Attic Conversion Issue

branners69

Hey,

6 years ago our neighbour converted their attic without pp, not that I think they needed it. At the time the centre steel joist came through into our attic. It was withdrawn and the builder patched up the area. No problem!

Now we thought we would have converted our own attic but with all the cut backs we cant afford to at the moment. So my concerns are:

1) If the joist wasn't retracted enough, could it stop us converting our attic? I assume there would be a work around?
2) If there is an issue does the 7 year statute of limitations come into force? So say in 5 years from now, when we will definitely need to have it converted as a bedroom for the kids, there is an issue stopping us converting because of their bad conversion. Does it mean we are screwed?

Thanks,

Branners

sinnerboy

We don't give legal advice here so all I can say is that recently passed legislation has address in detail the rights and responsibilities of owners of party structures.

If it came down to that i.e. a dispute there are laws to deal with that and you would seek the assistance of a solicitor then.

But from a practical point of view if you hire a good engineer and your neighbour is as reasonable as you seem to be it sounds like a workable solution could be found.

Stone Deaf 4evr

when you say the steel was retracted - how do you mean? did they blow a hole in the party wall and shove in the steel so far that it intruded into your side? And when they retracted it, did they pull it halfway back into the party wall and patch up your side?

the reason I ask is because (regardless of planning permission) in the event of a fire, you dont want a conductor like a steel beam transferring heat from one house to the other. this could occur if your beam is going in the same spot as next doors.

there are workarounds, such as offsetting the position of the beam you propose to fit.

Attic conversions arent a trivial matter, there are a lot of things to consider from the fire regulations alone. you would do well to get it properly assessed by a qualified engineer, rather than talking to some white van man who'll do the job without consulting anyone.

branners69

@sinnerboy

Thanks for the reply, unfortunately over the past few years other issues have taken place so they wouldnt be as reasonable now as we were then! Hence my concern over the statute of limitations.

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

when you say the steel was retracted - how do you mean? did they blow a hole in the party wall and shove in the steel so far that it intruded into your side? And when they retracted it, did they pull it halfway back into the party wall and patch up your side?

Yes they blew a hole in the party wall by shoving the steel joist too far. They retracted it and patched it up my side but I dont know how far they retracted it!

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

the reason I ask is because (regardless of planning permission) in the event of a fire, you dont want a conductor like a steel beam transferring heat from one house to the other. this could occur if your beam is going in the same spot as next doors.

So when it comes to it the engineer can make a call on the best method to deal with it!

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

there are workarounds, such as offsetting the position of the beam you propose to fit.

Attic conversions arent a trivial matter, there are a lot of things to consider from the fire regulations alone. you would do well to get it properly assessed by a qualified engineer, rather than talking to some white van man who'll do the job without consulting anyone.

I will just to have to wait until the time and hope it can be easily resolved! Many thanks for the reply!