self build with planning etc and signed off with BC. (Side extension, side garage, 11m wide two storey rear extension, new roof).

We've been building for over a year and our neighbors have been great with all the noise and building trucks etc.

A month ago at night we noticed a lot of banging that sounded directly above us, it's in their loft, now every night we hear them going to bed up there, I've got no idea how far along they are but I do know they have not strengthened the trusses or put a steel in, the timbers in there are not strong enough to convert it.

So I have two questions,

firstly,can this cause any damage to our property?

Secondly, if there's no risk to our property should I just leave it be?

I really don't want to fall out with them as they are really friendly and they don't have the financial budget that we do. They are a large family with I think 5 kids in a tiny house.
 
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Jakesully said:
firstly,can this cause any damage to our property?

Secondly, if there's no risk to our property should I just leave it be?
Click to expand...
1. No

2. It's up to you

You might be able to live with the noise, that's down to you. But looking at if from a different angle, if they don't really know what they are doing and the work is unauthorised in terms of building regulations then they are putting themselves and the kids at risk.

To snitch or not to snitch, that is the question.
 
I'm not snitching on them if it doesn't effect my property. That's on their conscience. They are just doing the best for their family.

That was may major concern if it could effect my house but if not then I'd rather help them. I'm just wondering how to approach offering advice. I'd like to sort the noise issue out for sure.
 
Ask them if you can check it out, say you are thinking about doing yours.
 
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I'm suprised you can hear them ........doesn't your party wall go all the way up to the underside of the roof ?

Have you got a party wall up there ? Some houses suprisingly don't ....even modern ones.

I'd go up and check your loft .....they might be in yours !!!!!!!

I've read of burglars dropping down hatches in street where there wasn't a party wall.

Let us know !!! If they're in your loft !!!!!
 
Ps Is it a trussed roof ? If it is and they've removed the trusses it could collapse !!!!!!

If it is a trussed roof then you should really request the local council anonymously to request a home visit as you believe the structural integrity of the property has been compromised. If it is a trussed roof and they've removed the trusses ............( the banging being the trusses knocked out ! )....then you property could be damaged if it does subcide.

Remember there's no accounting for stupidity !!!! I do hope it's not a trussed roof if it is the only way they could sleep up there is to remove trusses,
 
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To be honest I've not seen this design of truss before, they're not standard fink. These houses were built in the 50s. They have a huge 12"x4" support been running the length of each side to support to the roof. I'm not too concerned about that aspect, it's the floor timbers, they are 6"X2" and obviously 70 years old.

They're is a double skin party wall going right to the top but the houses used to have chimneys between them which have been taken out on both sides. There is still solid walls between to two properties and we can barely here a thing but now it sounds loud as though there's someone directly above us with no insulation (they're definitely not directly above us).
 
Sounds like a beam running at above waist height from the gable end wall to the party wall to support the rafters ......so its not a trussed roof.

Other than the noise inconvenience it shouldn't be a problem .
 
Jakesully said:
They are bigger than average but we applied to convert our loft 5 years ago and were told no, it's not strong enough
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You don't get told "no" when you apply. (How do they even know what's in your loft?)

You tell the council that you are doing it and they just check the work.
 
You see a lot of houses with unapproved loft conversions where the space is not advertised as a room and despite not doing it properly, it's been used for decades without problems. In the real world 6x2"s failing from people being up there seems very low-risk unless they decide to put a piano or multigym or snooker table up there... after all think how much crap people store in their lofts.
In an old house I'd be fairly confident, a new one the tolerances are lower.

Of course if they have taken things out to make it more open, that can be pretty dodgy :)

You say you are friendly with them, why not just bring it up in conversation. You can mention the noise if that's a genuine issue and ask what they've done. They might show you and you could salve your conscience if it looks reasonably sound, and suggest they should get it looked at if not. You say you don't want to stick your nose in but if their child died and you hadn't told anyone I think you'd feel pretty bad.
 
^woody^ said:
You don't get told "no" when you apply. (How do they even know what's in your loft?)

You tell the council that you are doing it and they just check the work.
Click to expand...
Well that would depend if you do full plans or building notice surely, if they know what you're up to in detail. And you might invite them to do an initial inspection (ours offer this for free) when they would highlight anything they think is important.
They can't say "NO" but they can say "we won't approve/certify it" which could be considered splitting hairs if you need the work signed off for insurance, selling the house, etc.
 
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