Perhaps the best thing to do is to seek the advice of the BCO and ask him if and when he sees the neighbour would he not mention that there has been a complaint. He's just there to inspect building works. After all if its a matter of regulations being infringed then where are you at fault?.
Its a statutory thing and nothing to do with you which is a good way to view it, as if he has infringed any law or reg than he won't be blaming you for "dropping him in it" so no unnecessary upset betwixt U and your neighbour.
After all you never know when you might need their agreement to do something you want to do!.....
just to throw in some more suggestions to the pot, you may wish to discuss having the flue / extractor outlets extended with an external stack if appropriate.
I would certainly expect your neighbour to tell you what the 15mm copper pipes are for and what they may be discharging.. In fact I would insist on it.
If they boiler is a condensing type and one of these is a discharge pipe then there is no option but to get the problem rectified. In fact I wouldn't be happy no matter what the pipes could potentially discharge, I would never want them potentially discharging into a regularly used passageway... get him to pipe them around the corner to his own back garden.
At the end of the day it may create some bad feeling.. you can always give him the opportunity to lay the blame on whoever carried out the work..
Good luck with this Kev I think we are all interested in the outcome.
I never see the neighbour to speak to, he's a young single guy who's already had a run in with his neighbour on the other side, (he's a BMW driver if that makes any difference!), however, I've spoken to the local planning guru, who, don't have an application from him and from my description think i have a valid case and they have advised me to try to sort it out amicably and then, if i don't have any success get them to come round and have an official look at it.
So I've dropped a friendly note through his door sort of saying that I think the installers may have made a mistake and that it might be worth getting an independant expert to cast his eye over it as if it needs to be modified it's going to be easier to do it now rather than when the thing is fully installed.
I don't want to be a pain but at the same time I'd rather it was sorted now than have aggro if someone gets injured as a result of the installation etc. And all the hardware IS on my land!
BS5440-1(2000) says: """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" When locating a fanned flued room sealed appliance, the position of the terminal should be such as to minimize the risk of re-entry of combustion products through openable windows, vents etc. of opposite or adjacent properties. A plume of products of combustion may be readily observed, especially in cold weather or if a condensing appliance is involved. It is recommended that a fanned flue terminal should be positioned as follows: a) at least 2 m from an opening in a building directly opposite; and b) so that the products of combustion are not directed to discharge across a boundary. In the absence of any specific instruction from the manufacturer, a suitable guard should be provided whenever a terminal is fitted less than 2 m above ground, above a balcony or above a flat roof to which people have access. """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Approved Document J (2002) says: """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Flues discharging at low level near boundaries
1.51 Flues discharging at low level near boundaries should do so at positions where the building owner will always be able to ensure safe flue gas dispersal. A way of achieving this where owners of adjacent land could build up to the boundary would be to adopt the suggestions in Diagrams 3.4 or 4.2, as relevant. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" (Diagram 3.4 shows the terminal kept 600mm or more from the boundary line for a gas fired fanned balanced flue; 4.2 refers to oil-fired appliances.)
From a gas safety perspective you (or a subsequent owner) might build an extension on your property up to the boundary which would then make the termination of his boiler unsafe. I'm not sure whether his installation would be classed as Not to Current Standards (NCS) or At Risk (AR) but as a new installation it certainly should not have been done in this way. The local CORGI inspector might have something to say about it.
I also agree about the pressure relief discharge pipe: potentially very dangerous to you and your family and anyone else using your property.
I've been following this thread. I'm with Mr.Baker; it's your land and the neighbour should have sought your permission before installing anything on or over it. However, bear in mind that he might have been misled by the installer (who should have known your permission was required). Alternatively, if he is a devious type, he may have timed the installation to co-incide with your absence. Did he know you'd be away?
The 15mm pipe could be a condense drain from a condensing boiler, but should then have been in plastic. I think it is more likely to be the discharge from a safety valve. If so then it shouldn't discharge anything in normal use, but if it operated it could discharge very hot water. It would have to be terminated in a visible and safe place. A termination over a passage is a safety hazard, if it is what I think.
I think I'd write a brief note stating that your permission should have been obtained before these pipes were installed, that you have not given your permission and that you would expect all further work on the installation to be stopped until you have received written details of the works for consideration. When you know what it all is, only then could you consider giving permission.
1) Keep note brief and to the point. i.e making no other points that could weaken your argument.
2) Try to obtain some form of agreement (or a nominal payment?). That will then place on record that it IS an intrusion onto your property.
Getting into a dispute with a neighbour should really be avoided at near all costs these days, because these things now have to be stated on selling a house, and not much puts off a prospective buyer more.
No matter what the rights and wrongs, an amicable outcome is the pragmatic way.
If the discharge pipe does not terminate safely - and in this case that likely would mean taking it to nearing ground level - then there is cause for concern. CORGI would be very interested to hear about this. However I'm not sure what right you have to complain to CORGI in this matter, maybe worth a try.
A flue terminal that extends out of a plain wall 300mm does not sound right and I don't know of any manufacturers with such a requirement except for the 50mm (nom) plastic pipe flues which _may_ be taken that far (but don't need to be).
Hi all, thanks for the feedback, I thought I'd update you on the above situation.......
Well, Saturday came and with it came white van man!
Hey presto, all pipes and flue removed from boundary wall and re-sited on adjacent wall. Holes still need making good on external wall - I still haven't seen or heard from my neighbour though, but it looks like my friendly note did the trick.
My parents suffer a similar problem with their neighbours condensing boiler venting near their back door. All flues and pipes are within the neighbours property but in the winter it splutters water and steam that causes everything by the back door to be covered in a layer of ice. Not nice.
They have had a word, but the neighbour is an grade one a*se, who says its not his problem.
They did put a plastic sheet in the way screwed to top of the fence, but looked unsightly and got dirty very quickly. I think they are just going to live with it as it is only once or twice a year, when it is cold for a long time and you want to get into the back garden it is a problem.
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