Neighbour's flue question

Is it permissible for a flue to discharge across a neighbouring property? I thought it was outlawed a while back?

Next-door neighbour had a new (Vaillant combi) boiler fitted last week. The new flue exits their side wall (which forms the boundary between our properties) turns up to about 12 feet and has a 90deg elbow at the top which is angled at about 35 degrees to their wall (so it's not firing directly at my wall).

The gap between our houses is roughly a metre and forms the access to my garden. The walls are the side walls of both our single storey 'garage with utility behind', topped by a standard pitched roof. The terminal is quite near their apex, but due to a difference in height between our properties, does seem to be aimed nicely at my (uPVC) fascias.... (and as you can imagine with the cr*p weather we've been having today, the plume has been quite prominent).

Should I be concerned about this? To whom would I complain, CORGI? Building Control? (and risk it becoming 'a dispute' which would need to be disclosed at some future sale).

I know it's not DIY and I know you're not lawyers, but there are some knowledgeable folk on here and I would welcome any comments.

In any case, it's better than the original, which fired straight out of their wall across my utility window and back door....

Reply to
FredCarnot
Loading thread data ...

In article , FredCarnot writes

If it's an improvement over their previous arrangement (which you appear to have accepted) why are you objecting?

Their installer seems to have done a pretty good job of minimising the effect of the flue on your property.

It may not meet chapter & verse [*] but I think it's a good attempt.

[*] Ed will supply same if prompted I'm sure.
Reply to
fred

I'm due to get a combi fitted and needed access (from the neighbours ground) for the CH engineer to fit the flue, to the side of our property, aiming across (and offset) over the neighbours property. The neighbour had no problem with access but wasn't too chuffed about the flue. We've decided to flue it up through the roof (bungalow).

Reply to
fred

Probably the best answer - I'd not like a condensing boiler flue firing across my property if you could see the plumes from a window, etc.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Because I thought it was verboten these days. Just because it's better than what went before, doesn't make it automatically right, does it?

I didn't 'accept' the previous arrangement anyway, it had been like that since the houses were built in 1984 (and permitted then I believe?). I moved in in '96 and, as far as I'm aware, had no grounds to force them to change it, however unpleasant I found it...

Up to a point. The passage was full of plume several times on Sunday (murky day, very light winds). I wanted to know whether I should be concerned was all....

I'll wait and see if Ed replies then.

Reply to
FredCarnot

The plume is almost entirely pure water vapour.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

I posed a similar question earlier this year about aflue that discharged across a narrow public footpath, impinging on the flank wall of the house on the other side. I was essentially told to shut up and get on with life - so expect something similar.

My neighbour's flue discarges along our boundary at about 2m high and about 30 cms from it. When the wind is is the north or north-west, fortunately rare, our kitchen and bathroom fill with boiler fumes. As things have otherwise settled down after some other issues a few years ago, we grin and breathe it in.

If you think you are going to have issues, they would best be dealt with now rather than later....

Good luck.

Reply to
Terry Fields

It sounds to me that the installers made some effort but not an effective enough one.

Am I right in thinking that the (extended) flue over hangs your land?

What they should have done (I can't know how easy it was to do) is take the flue to the back of the customer's wall and angle the plume over the customer's garden away from your house or garden. It also sounds as if they would have used a similar amount of materials. So long as the flue was uphill all the way it would have been compliant. (I'm familar with the rules for Vaillant ecomac VTK's). It might have gone over the max permitted length (without upping to 80mm => £££) if done that way.

I expect they should have asked for your permission to do this but seeing as there was already an existing flue directed (albeit less visibly) to wards you this is a moot point.

Reply to
Ed Sirett

Probably too far. It's about 12 feet to the back corner and high enough that it would have had to dogleg around the fascia. If they'd sited the new boiler where the old one was, in the back corner of the room, they could have knocked a new hole straight out through their back wall...

I wondered if it could have been extended above the roofline and the top angled back towards themselves, but it would have needed another couple of elbows to get round the fascia and presumably that effects the length you can have?

Quite. As others have said, the plume is unlikely to be dangerous, it's just that I'd got it into my head that it was not allowed.

Cheers Ed

Reply to
FredCarnot

When considering where it's OK to site a flue wrt a boundary you have to imagine that the neighbour (in this case you) had already built an extension or whatever right up to the boundary. If the proposed flue position would be compliant in this circumstance then it's OK. Sounds as if that's not the case.

Doubt they'd stir themselves unless it was done by an unregistered installer.

You could always say you're planning to build an extension right up to the boundary and ask them to move it ;-)

Reply to
YAPH

This might help:

http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:8t5lEimMy34J:

formatting link
's a clickable link at the top of the page to a pdf version.

Reply to
clangers_snout

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.