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When you say "your party wall surveyor" was this a surveyor appointed by you as adjoining owner or was it an agreed surveyor chosen by the neighbour (building owner)? Is he a legitimate qualified professional party wall surveyor or one of the many chancers who just put "party wall surveyor" in...

If an extension is built up against the boundary it is quite common for the foundations to encroach into neighbour's garden. How that happened with the neighbours garage immediately adjacent is difficult to envisage but it is what it is so no point worrying about that now. In this situation...

I suspect there is some confusion as terms are getting mixed up, I assume the "structural surveyor" is a structural engineer who has produced a set of structural calculations and some basic plans showing beam details. From the photo there is a note about BC - Cost for NOTICE £798 so it would...

He never lets the facts get in the way of a good story.

This not a new thing. Lightweight modular construction and prefabrication have been commonplace in school building since the 1960's. These industrialised building techniques are generally new and innovative and largely untested. It is also widespread in the NHS estate and has been in the public...

Those tunnels in photo 1 look too big to be woodworm (common furniture beetle). It also looks like there may have been some attached bark which has fallen off exposing the tunnels rather than just seeing the usual flight holes. If there was bark attached the tunnelling might be confined to the...

Something doesn't add up here. Initially the OP was saying "as the extension will be over the top of the existing sewer manhole" They then went on to say the sewer is about 2 m deep and the builder had dug a trench from the manhole in an attempt to trace the drain run. Why not just look down the...

If only the parts of the wall that are tanked are suffering from condensation don't you think that is suspicious? I suppose it could be a coincidence that the tanked areas are colder and that is why you are getting condensation but I would investigate whether the tanking has failed. I am...

We have had a prolonged hot dry spell of weather so condensation is less prevalent at the moment. What does the tanking consist of? Is it possible that the tanking has failed and it is minor penetrating damp rather than condensation? If it is condensation is there an effective vapour barrier on...

Don't forget that the National Space Standards you quoted in post #4 have minimum gross internal floor areas which has implications for the other habitable rooms such as living rooms, I've been caught out by this before. So whilst there are prescribed minimum areas for bedrooms the other...

The drawings just look very sparse and sloppy. I guess they are the planning drawings but even so there is a complete lack of any annotations, except the size and position of the radiators which is rather bizarre. Also the floor plan shows a small window on the rear dormer cheek but not shown on...

Reading your response to what I assume is the particulars of claim there is one glaring error in the designer's evidence. I cannot see any reference to a written fee quote or confirmation of their conditions of engagement. Nor can I see any reference to a written instruction from yourself. That...

I totally agree with your advice but I would just add that I took a closer look at the photo in #26 and the neighbours "lean-to" actually looks like it is freestanding structure not attached to the OP's flank wall. It appears to have freestanding support posts so possibly not a Type B party wall...

The water has been further muddied by the neighbours lean-to. Even if the disputed wall is on the OP's side of the boundary the fact that the neighbours have enclosed it with the lean-to roof could potentially make it a party wall. I confess that I don't know if a ramshackle lean-to would count...

I think the problem here is that the OP served notice when he didn't need to. The wall in question clearly isn't a party wall so I can only assume that the notice was served because of the excavation for the trial holes to investigate the existing foundation? Now that the OP has opened the can...

49 cubic metres for the dormer AND the hip to gable? It is quite a tricky calculation and from the photos it looks tight. Also I have to confess I don't know if an end of terrace is treated as a terraced house or a semi-detached. Hopefully someone cleverer can confirm. Otherwise, assuming the...

If the designer drew plans to ensure the work was permitted development and it subsequently turned out that the work was not PD then the designer has got some explaining to do! I would say that he is also legally liable for any costs you incur to resolve the situation with the planners. No...

If the planning consultant says it is PD and they have seen the drawings (unlike us) then submit a lawful development certificate application. Out of curiosity why did the designer who submitted the planning application say it wasn't PD. Simply being above the outrigger does not make it not PD...

I'm confused. How can a terraced house have a hipped roof and how can a "rear double extension" be original? Either it is an extension OR it is original. You mention an outrigger is that what you meant rather than an extension? To the best of my knowledge you can build an L shaped dormer on the...

That's a first for me! No risk of a conflict of interest there then? Normally if you submit a full plans application you are allowed to start work before approval but any work is done entirely at your own risk. The building inspector will still come out and inspect the foundations. What don't...