neighbour has built on party wall...
- Thread starter p3dro
- Start date
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Hello again guys,
Are you able to please give me an idea of what we would need to do with our ridge beam, given the position of theirs?
A couple of you mentioned there were workarounds....I'm concerned they will increase the price of placing my ridge beam, and also lower the head height of my loft....?
Thanks
P
Are you able to please give me an idea of what we would need to do with our ridge beam, given the position of theirs?
A couple of you mentioned there were workarounds....I'm concerned they will increase the price of placing my ridge beam, and also lower the head height of my loft....?
Thanks
P
You support the end of your ridge beam on a 100 x 100 box-section steel post bolted back to the wall via lugs welded to it.
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Clearly it would be visible as a 100-wide post, but would hardly take much space up.
In fact, if a house has a central chimney stack directly on the ridge line, you have to use a steel post as it is not acceptable
to let the ridge beam bear directly into the stack.
Yes, it will cost a little more because of the box section, and welding a small plate on top to receive the beam, and a few lugs on the
side for bolting to the wall. But in the whole cost of a loft conversion, a very small amount.
In fact, if a house has a central chimney stack directly on the ridge line, you have to use a steel post as it is not acceptable
to let the ridge beam bear directly into the stack.
Yes, it will cost a little more because of the box section, and welding a small plate on top to receive the beam, and a few lugs on the
side for bolting to the wall. But in the whole cost of a loft conversion, a very small amount.
Thanks Tony.
Perhaps not a huge cost in relation to the cost of the loft conversion but nevertheless fewer £'s in my bank account... because of the neighbours builder...? Why should I pay I'm thinking! I haven't done anything wrong but I get penalised for it when if they'd done it "right" in the first place it wouldn't cost me a penny!
Rant over.
P
Perhaps not a huge cost in relation to the cost of the loft conversion but nevertheless fewer £'s in my bank account... because of the neighbours builder...? Why should I pay I'm thinking! I haven't done anything wrong but I get penalised for it when if they'd done it "right" in the first place it wouldn't cost me a penny!
Rant over.
P
But that's just cutting you nose off to spite your face.
So you tell your neighbour your not happy and then he has to go to the extra expense of getting a post and his ridge beam re-fabricated. Then you by default don't have the option to use the party wall either, (which incidentally your neighbour has had to pay to have built up, something you won't have to pay to do), and therefore you will have to pay for a post anyway.
Result extra expense to both of you and a p155ed off neighbour too.
Would you have considered this if you had done your conversion first?
Not having a go, but a genuine question.
So you tell your neighbour your not happy and then he has to go to the extra expense of getting a post and his ridge beam re-fabricated. Then you by default don't have the option to use the party wall either, (which incidentally your neighbour has had to pay to have built up, something you won't have to pay to do), and therefore you will have to pay for a post anyway.
Result extra expense to both of you and a p155ed off neighbour too.
Would you have considered this if you had done your conversion first?
Not having a go, but a genuine question.
Often a neighbour will insist that you pay for your 'enjoyment' of a wall that they have constructed. This is normally calculated as half the cost of the area of of the wall concerned (including footings, where appropriate).
Thanks for your reply chappers.
I'm not sure I agree that I am cutting off my nose to spite my face... You could argue I'm pi55ing off my neighbour to save me money but is that the same thing? Also, I see it as her builder who has messed up by building on my half of the party wall without consent and knowing placing the beam flush through will cause me issues later, so if anything it's her builder who she should be pi55ed off with?
If I were in that position I think I would insist the builder fix it at their expense, seeing as they took it upon themselves to make that decision.
Can I ask, as the neighbours builder has built a wall on my half of the party wall, without my consent, surely they can't now force me to pay for enjoying the benefit? What would be the point of a party wall agreement if thats the case?
Thanks again,
P
I'm not sure I agree that I am cutting off my nose to spite my face... You could argue I'm pi55ing off my neighbour to save me money but is that the same thing? Also, I see it as her builder who has messed up by building on my half of the party wall without consent and knowing placing the beam flush through will cause me issues later, so if anything it's her builder who she should be pi55ed off with?
If I were in that position I think I would insist the builder fix it at their expense, seeing as they took it upon themselves to make that decision.
Can I ask, as the neighbours builder has built a wall on my half of the party wall, without my consent, surely they can't now force me to pay for enjoying the benefit? What would be the point of a party wall agreement if thats the case?
Thanks again,
P
Rather than all this speculation you just need to establish exactly what they have built. If need be go round and ask them.
How thick is the new wall? Where does it sit on the party wall? Until you establish that there isn't much you can do as you have missed the boat as far as a party wall award is concerned by consenting to the original notice.
How thick is the new wall? Where does it sit on the party wall? Until you establish that there isn't much you can do as you have missed the boat as far as a party wall award is concerned by consenting to the original notice.
Hi Wessex, thanks for your supply.
I know they have built a 100mm thick block wall on my half of the party wall with the beams pushed flush through.
I am 99.9% sure the party wall is not 100mm thick but even if it was, they've still built on my half....
I was under the impression my signing their party wall notice was just to allow them to do works affecting the party wall, not build on my half of it? Or am I wrong there?
Thanks,
P
I know they have built a 100mm thick block wall on my half of the party wall with the beams pushed flush through.
I am 99.9% sure the party wall is not 100mm thick but even if it was, they've still built on my half....
I was under the impression my signing their party wall notice was just to allow them to do works affecting the party wall, not build on my half of it? Or am I wrong there?
Thanks,
P
It is more likely that the party wall is 225mm thick so if they have only built a 100mm thick wall it could be on their side; in the middle or on your side. You need to establish exactly where it is.
From your previous post it appears that the plasterboard fire wall is still in place so if that was erected on top of the party wall it suggests they have only built the new wall on their side. It shouldn't be too difficult to fix the position of the party wall by taking measurements above and below the ceiling to work out where the new wall is sitting. The fact that they have built the wall is still a party wall issue but if it is on their side of the wall it is of little consequence. If they have built it in the middle or on your side and put steels through that would p1ss me off too and I would be having words with the neighbour. Its all well and good saying you can bolt a steel column to the wall to support your ridge beam but what if they built the wall in lightweight blockwork? But this is just more speculation that is just muddying the water, until you check we are all just spouting random opinions.
By consenting to the notice you have consented to them doing the work. If you consented without asking exactly what the work was that was rather unfortunate. However, just because you gave consent that doesn't give them carte blanche to do whatever they want but it does put you in a very difficult position that will probably cost you money to get professional help to resolve. Hopefully 20 minutes with a tape measure and a quick chat with the neighbour will show there is nothing to worry about.
From your previous post it appears that the plasterboard fire wall is still in place so if that was erected on top of the party wall it suggests they have only built the new wall on their side. It shouldn't be too difficult to fix the position of the party wall by taking measurements above and below the ceiling to work out where the new wall is sitting. The fact that they have built the wall is still a party wall issue but if it is on their side of the wall it is of little consequence. If they have built it in the middle or on your side and put steels through that would p1ss me off too and I would be having words with the neighbour. Its all well and good saying you can bolt a steel column to the wall to support your ridge beam but what if they built the wall in lightweight blockwork? But this is just more speculation that is just muddying the water, until you check we are all just spouting random opinions.
By consenting to the notice you have consented to them doing the work. If you consented without asking exactly what the work was that was rather unfortunate. However, just because you gave consent that doesn't give them carte blanche to do whatever they want but it does put you in a very difficult position that will probably cost you money to get professional help to resolve. Hopefully 20 minutes with a tape measure and a quick chat with the neighbour will show there is nothing to worry about.
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