Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

We've stopped our extension mid-build - nightmare neighbours

59 replies

JayGatsby · 13/10/2015 23:11

Has anyone had any experience of this?

When we bought our house last year, the survey failed to pick up that the dilapidated glass-and-wood kitchen utility was in fact leaking and falling down. It had to be replaced as water dripped down the walls when it rained, there was no damp course and the timbers were completely rotten. And we couldn't open the back door because it was so swollen.

We found a builder, got architect plans drawn up, and got planning permission for a replacement utility made of brick and a pitched roof.

Which is when we discovered our adjoining neighbours were violently against the plans because it involved our flat roof becoming a pitched roof, which they feared would cast a shadow across a portion of their flat roof.

We spent hours and hours talking to them. We reduced the pitch to the most gentle physically possible (15%), offered to re-felt their roof at the same time etc etc. Eventually they agreed to sign a party wall agreement to let us build up their party wall.

Our build started three weeks ago but on Thursday when the roof rafters went up, our neighbour started taking photos and telling our builder it was going higher than she'd agreed. The apex is in fact one-and-a-half brick courses higher than the graphics on the architect drawings implied.

Today she sent messages saying we'd breached the party wall agreement and our agreement and she would be getting a party wall surveyor involved (with us picking up the cost). Eventually the builder downed tools and says he'll be back when the situation's resolved.

It's a nightmare. We've spoken to the planning dept and just spent another hour with her. We don't seem to have any legal protection. Our options appear to be:
a) pull it down and replace with a crappy flat roof
b) keep building and face months/years of defending ourselves against legal action, which seems v miserable and expensive.

No one can suggest any better solution to this. The builder looked at installing a low 6'2" door to lower the roof profile, but we have family members who are 6'2".

We're at our wits' end. I'm sure no one's managed to get this far Sad. I can't believe our modest, tiny and unfurnished utility room/loo is causing so much grief.

OP posts:
Blodss · 13/10/2015 23:17

Go with the lower door. People will get used to ducking. I live in an old cottage and you have to duck through some doorways.

SushiAndTheBanshees · 13/10/2015 23:19

Agree. Go with the lower door. What else can you do, really?

FishWithABicycle · 13/10/2015 23:21

Sorry about the nightmare but the only sensible thing to do is keep the height to the exact millimetre agreed. Tall people duck all the time, they can cope.

PurpleWithRed · 13/10/2015 23:25

You do need to stick to what was agreed. While some neighbours would be relaxed about one and a half courses yours will never be,.

Quodlibet · 13/10/2015 23:27

Why is your build going up at 6" higher than the architect plans if you've had to wrangle over the pitch? I think they've got a reasonable argument that it is going up higher than agreed unfortunately. Very annoying for you, I'm sure.

mandy214 · 14/10/2015 09:20

I agree - you knew they were against your plans, you knew you'd had a fight on your hands to get them to agree to what they did agree to - I don't understand why you would ignore what was agreed and build higher. You must have known it would cause a fuss. And if you knew that the height you'd agreed to previously wouldn't work, why did you agree to it in the first place?!

I agree that it must be completely frustrating stopping half way through a build, but it was inevitable I think if you always planned to build higher than you agreed.

lalalonglegs · 14/10/2015 09:21

Why are they bothered about a shadow being cast over their roof Confused? Presumably the floor hasn't been poured yet, can you make it a few inches lower to compensate for diminished headroom?

yomellamoHelly · 14/10/2015 09:28

I don't get it. What height is your current door? Why are you altering the height of it? Surely the current height of your roof is the lowest height of your new roof? (Was when we replaced our flat roof with a pitched one.)

McBaby · 14/10/2015 11:05

Your drawings on your planning permission will have a scale. Is the ext bigger than the plans? If so you need to reduce size to comply with planning permission let alone the neighbours. If it's the same height as the plans then I would keep building.

hereandtherex · 14/10/2015 13:26

You have to stick to the measurements. Exactly.

I'm surprised that you are surprised.

FishWithABicycle · 14/10/2015 14:19

lalalonglegs: Why are they bothered about a shadow being cast over their roof

Flat roofs that are regularly in shadow are prone to moss and mold growth which will lead to leaks and higher maintenance costs. It's a reasonable concern.

Sleepybeanbump · 14/10/2015 14:24

Agree. You have to stick with plans. Otherwise what was the point of the discussions and agreements? It may seem minor but plans are plans are plans. They have every right to take issue.

chairmeoh · 14/10/2015 14:28

I'd go with the lower door. You've agreed the party wall agreement with your neighbour, you are the ones at fault for trying to build the roof higher. While I sympathise, I don't think she's being unreasonable.

lalalonglegs · 14/10/2015 14:58

Never thought of moss. Thanks Smile

Original poster
JayGatsby · 14/10/2015 16:42

Wow, lots of responses. I'm taken aback by the unanimity of your views and will have to do more thinking.

Some answers:

The party wall agreement didn't stipulate a height, it was just to establish that we would make good any damage that might happen to their property as a result of our work. Her (inaccurate) interpretation of the height was based on the diagram we submitted for planning permission.

Today (frantic calculating by architect and builder) it's looking like the increase is only 5cm.

If the floor hadn't been done, the walls built up and there was ANY easy way of sorting this out, we would do it, honest! Building regs say we can't have the lower door option.

Someone asked why we went ahead and built higher when we knew our neighbour was anti. We didn't. The problem is that the thickness of the mortar and brick selected at the start of the build made an incremental increase to the height. This wasn't evident until Thursday.

She's in tears next door and we've been told by planning that they don't regard such a small increase as a breach of planning permission. We're stuffed financially. It's cost £20,000 so far. There's nothing left to pay to pull the roof down and redo it. It's a horrible mess Sad

OP posts:
ouryve · 14/10/2015 16:48

Regardless of the legal stuff, do you have anything left in your budget to buy your neighbour a grip?

Deux · 14/10/2015 16:53

If planning aren't bothered by the 5 cm and don't consider it a breach then I don't know what the problem is. Will building regs pass it?

How is this related to the party wall agreement?

From the sounds of it perhaps you just need to grit your teeth and press on and ignore your neighbour. I don't see what she can do about it given the height difference is within tolerances?

Sounds stressful for you. If you need to call in a professional then a surveyor might be a good idea.

Good luck.

wowfudge · 14/10/2015 16:53

Okay - let things calm down overnight and ask if you can meet with them and find a way forward. Explain the actual height difference and what planning have told you. Find out exactly what their objection is - there must be something more to it. Ask them to work with you to find a solution and tell them - if you haven't already - the issues you had after buying the house and how much it has cost you to put it right. Is there anything you could get your builder to do for them (inexpensively) as a sweetener?

McBaby · 14/10/2015 16:58

If it is fine with planning and next door have agreed to what plannjng have passed then I would just talk to the neighbours in the morning.

They can't stop you doing the work they can insist on a party wall survayor but it may be too late if they have already signed to say go ahead etc. I would ring a party wall surveyor for the their advice. I have found them all most helpful when dealing with our neighbours. They offer 30mins free consultation if you go through link on the party wall surveyors website.

ILoveMyMonkey · 14/10/2015 17:12

If planning has been agreed and you aren't in breech of planning then let her moan because you aren't doing anything wrong.

1 alternative solution I did think of though would be to dig down so that inside the house you step down into the extension enabling you to have a normal height door / ceiling without going up too high outside (not sure if that would require you getting new permission though).

Hope you get it sorted without too much expense.

atticusclaw2 · 14/10/2015 17:18

I was going to suggest the same as monkey. Create an internal step down and an external step up to enable you to use a normal height doorway.

Or change the roofline so that you have a very small section of flat roof up against the party wall (and keep the rest sloped). That way there would be nothing they could do.

WhoTheFuckIsSimon · 14/10/2015 17:21

I would keep going.

mandy214 · 14/10/2015 17:25

One and a half bricks higher isn't 5cm?!

I think you need to be upfront. So is the architect's drawing as submitted to the Council (which you say she has interpreted wrongly) incorrect?

From a practical point of view, a dispute with your neighbour is the last thing you want - you'll have to declare it when you come to sell etc and will impact on your life whilst you live there. You need if at all possible to get her on board. You need to listen to her concerns, as well as explaining the position to her, to come to some resolution.

Lupinsarefab2015 · 14/10/2015 17:29

Keep going .... and tell your nutty neighbour to get a fecking hobby!

Justaboy · 14/10/2015 17:29

What has the building inspector had to say if you've asked him as yet?.

Sounds to me that this neighbour has some other issues with something else there!. 50 mm is neither here nor there on the scale of things.

Swipe left for the next trending thread