Garage wall and boundary problems

[youkiddingme]

We recently bought a property where our garage wall seems to form part of the boundary. (although on the title deeds our land appears to extend beyond our garage but I know these may not be accurate). Our neighbour has started digging a trench a few inches from our garage. He intends to build a wall there, topped by fencing/trellising to grow plants up, at his side. About the height of the garage. He is also getting a digger in to excavate his whole drive to replace it. The garage wall needs repointing and possibly a little more repair work.

So, firstly, if I pay for the repairs I'm worried that he'll dig up his garden before the mortar is fully hardened and it might fall out again. I'm also worried the digger might damage the garage. Also, once the structure is up I'll never be able to repair my garage again from that side. I'm worried about water getting trapped between his wall and our garage and causing damp.

He seems okay to talk to, as far as I can tell so far, but I have no idea what questions to ask about his plans or what to suggest if there are problems.

If there are two walls so close to each other with no ventilation I would be worried about damp, mice etc what would be his motive to do this... Our previous house garage was a boundary of neighbours garden, in many new builds that is the case and never seen anyone build another wall so close to the boundary wall...

I have this. I built an extension that faced my neighbour's patio. They then built an extension too. Both wholly independent. There's a couple of inches between them and we can never again mend that wall. I've heard the odd piece of render slide off my side in the gap but that's where it'll stay. I don't think damp will ever get in that way though so I'm not worried.

(I think the render fell off because the builders probably put it on poorly)

Tell him he can use your garage wall for his trellis.

His motivation is that his wife finds our garage wall unsightly @Malbab It is in all fairness. He only mentioned his plans when we asked to have a look at our garage wall. That's when we discovered it needs attention. We suggested we could get it rendered when we have it pointed etc but he didn't sound keen. I'm hoping there is still room for more discussion but I'm trying to get my head around what to ask and suggest.

He appears to have dug right next to the garage foundations but says this is so he can dig up to his trench with a digger without the vibrations causing damage. We could feel the vibrations from him doing that with a manual tool all through the bungalow.

Since I posted this, two people elsewhere have mentioned to me that excavations close to their garages caused cracks in the garage walls. Our boiler and utility are out there so there's gas and water pipes and electric cables, so that's rather worrying.
I think I need to find out how deep he's digging and how deep our garage foundations are but I'm not sure how I find out the latter.
What I really need to know is what to ask him, and who to ask for general advice on all this.

Thank you for the responses so far.

The utilities will be on your side, so I wouldn’t worry about that. If he’s excavating below 1m (unlikely) he would need to draw up an agreement.

Take pictures today of the condition of your garage.
I would not render if you are going to lose maintenance access.
Cracks are caused by the foundations losing a bit of support because of the undermining of his trench.
You could contact the council. It would be reasonable to ensure there is drainage between any wall/garage.

Have you checked if a party wall agreement is needed?

It would be better if he just attached some trellis to your garage wall and grew some plants up it wouldn't it?

He is obviously wary of doing so because it's your garage but a wall so close will cause more problems for you imo.

Take photos and video now of the situation so that if it changes anything like cracks in walls you can show that they were not there previously with photographic evidence.

Lots of helpful thoughts. Thank you. After another wee natter, the neighbours seem to think rendering would be good and they would then only need to build a low wall to hide the foundations of our garage. Our garden is so much higher than theirs that the foundations are visible above the ground on his side.
We have a builder coming to price up the pointing and rendering tomorrow, and a few other jobs around our property, so hopefully he can advise if there are any problems I haven't thought of. We needed photos while consulting the builder, anyway, so that's in hand.

Your neighbour should have asked you to sign a party wall agreement. He is leaving himself wide open for a potential claim for damage should and cracks appear on your property. I suggest you take before photos. And check your house insurance has legal cover - you may need it.

Party wall agreement’s don’t just apply to houses that are joined, they also apply to excavating close to another property.

Thanks @notangelinajolie
We do haver legal cover 😊

You don’t need to repoint if you render.

Also, render implies a cement type finish that needs painting. Would be better to get a coloured finish, and suitable for the neighbors tastes.

Thanks C4. It may not be rendering I mean. There is a cream-coloured coating of some kind on the front of the garage that looks really nice. Whatever it is, I was intending to show the builder and suggest something like that.