shocked any info

[mylittlehouse]

hi there everyone

i went in to my loft this evening and found my wall between my house and next door moves???

am i right in thinking that in older houses the lofts were all one long open thing, it looks like the wall is only a single brick deep.?

please help so i know more info

 

[Softus]

I daresay that it's just a firebreak, with the original loft being as you observe.

It's up to you, but if it were my house I'd take it down and rebuild it with more strength, i.e. by tying it into the wallplate beneath.

 

[painterian]

i agree my dad had to have a fire wall built to get his grant before that you could walk along all the lofts.

ask your neighbour if they can remember i also would take down and rebuild

 

[mylittlehouse]

yeah i think it will have to be re-built and very soon as i dont trust a wall that can move.
also how do i tell who owns the wall, next door is rented so i am concerened that i might need to speak to the tenants and then get hold of the landlord's.
does anyone own a wall in a loft, and on that subject how can i tell what garden fence is mine also?

any help would be great.

 

[Softus]

Unless the loft wall is entirely on your side, then it's a party wall with shared ownership and shared responsibility.

You won't need access to the other side, but it would be courteous to pre-notify the occupants of the work in case there's something delicate/private on the other side that you could damage/see, and if you tell the house owner too then you give them the chance to raise objections without getting all uppity (and litigious) later.

Fences are almost always owned by one or other party, and not shared. Your property deeds will show responsibility, and therefore liability, but ownership could easily have changed over the years, so directly asking your neighbours is the best idea. The only difficulty arises when both sides claim that the fence on their boundary is yours, not theirs, then you have to choose between negotiating, maintaining both, or falling out with one neighbour.