neigbours soil pipe, what are the rules/regs, advice please

A friend of mine has just bought a new house and it is one of those where you go in at ground level and can then go downstairs to the basement which is also at ground level, ie a very hilly area. They have asked me to put in a new kitchen in, in the basement room where there was no kitchen in that area before.





Anyway if you look at my picture, the window you see at ground level is in fact the basement window. They want to change that window to a door, possibly french doors, (they have a guy coming to do that). They want me to put a kitchen along the wall on the right so it backs onto the neighbours property, so to the right of that window. I know it does not look like there is room but there is quite sufficient.

The problem is the soil pipes, you see there is one on each side of the window, the grey one on the left is theirs and the black right one is the neighbours. You can see a pipe crossing over the window, this actually comes from a bathroom they have above the basement. It would have been much better looking if they could have joined to the neighbours pipe instead of going over the window but I assume that is either not allowed or there is some other reason for not using that method, can anyone enlighten me on this please?

Also putting the kitchen where I said means the waste pipe will come out right next to the neighbours soil pipe so it would be much better to connect to their pipe plus it makes things much more awkward if they want to fit french doors and I have to run the pipe to their grey pipe on the left of the window.

The neighbours black soil pipe is actually on my friends property, which is obvious I suppose from the picture, but I point it out in case that makes a difference.

So can I connect into the neighbours and what do I need to do if I do except insure they dont use any of their supplies on the day?

Any help or advice appreciated. [/img]

happyhero said:

A friend of mine has just bought a new house and it is one of those where you go in at ground level and can then go downstairs to the basement which is also at ground level, ie a very hilly area. They have asked me to put in a new kitchen in, in the basement room where there was no kitchen in that area before.

Anyway if you look at my picture, the window you see at ground level is in fact the basement window. They want to change that window to a door, possibly french doors, (they have a guy coming to do that). They want me to put a kitchen along the wall on the right so it backs onto the neighbours property, so to the right of that window. I know it does not look like there is room but there is quite sufficient.

The problem is the soil pipes, you see there is one on each side of the window, the grey one on the left is theirs and the black right one is the neighbours. You can see a pipe crossing over the window, this actually comes from a bathroom they have above the basement. It would have been much better looking if they could have joined to the neighbours pipe instead of going over the window but I assume that is either not allowed or there is some other reason for not using that method, can anyone enlighten me on this please?

Also putting the kitchen where I said means the waste pipe will come out right next to the neighbours soil pipe so it would be much better to connect to their pipe plus it makes things much more awkward if they want to fit french doors and I have to run the pipe to their grey pipe on the left of the window.

The neighbours black soil pipe is actually on my friends property, which is obvious I suppose from the picture, but I point it out in case that makes a difference.

So can I connect into the neighbours and what do I need to do if I do except insure they dont use any of their supplies on the day?

Any help or advice appreciated. [/img]

Click to expand...

Not sure but interested to know what the outcome is. Do any freeholder / leaseholder issues come into this? Who is responsible for ground level drainage at the flat in question I wander? Good luck sure someone on here has the answers!

It could be possible the black soil pipe is actually still within the neighbours boundary. Due to technicalities of moving it, the extension wall was built slightly off the boundary to avoid the pipe, thus is pipe and a small strip of ground is still in the neighbouring property's ownership.

Permission would have to be given for any connection into the neighbours stack, and the fact it is cast iron may have put off the bathroom installer from trying to make a connection, especially when there is an easier option of connecting to a plastic stack already on the property. You could connect proposed new waste into the iron stack, but would need permission (I'd get it in writing) from the neighbour, and the knowlege of how to do it