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Semi detached party wall void issues

  • 02-02-2015 7:32pm
    #1
    Irish Steve
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 6,522 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    Daughter has a semi detached house in North County Meath, built about 2003, 9" solid block wall between the 2 halves.

    She's complained for years that there seems to be a breach or breaches in the wall, based on the noise transfers that occur, they can hear things from next door that should not be capable of getting through a solid 9" wall.

    So, to add to the plot, they've recently removed an internal ground floor (non supporting) block wall that divided the front and rear main rooms, and in the process, discovered that when the party wall was built, voids were left in the wall to allow the internal wall to be tied into it, and that was done by leaving openings that would take a block entry every other course. It's clear that this was done by the manner in which the blocks were laid in the party wall.

    What was also clear was that when the internal wall was subsequently erected, it wasn't tied in particularly well in terms of closing the voids with mortar, and as the house on the other side of the wall is a mirror of theirs, the internal wall there was also not particularly well finished.

    Probing with a fish rod in to some of the gaps in the mortar revealed that on some levels, there's an 8" gap, with only 1" of mortar in the wall.

    Given that it's a party wall, I was under the impression that it was supposed to be solid, and that leaving voids that would later be tied in was not acceptable under the fire regulations side of things, but I could be wrong on that.

    So, I guess my question is was it acceptable to leave voids in the party wall during construction, and now this has come to light, should they be doing anything to ensure that there are not other issues with the party wall around areas such as the chimney, given the significant noise transfer that occurs between the 2 houses?

    Thanks

    Shore, if it was easy, everybody would be doin it.😁



Comments

  • #2
    Gumbo
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 40,337 Mod ✭✭✭✭Gumbo


    Voids would be unacceptable in my opinion.
    In my line of work, I've asked builders to build the party wall completely and then coat it with a skim of sand/cement before connecting any timbers, walls or stairs.

    This way you are giving it the very best chance of been completely Fire stopped, and reducing the impact of notice while also adding to its air tighness, even if only slightly.


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