how to do foundations for extension with snotty neighbour?

This is the situation:

neighbour will not let me go anywhere near their land. I want to build an extension onto the back of my house. One of the walls will need to be adjacent to and with zero clearance to their already built extension.

Normally walls sit centrally on the foundations upon which they sit.

So...how do I dig/pour the foundations for the wall for my extension so that the wall of my extension adjacent to theirs has zero clearance and yet sits in the middle of the foundations when it is built and also does not involve going onto their land/property?

I think when I start digging at some point I 'might' hit their foundations for their extension on my side of the property.

I hope that I have made the situation clear but also feel that I have not!

So in general, if there is a wall sitting on foundations and you want a new wall adjacent to it with zero clearance, but it's a neighbours and you can't interfere with the current neighbours wall or foundations....how do you build your wall?

Reply to
Steve North
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Basically, you have the right to do so. See:

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(more readably) the explanatory booklet, downloadable:

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is the explnatory booklet.

The Act covers precisely this case.

Reply to
Bob Eager

The Party Wall Act applies. You need to comply fully with it to ensure you don't end up with major legal problems. You also need to ensure that planning and building regulations are complied with. The first thing is to go and talk to your local building control department. Their a advice is free and it will give you an idea if what you want to do is feasible and legal. Remember the neighbour is under no legal obligation to allow you on his land. If you have to appoint party wall surveyors then you will have to pay for the neighbour's surveyor as well as yours.

Reply to
Peter Crosland

I seem to remember that you might not be able to leave "zero tolerance" (I assume you mean butting up your wall against theirs) from discussions on uk.legal

Maybe a builder can advise on anything salient in planning regs etc. about access to adjacent premises for maintenance purposes etc.

Reply to
Colin Wilson

Your local planning office have a very useful booklet on 'Party Walls' that explains your rights, constraints and how to go about it. HTH BAH

Reply to
BAH

I gave the URL for it elsewhere in the thread.

Reply to
Bob Eager

You seem to contradict yourself in that on one hand you are stating that the neighbour will not let you go near their land, and on the other hand you say that a neighbours foundations are encroaching on where you want your foundations to be.

It is not a case of you needing access to the adjacent land, but it seems like a straightforward underpinning situation

As others have mentioned, the PWA will apply, and will give you rights in placing your foundation, and the neighbour has rights in protecting his. However, you should bear in mind that you do not have to follow the PW guidance or serve a notice. It is not compulsary. If you want to dig on your side of the boundary, then you can, and the neighbour can not stop this. Just make sure you take all necessary precautions.

Walls do not have to sit centrally on the foundation, and you can place them off centre within aprox 100 mm - or greater if you increase the width of the foundation strip.

Another consideration is any projections at the top of the wall - eg verge or gutter, so the wall is normally set back from the boundary anyway.

I would advise you to take a number of photos of their extension, and carefully note any existing cracks. Also ask for writen confirmation of any current internal cracks (if any), and photos of them too.

dg

Reply to
dg

This is exactly the situation I had when I began building my extension, the only exception being that I have a very good relationship with my neighbour. If his extension has been built correctly then it is likely that his foundations are actually on your property, but they are unlikely to be wide enough to take your new walls. What I did was to dig out to the required depth along the length of his foundations and when pouring the concrete we had to overfill to a specified depth on top of his foundations. This was only required along the neighbours wall so there was in fact a step in my own foundations along this length. I cannot remember the exact depth, 100mm springs to mind but I could be wrong. I had dug out already and when the BCO inspected the diggings, it was then that I was advised how to proceed.

I would be more worried at how you are going to proceed when you get to full height if he is unwilling to grant you access, you may find it difficult to make good at roof level if you have to do everything from your own side.

Reply to
Kevin

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