Party Wall Act - Advice needed!
Discussion
I have a Victorian end-of-terrace, with a single story extension to the rear (that was built in the 1980’s). Planning approval & Building Regs approval have now been obtained for it to be slightly further extended; infilling a small area approx. 1.4m x 3m in order to “square it off” & put on a new roof. So I need to excavate a 1.4m section in lenght (1m deep) immediatley adjacent to the flank* wall of my neighbour’s single story extension.
On the assumption we discover his footings are indeed shallow, I am not sure on where we go from there: He will still have concerns (maybe even more so!).
If I issue the Notice and he does not consent, I am stuck with going down the “dispute” route, which will cost me £’000s / presumably giving me the right to continue / but it won’t change the risk (minor hopefully) of his wall cracking. i.e. he ends up in the same position as if he had given the consent…the only difference being I have spent £’000’s on the dispute, rather than a few £100 on a Schedule of Condition.
Has anyone been in this situation / any suggestions for an amicable solution?
- we think his flank wall may be an original Victorian wall (with shallow footings), as the houses were built with a small kitchen/toilet & coal bunker in a long narrow extension. This wall extends a further ~.5m beyond our new extension.
On the assumption we discover his footings are indeed shallow, I am not sure on where we go from there: He will still have concerns (maybe even more so!).
If I issue the Notice and he does not consent, I am stuck with going down the “dispute” route, which will cost me £’000s / presumably giving me the right to continue / but it won’t change the risk (minor hopefully) of his wall cracking. i.e. he ends up in the same position as if he had given the consent…the only difference being I have spent £’000’s on the dispute, rather than a few £100 on a Schedule of Condition.
Has anyone been in this situation / any suggestions for an amicable solution?
You need to dig the test hole first to confirm his shallow footings - they might not be!
If they are, consider offering to underpin his foundations in that area. How much would that cost for only 1.4m compared to the cost of a dispute, paying for two sets of surveyors etc and neighbour aggro?
If they are, consider offering to underpin his foundations in that area. How much would that cost for only 1.4m compared to the cost of a dispute, paying for two sets of surveyors etc and neighbour aggro?
Seems like you need to get yourself a friendly engineer who can explain whether or not you will need to underpin his foundations. It may not be the case but better to do that first otherwise you are definitely into a section 6 notice situation (which could take a fair old time and delay works if you aren't able to agree immediately. A deemed dispute under the party wall etc act 1996 is not a real dispute so don't worry about ongoing issues, so long as you treat your neighbours property as you would expect him to treat yours in the same circs. unfortunately I am not an engineer but I am a party wall surveyor.
Vic_S said:
Thanks guys.
I'll dig the hole and discuss findings with my structural engineer.
Certainly the first step, not only for depth but to see if they extend into your land. Underpinning will affect his future sale value and saleability (?) so not a good idea + not cheap. By far the most likely solution is a piled foundation for your extension, probably 4no piles on a 1m x 2m grid with a 400 x 400mm ring beam.I'll dig the hole and discuss findings with my structural engineer.
Piling is way over the top for such a small extension. All you need to do is come up with a foundation design that avoids digging a trench close alongside your neighbour's wall. Agree the first step is dig a trial hole on your side to see what your neighbour's foundation consists of - sounds like it could be a shallow corbelled brick footing. Photograph it and sketch the details of depth and projection while its exposed. For a solution, on the rear wall of the new extension dig the footing to 1m in the normal way, but stop say 600mm short of next doors wall. For the last 600mm excavate no deeper than next doors footing and lay in a simple reinforcment cage along the length of the rear wall. Do a trench fill footing, and when its concreted it'll create a cantilevered end which you can then use to support precast concrete lintels spanning between the centilevered footing and the existing foundation of the 1980's extension to support your new wall alongside your neighbours. Beside your neighbour's wall you'll only have to dig low enough to conceal the lintels, which won't put you at risk of undermining next door because you won't be disturbng the subsoil that's supporting their foundations. Your engineer will be able to advise on the reinforcement cage and lintel sizes.
It won't absolve you of progressing with Party Wall matters because you'll still be digging foundations deeper than next door within 3m of their building, but its a simple and cost effective way of doing the work in a way which minimises your risk of causing damage to next door.
If that's not possible for any reason, an alternative would be to cast a foundation parallel to the wall but away from it, and use a cantilevered floor slab to support the wall. A bit more involved from a design/construction point of view but still fairly straightforward. Chat to your engineer about ways to support the wall rather than putting it on a traditional strip footing.
It won't absolve you of progressing with Party Wall matters because you'll still be digging foundations deeper than next door within 3m of their building, but its a simple and cost effective way of doing the work in a way which minimises your risk of causing damage to next door.
If that's not possible for any reason, an alternative would be to cast a foundation parallel to the wall but away from it, and use a cantilevered floor slab to support the wall. A bit more involved from a design/construction point of view but still fairly straightforward. Chat to your engineer about ways to support the wall rather than putting it on a traditional strip footing.
If you underpin only a section of his house they may have issues with defferential settlement in a few years time.
You do need to dig a trial hole to survey their foundations and then design your foundation from there. It might be better to dig a strip footing away from the boundary and build a cantilever slab?
But either way, if you have agreed to repair any damage that may be done then what's the issue?
You do need to dig a trial hole to survey their foundations and then design your foundation from there. It might be better to dig a strip footing away from the boundary and build a cantilever slab?
But either way, if you have agreed to repair any damage that may be done then what's the issue?
This is what I found...there is about 60cm to the bottom of their footings, marked by the 2 x screws I pushed in
And the whole view...the spade shows how far out we are going.
It looks as though my neighbours do have some decent footings after all. Will get my structural engineer to give his opinion, but they now seen happy to give their consent.
And the whole view...the spade shows how far out we are going.
It looks as though my neighbours do have some decent footings after all. Will get my structural engineer to give his opinion, but they now seen happy to give their consent.
elanfan said:
Contract Works 21(2)1 cover via a broker with Aviva will be very cheap and cover your liabilities to the neighbours property.
That's great info thanks
Neighbour has now signed the consent, subject to a schedule of condition, which has just been done; and I will definitely take out the above insurance cover.
Cheers all!!
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