Hi,
Wondering if anyone can help me. I live in a Victorian terrace with a 50's extension on the back, one wall of which is built along the boundary with the neighbour. They haven't extended so that side of the wall is just their garden wall.
We recently had an electrician over who said that the wall was very damp, to the extent that the tiles were in danger of falling off the wall, and he recommended that we look into the cause. On going over to the neighbours and asking to see the wall from there side, we can see that they have covered their side of the wall with pebbledash which is now very cracked with gaps in exposing the wall, presumably causing the damp in our kitchen.
My understanding is that if they had not put any covering on the wall there would be no damp issue, as any water would be able to evaporate, but that the pebbledash is non-porous so that once water gets in it cannot get out, trapping the moisture within the wall. I therefore believe that the neighbour's actions have made the wall damp but looking at the party wall act, given that they have no "benefit" from the wall (as to them it's just their garden boundary) it's not clear that they are liable for any costs?
I've checked the house insurance and our legal cover doesn't seem to include this so any thoughts would be really appreciated!