Advise please, our foundation is extending to neighbours property

[southsideness]

Our neighbours are building two-storey side extension converting their garage space.

We had our garage attached to each other. Our garage was converted to two storey extension 20 years ago. We bought the property just a year back. There was no completion certificate for the extension.

We have got our party wall agreement in place for the new two storey extension they are building.

The problem is that while their builders started digging, they found that foundation of our extension has been projected to their side.

Not sure, how our foundation was projected when their garage was already there?

• What should we do now ? Our party wall surveyor is not much helpful
• Their structural reworked their plan to build a foundation adjacent to ours and to use reinforcement rod to use the space my foundation is projected into ( This is my limited understanding)
• Can we appoint any structural engineer from our side to validate their plan ?
• If the structural engineer or any surveyor from our side say that it will cause damage to our foundation, can we challenge them ?
• How can we challenge their proposed plan if needed ( in case if it will damage our house) ?
• Can we reach out to their private building control officer to know more ?

This is our first home. So we are very much worried now.

Any inputs would be helpful.

 

[wessex101]

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 where the neighbour now wants to build there are usually 2 options. Cut back the existing foundation back to the boundary line to make space for the new foundation. This is very difficult and expensive plus it can weaken the existing foundation if it leaves it too narrow. The more common outcome is to extend the existing foundation by casting a new foundation alongside the existing, usually tying the two foundations together by fixing reinforcement bars into the existing concrete or overlapping the concrete. This of course is dependent on the existing foundation being adequate, which if it was built in the early 2000's and was inspected and signed off it probably is. If the existing foundation is too shallow then the new foundation needs to be kept separate from the existing as the deeper excavation can undermine the existing or the additional load transferred to the existing foundation can cause differential settlement.
The party wall surveyor needs to step up and get this detail included in the party wall award so that you are covered if there are any future problems.
If the new design has been prepared by a legitimate bona fide structural engineer and not the neighbour's uncle and it is being checked and inspected by Building Control then I wouldn't bother to get it checked by a second engineer. However if you are not 100% confident that the neighbour is using professional designers and engineers and has a competent builder I would tell the party wall surveyor that you want an independent engineer to check the design.

 

[Deluks]

"Not sure, how our foundation was projected when their garage was already there?"

They would likely have dug underneath their garage wall.

What is the construction of your wall? Brick/cavity/block?
Does your external wall touch the boundary?

 

[jeds]

Technically (legally) once PWA surveyor/s are appointed, you have no authority or control over the build. It is the surveyor/s responsibility to ensure the building is adequate for both parties. (Although I fully understand, of course, why you would want to keep an eye on proceedings) You really should push your PWA surveyor to provide you with details of a solution. If you believe they are not acting correctly then you would appeal but, beware, if you appeal and/or appoint engineers etc, and that is later deemed unnecessary, it could end up costing you dearly.

That said, wessex covers it nicely. Some details/section drawings/photos would be useful to make a more useful contribution.

 

[^woody^]

Basically, get the party wall surveyor to do his job.

 

[southsideness]

Thanks for all the replies My party wall surveyor doesn’t want to help from the start. He is saying that since our foundation is going to their side, he cannot do anything for it.

So we thought we could pay a structural engineer to review their plan and confirm us whether it looks good or not

 

[wessex101]

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 their CV as a nice little earner?
If it is the former on both counts I'm surprised that they are reluctant to get involved as this is going to increase their fee, apart from the fact that it is their professional duty to ensure the works do not adversely affect your property.
It begs the question what foundation detail was included in the original party wall award? I'm guessing they assumed that they could dig the foundation adjacent to the boundary (a rather misguided assumption) but the award should still have covered how the new foundation would interact with the existing as there is an existing two storey building very close to the boundary.

 

[jeds]

He is saying that since our foundation is going to their side, he cannot do anything for it.

I'm baffled. If that isn't the very reason for the PWA and for appointing surveyors, then I don't know what is? It isn't the surveyor/s job to necessarily come up with the solution - it's they're job to make sure a solution is proposed (by the building owner or their builders/designers/engineers) and that it is suitable.

 

[Mag2.0]

Challenge the party wall surveyor for him to justify his fee.

 

[southsideness]

Thanks for the responses !
is there any standard/legal way to challenge the surveyor ?

 

[southsideness]

To our bad luck, the PW award mentions that the neighbours can cut foundation if it extends to their side.
We went through the PWA carefully, but we missed that point

 

[Deluks]

Why not let them build off of your wall and make that a new party wall?
You will lose a few inches off of your boundary, but if they bung you a couple of grand to compensate, that would be cheaper than them having to remove half of your foundation/pour new foundations and build a cavity wall.

Get the boundary change agreed in writing and insist that they ensure that fire and soundproofing regulations are adhered to.

I don't know the specification but it sound like you'll have a cavity wall being built up against another cavity wall. A waste of time/money and bricks IMO.

 

[Deluks]

...or you could bung them a couple of grand to reduce the size of their extension by a few inches and use a separate foundation.

 

[Mag2.0]

Something that might worth exploring.
If you get in touch with a RICS member (Royal institute of chartered surveyors) they will offer you 30mins of advice.
They cover things such as party wall agreemnts, boundary disputes etc.

 

[^woody^]

Is this actually a problem?

I can't imagine that the OP foundations project to such an extent as to prevent the new strip being laid next to it while still being able to bear the wall above.

You have 14 days from issue to challenge an Award in the Courts. But the reasons for challenge are quite narrow.