Could brick dust from removal of chimney breast spread to flat above ?

[inappropriateportioncontrol]

It's a 1900 house divided into an upper and lower flat .We're upstairs and I was a bit dismayed to find dust -it's in a cupboard next to the chimney breast and houses our boiler .Boiler is new and it's installers haven't made good around the pipes which I suspect has allowed ingress of dust .Although it's also in base kitchen cupboards on another wall .
Bad luck for us and due I guess to our poor pipe work .Chap downstairs is unable to believe that any dust could migrate like this,he seems to think that there's an impermeable barrier between the ground floor flat and the upper one .

But I know I'm not imagining it ,it is that distinctive gritty fine powder .
Would you be surprised that the dust could penetrate upstairs in a situation like this ?

Dust in a cupboard? yes it'll have came about when boiler was being fitted.
Is this all you have to think about, go for a walk.

Having a bad day @Kwam31 ?
It's not dust from when the boiler was fitted -that was 4 months ago and no dust in the intervening period .
It's a large cupboard where I keep bags ,gloves ,scarves etc .

And thanks for your concern but no it's not all I have to worry about .

Dust can get anywhere, when we had some drilling near a fireplace dust ended on the window frames weeks later probably under the floorboards.

Thanks @user1471505356 .I know it seems like a small thing but I have SO much housework to do always and forever and really didn't need this as well .And I'm upset that we weren't warned when the knocking the brick work out was to happen and then by the neighbour's inability to understand that this could have happened .I felt like he thought I was making it up to be difficult .Which as we've said not one word about the days of horrendous noise ,floor shaking etc pissed me off .
I'll get over it .And of course it must be much much worse for them.

I think I'd be more worried about them removing something that could be structural than the dust. If you've still got a chimney breast, what is supporting it from below?

absolutely.
my downstairs neighbours had their doorways widened and the brick dust was everywhere for a few weeks afterwards. even inside closed kitchen cupboard.

and this.

my neighbours needed new lintels for the widened doorways and prop support whilst work was ongoing.
a chimney is a massive structural part of a house.

has the freeholder agreed and are there beams put in place? I’d be more worried about what it will do to the structural integrity of the property

In a property of that age there will almost certainly be gaps through which some dust could travel. A house of that period would not have been built to prevent things (dust, noise, fires) spreading from one floor to another within what was intended to be one dwelling.

Possibly the vibrations from the work could also have dislodged material within your own flat, causing dust.

Focus on the bigger picture here: as others have asked, are you confident the work has been done properly? Is the remaining chimney properly supported?

I lived in an upstairs flat in a house where the basement was being renovated. We still got dust, even with a whole floor in between

They've told me that they're following a structural engineers advice and that someone from building control will be checking the work so hopefully there will be no major collapse 😬
The ground floor flat has a 50% share of the freehold as do we .Today I've learnt that they also plan to move a partion wall and replace joists above their kitchen ceiling ( he does most of the work himself ) ,so I'm nervous about that .
As far as I'm aware the terms of the lease require them to consult with the freeholder if planning structural work .He's not an easy person to deal with but is now at least letting me know what the plans are andI do believe he's taking structural advice .So I doubt that with my freeholders hat on I'd be justified or want to object .

Thank you evryone ,especially to those confirming that a house this age would \allow dust to get upstairs .
He went on so long about his ceiling ,the fibreglass ,the 30cm gap ,my ceiling ,my flooring he just seemed weirdly unwilling to entertain the idea that it was possible .Which sort of makes me lack confidence in his general awareness of buildings.

Your update makes me even more worried! It might be worth you contacting Building Regs department at your local council and asking for their advice.

@AutumnDragon is it this bit
Today I've learnt that they also plan to move a partition wall and replace joists above their kitchen ceiling ( he does most of the work himself )
is it that makes you worried ?
Does one just ring the council and ask for building control ?
The neighbour does now (following heated exchange yesterday)seem to be trying to keep me in the loop so I'm hoping he'll share advice re joist relacement .Won't the joists span the whole width of the property ,Ican't see how you can replace them just in one room .But perhaps I';m wrong .

There should be a building regs application viewable in the planning section of your local authority website. Check there first and you should see structural plans and calcs. You can raise a complaint and have works stopped if needed.

does this fall under the scope of party wall agreements?

Exactly my thoughts! But even if it isn’t, I would be wanting a surveyor in anyway given how reticent he seems to be over letting neighbours/shares freeholders know what he’s up to.

@inappropriateportioncontrol yes you could well be getting ‘his’ dust. Old houses aren’t sealed between floors, and dust is air borne and will travel everywhere before it settles in surfaces. Even in cupboards. Just the vibrations from his works could cause you to have more dust settle as it’s knocked of through vibration from your own walls/pipes etc.

@inappropriateportioncontrol Is it definitely a partition wall and not a structural wall? I think the most worrying line was ( he does most of the work himself ). This is fine if this is his trade and he is experienced, but if he is just a DIYer then this would worry me greatly. Also, he sounds from your posts to be one of those people who keep talking and throwing out technical jargon in the hopes that you'll shut up. In my experience, these people believe they know a helluva lot more than they actually do.

@AutumnDragon he sounds from your posts to be one of those people who keep talking and throwing out technical jargon in the hopes that you'll shut up. In my experience, these people believe they know a helluva lot more than they actually do.
That is so much what I feel but didn't know how to phrase it .

@Ilovemyshed thank you so much /I've just looked and there's virtually no detail at all,just the descrip Partial removal of groundfloor chimney breast and leaving 2 supporting walls.

i tried to post redacted screenshots from council website ,but not v successful

@inappropriateportioncontrolIf you still have a chimney breast and chimney stack in place call the council - building control / planning. I would want to know how he planned to support your chimney breast and the chimney stack if they remain. I would be concerned he’s told them they have already been removed. They need properly supporting.

If you go into the documents section, there should be plans there. Otherwise call Building Control and ask them, or email them your questions and ask to see plans.

They also need a party wall agreement: readup here;

www.fmb.org.uk/find-a-builder/ultimate-guides-to-home-renovation/party-wall-agreements-what-you-need-to-know.html#when

when we did this we needed a steel lintel in to support the chimney breast coming out, to a size specified by a structural engineer. It takes some delivering and moving - does it look like that happened. Absolutely you can get dust across floors and inside cupboards. It might be an idea to lay something on your floors where possible/ seal up any gaps. Do you have exposed floor boards? It worries me that they aren’t qualified. Are they insured to be carrying out this work as a contractor would be? who insures the structure? Domestic property insurance can be invalidated by works such as this.

@inappropriateportioncontrol As others are saying, dust is the least of your worries. Find a number for building control (and it might be a private firm) and ring if the planning portal doesn’t give clear indication that calcs for a beam have been submitted. It’s vital and I would ask for a BR inspector to visit.

Regarding a partition wall. Make sure it is! If it’s load bearing the floor above must be supported by a beam. The ends of such a beam must be fixed in the walls at either end to meet fire regs. The beam must stay put in a fire and not twist out of shape.

All this work needed a party wall agreement. To protect you. That should be drawn up by the person living below you and you can object to it and get your own party wall surveyor. Paid for by your neighbour. You need to read up on this and make sure any further work has such an agreement in place. Dust is annoying but a house with its structural integrity compromised is a much bigger issue.

Thank you so so much for your helpful comments .
I shall contact building control . The application on the register says "deposited 24 Jan " but I hope he was in touch before then as the chimney breast was gone by then .
My understanding is that the ceiling and joists would need a party wall agreement but I can't find clarification on the chimney breast .
I didn't see any large metal lintel replacements being delivered. Not to say they weren't. Did see a 4 maybe 6 " square concrete beam being cut to size on the forecourt.
Thank you all again , especially for the links.