Chimney and Neighbour

[scorpiogirly]

Hi all,

Posting here for advice.

Background, which I am not sure is relevant. Have lived here all my life. NDN was already here. I inherited the house from my mother who passed in 2013. Now live here alone with 4yo daughter.

Have always gotten on with neighbour. There was an issue when I was installing a fence but that's another post.

Anyway, I was outside last weekend mowing the garden. NDN came out and told me she had some bad news. Apparently the wall paper in one of her bedrooms is coming away from the wall. A 'friend' of her son has told her that the chimney (which we share) needs to come down completely and it's going to cost about £2k and in her words exactly, 'you're going to have to pay half'.

I told her that I would look into it. She asked if I had a gas fire, to which I replied yes. She has an electric one. So I said that the chimney is needed basically for the gas fire.

I carried on with the garden and she went inside. Less than 10 mins later, she came back out and said that she had just spoken to her son on the phone and that he said it's fine and I could just have a flue installed to accommodate the gas fire. She said it has to come down as it's all 'that black mortar'. Well of course it is considering that's what the house was build with.

Again I said I'd rather a repair and would look into it. She said to let her know.

A quick google told me a few things, one that having a chimney taken out can cause damp.

I have been avoiding her as much as possible as I don't know what to say. I absolutely hate confrontation of any kind.

I do not want my chimney taken down. But where do I go from here? I am worried about the damp issue. I don't have 1k to spend on that when I am not experiencing issues although would be happy to pay half on a repair? I am even needing to do that? For all I know the issue could be with her roof. The chimney is not falling apart. It seems pretty stable.

Also I am concerned that the house will look odd without a chimney. Will it affect the resale value? And obviously the cost to install a flue to use my gas fire will be extra cost and will be coming out of my pocket.

Any advise greatly appreciated.

And I would not get any builders round for quotes. You don’t have a problem, why do you need a builder? If you tell her you’re getting quotes she might see that as some sort of admission that you’re interested in this, that you’re prepared to pay for stuff? I dunno, I guess if they say there’s nothing wrong with your side that backs you up…..but surely if you’re not having issues then you already know there’s nothing wrong?

I don’t think a builders quote will be easy….would they not need to actually get on the roof to see what the problem is. Will they go up on a ladder? Or would they need scaffolding? I just can’t imagine the builder being impressed when he comes to do a quote and you tell him you don’t have a problem your side…..they’ll know you won’t be giving them any work.

Don’t panic and don’t take her word about anything. You can get your own roofer in to inspect & report to you. Just tell her your “on it” and need time to see what needs doing from your perspective. She can’t drive or bully you given the chimney is joint.
Take a look at your local Citizens Advice pages for more advice about getting a trusted trader in. There are some very untrustworthy trades out there so get at least 3 quotes (or words of advice) before you agree to anything. Also as PP’s have advised, speak to your buildings’ insurer for advice too. She too could speak to her insurer. Ask her about that.

Knowledge is power.

Get your own roofer / builder quotes. It's entirely possible that the chimney is leaking but it's also possible that the damp is due to closed off chimneys on her side. Are the flues joined from both properties? A chimney sweep might also be able to help.

We had a problematic chimney stack and it was down to multiple problems, a broken drain, poor pointing, I correct tiles used around the base and lack or internal ventilation. Taking it down didn't fix the problems, took a long time to sort it all out.

OP
If she tries to do anything to your chimney or on the party line she will need a party wall awards.