Jump to content

DaveAF

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    56

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by DaveAF

  1. DaveAF
    I was going to ask what might be the conditions that would allow a local council to grant planning permission that might lead to the knocking down of a potentially listable structure but then I looked at the site plan drawn up for the project and there's no outhouse / air raid shelter marked on it. Maybe the council didn't know it was still there? Who knows.
  2. DaveAF
    Sadly I cannot as they returned with a small excavator on Monday and used it to knock it all down.
  3. DaveAF
  4. DaveAF
    Yes all the above are the case. Kids next door, concern about our property. That's reason enough.
  5. DaveAF
    It'll probably turn out to have been of special architectural interest. Gone now.
  6. DaveAF
    Unfortunately not. The professional arrived this morning with a Kubolo mini JCB and pulled it down. Nearly tipping his Venice over in the process a couple of times. At least it's not going to fall on our fence but its a shame that a bit of mysterious local architecture has gone and no one is any the wiser as to what it was.
  7. DaveAF
    Fair enough but if you had seen the series of total balls ups these cowboys have inflicted on this building project and you lived beside it you'd want to keep an eye on every move they make.
  8. DaveAF
    It looks tremendously strong. You could just about stand up in it. I wonder what it was built for? Is it a diy bomb shelter?
  9. DaveAF
    Nope its coming down and being replaced by "a new outhouse". Those walls are really thick. Looks like a nuclear bomb shelter.
  10. DaveAF
    Not tonight anyway.
  11. DaveAF
    The houses here are 1930s built but is that outhouse younger? It's pretty heavy duty for a space the size of an outside loo.
  12. DaveAF
    Hi my neighbours builder has knocked down one wall of their brick and concrete slab outhouse and retired for the weekend. This can't be safe can it?
  13. DaveAF
    After 4 visits, 4 bits replaced and the water leak they caused now repaired, everything is working. Thank heavens I had the boiler insurance.
  14. DaveAF
    Hi Just wondering if repairs done by British Gas to my combi boiler come with a guarantee? Had it serviced under contract and some parts replaced 4 weeks ago but gradually the old problem of no hot water downstairs has returned. We were told at the time it was probably a diverter valve problem which the engineer replaced. Central heating upstairs and downstairs is fine but sink and shower hot water has recently become very slow to heat and often goes cold after a minute or two. The system pressure is down to below the safe minimum level today so we had to turn it off. I haven't noticed any leaks anywhere. A British Gas engineer is booked to come tomorrow and as there's an excess to pay on repairs with our service cover I'm wondering if it's likely that they will waive it because of the previous repairs not having been successful? All thoughts welcome. Thanks David
  15. DaveAF
    Oddly enough after they repaired a minor leak yesterday morning they finally topcoated the roof. No extra layers of matting though, just a paint over with the topcoat.
  16. DaveAF
    Hi. My neighbour had a flat foof put on his extension in early September 2023. He loves it but doesn't know much about glass fibre. The builders put 1 layer of glass fibre matting on it 4 weeks ago but haven't topcoated it. It's too late to get a proper bond after 4 weeks surely? Why would anyone wait so long to topcoat? Just wondering.
  17. DaveAF
    Very odd behaviour.
  18. DaveAF
    I hope you have managed to get your party wall agreement sorted out. BUT if you haven't then here is my experience of extension work going on currently next-door where a single storey extension is being built AND the value of getting a Party Wall Agreement sorted for both partys. The first thing I will say is that your projects success relies on the competence of your builder. This is our timeline - 1. March 2023 - Neighbour buys house next door. 2. April - Council inform us the neighbours have applied for planning permission. No communication from neighbours. 3. June - a family friend tells us about the Party Wall Act. Still no communication from neighbours. 4. July - we see on Council website that permission is granted. Still nothing from the neighbours. 5. Late July - we're awakened at 8am by a small jcb type digger driving into the neighbours garden. I then climb onto our garden fence to ask the driver to stop and get his boss. When I say that the neighbours haven't informed us about getting a Surveyor to arrange the Party Wall Agreement sorted before works start on the extension, he says that this project doesn't require it because he's not going to build onto our wall and he's going to leave a 6 inch gap between our and their extensions. As you know, the digging of foundations within 3 meters of a boundry wall falls under the Party Wall Act but either this builder didn't know or else was chancing that I wouldn't know. I said that I want them to stop and wait for my Surveyor to sort the Party Wall Agreement out. 6. Early August - the neighbour delivers a document to us (in silence) with information on their proposed extension works stating that they will safeguard our foundations. Our surveyor and their surveyor visit our property and do their thing. 7. Mid August - Both partys recieve a copy of the Party Wall Agreement. 8. Late August - work begins - foundations are dug, concrete is poured, walls are built, steels are inserted, a wooden flat roof is put on (but only half of it has been glass fibered and its been raining for 2 days on the uncovered boards!). 9. September - works continue... My assessment of the builders hired by the neighbours is that they are cowboys with no interest (or time?) to do a good job. I dread to think how thorough they have been in digging the foundation channel beside our Party Wall. BUT because there is a Party Wall Agreement in place, any damage to our property will be paid for by my neighbours, not me. Your neighbour might not have realised whats involved in your building works and is within his rights to have his property protected.
  19. DaveAF
    Thanks for your reply. Our 18 year old extension wall is the party wall as its on the property boundry. The fence was erected 2 years ago where it is replacing the neighbours fence. Of the 2, it's the last fence panel thats slightly off the line, not our house. Both are considered to be on the party wall line by the 2 surveyors who compiled the party wall agreement for us and the neighbours. It was the builders decision on day 1 not to join the neighbours extension to our existing party wall, leaving the gap. So far he's been unwilling to explain his reasoning for that decision. One of many so far.
  20. DaveAF
    Yes. The roof at the back of the house has moss on it which falls off into the guttering.
  21. DaveAF
    Hi Just wanted a few opinions on next doors building works. Our neighbours are having a ground floor rear extension built on their property. It is the same length and height as our existing extension. Their builders have built the walls and put the roof on quite quickly. They erected a wall 6 inches from our party wall but left the roof guttering down pipe in its original position, running down between the 2 walls, presumably into the original drain. See photos. This drain is now totally inaccessible so if it were to get blocked we couldn't get to it to unblock it. I'm hoping that they have thought of this and have a solution. I have asked them but they claim not to understand English. Can any experienced builders or roofers suggest what next doors plans for this trapped drainpipe and inaccessible drain might be? Many thanks David Field
  22. DaveAF
    Just a bit concerned as i saw water pouring down the big pipe from a bad seal at the corner and into the flue. But I will take your word for it, there's nothing for anyone to worry about.
  23. DaveAF
    Hi We live in a terraced house. Our neighbours have replaced their original metal exterior drainage pipes from bathroom and toilet with plastic pipes that are just above their central heating boiler flue. Is this safe? See photos. All thoughts welcome. Regards David
  24. DaveAF
    Yeah as I feared its a total cowboy job. They've even cut tiles in half on both roofs.
  25. DaveAF
    My thoughts exactly. I challenged the builders on Saturday morning about the roof and they all pretended not to speak english. I couldnt believe it. Crooks.
×
×
  • Create New...