Is the party wall surveyor asking too much?

[Ernie]

Looking for thoughts on my situation,

Following on from my planning permission saga for a loft conversion which we were successful, the party wall has turned into another saga.
 

We agreed to use my neighbours suggested party wall surveyor to keep things simple and reduce costs, however this looks to be biting us as each discussion seems to entail a new list of queries. The last email requested building control approval and various statements from our builder and which seem ott to me for a small domestic project.

I’m worried we are a bit stuck now we have agreed to appoint them as joint surveyor, is there anything we can do to stop the surveyor trying to rack his fee up??

[joe90]

The Little I know about party wall agreements asking for building control approval is an obvious starting point for both parties, can you post the “various statements from your builder” that you think is ott.

[Mr Punter]

1 hour ago, Ernie said:

is there anything we can do to stop the surveyor trying to rack his fee up

 

Yes.  Be polite in your dealings and send the information requested promptly.  If you are unsure what they are requesting, just ask.

 

It is standard to request BC approval and Risk Assessments and Method Statements (RAMS) from the builder.  For your work, this may be, for example, detailing how the structure will be safely supported and the new beams installed.

[torre]

Agree with @Mr Punter . Just engage positively and promptly unless something seems entirely unreasonable. All you'll achieve arguing over BC approval etc is paying more fees, as the surveyor will bill you by the hour to explain why the information is required.

 

It may not feel like it, but you're still ahead by having agreed to use the same surveyor - even if you'd appointed your own, it sounds like the neighbour would still have appointed this surveyor; then you'd have been paying for two, and potentially a third if they cannot agree.

 

Hopefully the surveyor has already given you some idea of the approximate likely cost of an award, along with their hourly rate.

[Ernie]

Just to feed back in the end the PWS produced the award without waiting for building control and we were able to start the project.
 

Now the neighbours have produced a long list of things they are not happy with about the new outrigger party wall as part of our loft conversion. Some are reasonable and some are just petty. Obviously I want to keep things amicable but it feels they are taking the mick a bit, any advice for navigating this stage of a build?

[Redbeard]

Pictures and list, please, so we can see what the issues are. 'Outrigger party wall'- is that what we'd call an offshot in the North, and if so where does that come into the loft conversion? Pics would be really good, as I am visualising a 'typical Yorkshire' 2-storey offshot which would not have enough headroom to be part of a room-in-the-roof.