Our neighbours are having a new extension built to their house.

Piling started yesterday. Vibration can be felt and noise from things
vibrating in cupboards.

Is there any requirement to notify such work?

Are they liable for any damage caused?

They haven't spoken to us since they caused some damage to our property
over a year ago let alone apologised or offered to try and remedy the
situation. Absolutely no point trying to talk to them.

Thanks for any replies. Hopefully there will be no damage.

Also posted in uk.legal.moderated

In article ,
Invisible Man wrote:
Our neighbours are having a new extension built to their house.

Piling started yesterday. Vibration can be felt and noise from things
vibrating in cupboards.

Is there any requirement to notify such work?

Are they liable for any damage caused?

Their builder should have insurance against such things.

--
*How come you never hear about gruntled employees? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Invisible Man wrote:
Our neighbours are having a new extension built to their house.

Piling started yesterday. Vibration can be felt and noise from things
vibrating in cupboards.

Is there any requirement to notify such work?

Are they liable for any damage caused?

Their builder should have insurance against such things.

When it was done here they employed surveyors to check the nearby
properties before and after the work. OTherwise its hard to prove when
any damage occurred - so the risk may be yours in practice.


NT

Invisible Man wrote:
Our neighbours are having a new extension built to their house.

Piling started yesterday. Vibration can be felt and noise from things
vibrating in cupboards.

Is there any requirement to notify such work?

Yes, particularly under the Party Wall Act if the are working within a
certain distance of it (6metres if I remember correctly) - and there should
have been a Building Control and Planning Consent application to the local
authority (note there are exemptions to this, so go and talk to the Building
Control Officer at the council). Also ask about the Party Wall Act, because
if the works do come under this, a party wall inspector must (can) be
appointed to oversee the works covered by that act.

Are they liable for any damage caused?

Yes - Personally, through the builders insurance *or* both.

They haven't spoken to us since they caused some damage to our
property over a year ago let alone apologised or offered to try and
remedy the situation. Absolutely no point trying to talk to them.

You must talk to them, or if that is impossible, try and sort it out through
a mediator - failing that, through the legal profession.

Thanks for any replies. Hopefully there will be no damage.

There is a good possibility of that if they are actually 'piling' in the
near vicinity of your property.

This is a brief response at the situation could be a possible minefield and
you should be getting professional help (i.e the council to begin with) to
obtain as much information as possible.


Cash.

On 29 Nov, 13:22, "Cash"
wrote:
Invisible Man wrote:
Our neighbours are having a new extension built to their house.

Piling started yesterday. Vibration can be felt and noise from things
vibrating in cupboards.

Is there any requirement to notify such work?

Yes, particularly under the Party Wall Act if the are working within a
certain distance of it

See

http://www.communities.gov.uk/docume...pdf/133214.pdf

and especially Section 26:

"If you plan to:
excavate,or excavate and construct foundations for a new building or
structure, within 3 metres of a neighbouring owner’s building or
structure,
where that work will go deeper than the neighbour’s foundations (see
diagram 6); or
excavate, or excavate for and construct foundations for a new building
or
structure, within 6 metres of a neighbouring owner’s building or
structure,
where that work will cut a line drawn downwards at 45° from the bottom
of
the neighbour’s foundations (see diagram 7)
you must inform the Adjoining Owner or owners by serving a notice -
see paragraphs
7 and 8."

So if their foundation works are within those distances, they should
have served you a Party Wall notice.

I'd real the whole booklet.

Regards
Richard

geraldthehamster wrote:
On 29 Nov, 13:22, "Cash"
wrote:
Invisible Man wrote:
Our neighbours are having a new extension built to their house.

Piling started yesterday. Vibration can be felt and noise from
things vibrating in cupboards.

Is there any requirement to notify such work?

Yes, particularly under the Party Wall Act if the are working within
a certain distance of it

See

http://www.communities.gov.uk/docume...pdf/133214.pdf

and especially Section 26:

"If you plan to:
excavate,or excavate and construct foundations for a new building or
structure, within 3 metres of a neighbouring owner’s building or
structure,
where that work will go deeper than the neighbour’s foundations (see
diagram 6); or
excavate, or excavate for and construct foundations for a new building
or
structure, within 6 metres of a neighbouring owner’s building or
structure,
where that work will cut a line drawn downwards at 45° from the bottom
of
the neighbour’s foundations (see diagram 7)
you must inform the Adjoining Owner or owners by serving a notice -
see paragraphs
7 and 8."

So if their foundation works are within those distances, they should
have served you a Party Wall notice.

I'd real the whole booklet.

Regards
Richard

Richard,

Thanks for that snippet, my memory was a little sketchy on this, and I have
just rooted out my copy of the Party Wall Act Explained - and I had
forgotten the 3 metre rule.

Cash

Cash wrote:
geraldthehamster wrote:
On 29 Nov, 13:22, "Cash"
wrote:
Invisible Man wrote:
Our neighbours are having a new extension built to their house.
Piling started yesterday. Vibration can be felt and noise from
things vibrating in cupboards.
Is there any requirement to notify such work?
Yes, particularly under the Party Wall Act if the are working within
a certain distance of it
See

http://www.communities.gov.uk/docume...pdf/133214.pdf

and especially Section 26:

"If you plan to:
excavate,or excavate and construct foundations for a new building or
structure, within 3 metres of a neighbouring owner’s building or
structure,
where that work will go deeper than the neighbour’s foundations (see
diagram 6); or
excavate, or excavate for and construct foundations for a new building
or
structure, within 6 metres of a neighbouring owner’s building or
structure,
where that work will cut a line drawn downwards at 45° from the bottom
of
the neighbour’s foundations (see diagram 7)
you must inform the Adjoining Owner or owners by serving a notice -
see paragraphs
7 and 8."

So if their foundation works are within those distances, they should
have served you a Party Wall notice.

I'd real the whole booklet.

Regards
Richard

Richard,

Thanks for that snippet, my memory was a little sketchy on this, and I have
just rooted out my copy of the Party Wall Act Explained - and I had
forgotten the 3 metre rule.

Cash


Gerald & Cash

Thanks for your help.
The nearest pile will be at least 4 meters away from my foundations and
I rather doubt whether the piles are deeper than 4m.

The piles look to be about 20cm diameter. I suspect the Party Wall Act
relates to removal of support for neighbours foundations whereas I am
more interested in the vibration aspect.

No new cracks or pictures falling off the walls yet.

Invisible Man wrote:

The piles look to be about 20cm diameter. I suspect the Party Wall Act
relates to removal of support for neighbours foundations whereas I am
more interested in the vibration aspect.

No new cracks or pictures falling off the walls yet.

How are they driving the piles? Typically they use auger piling machines
in these cases that don't make anything like the noise and vibration you
get from impact piling machines.

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

John Rumm wrote:
Invisible Man wrote:

The piles look to be about 20cm diameter. I suspect the Party Wall Act
relates to removal of support for neighbours foundations whereas I am
more interested in the vibration aspect.

No new cracks or pictures falling off the walls yet.

How are they driving the piles? Typically they use auger piling machines
in these cases that don't make anything like the noise and vibration you
get from impact piling machines.

Not a big rig but it lifts a long cylindrical weight and then drops it
inside what I take to be the pile every few seconds. Cannot get a clear
view but every so often it stops and there appears to be flashes from
welding. Seems a lot of effort for a single story extension but there
are a lot of tree roots in the area and we are on clay soil.
The roof is going to be tiled and have velux windows so hopefully they
are not intending to add another story any time soon.
They have been at it for 2 days but are having a day off today.
Extension will be about 8m x 3.6m and I have no idea how much more this
will entail.

Invisible Man wrote:
John Rumm wrote:
Invisible Man wrote:

The piles look to be about 20cm diameter. I suspect the Party Wall
Act relates to removal of support for neighbours foundations whereas
I am more interested in the vibration aspect.

No new cracks or pictures falling off the walls yet.

How are they driving the piles? Typically they use auger piling
machines in these cases that don't make anything like the noise and
vibration you get from impact piling machines.

Not a big rig but it lifts a long cylindrical weight and then drops it
inside what I take to be the pile every few seconds. Cannot get a clear
view but every so often it stops and there appears to be flashes from
welding. Seems a lot of effort for a single story extension but there
are a lot of tree roots in the area and we are on clay soil.

A friend of mine used to run a piling business doing this sort of thing.
They would auger the hole first, and then insert a steel pile casing.
This was the only bit that needed hammering into the ground once the
hole was drilled. The casing comes in lengths - each length is tapped
into place and the next one welded onto it. You keep knocking in casing
until you reach the bottom of your hole (or til - "refusal").

Once the casing is in place, rebar is assembled and lowered in, and then
it is filled with concrete. Once you have some piles in place the rebar
sticking out of the top is then incorporated into reinforcement for a
beam foundation, which is then shuttered up and poured. You end up with
a foundation that is well and truly nailed in place!

The roof is going to be tiled and have velux windows so hopefully they
are not intending to add another story any time soon.
They have been at it for 2 days but are having a day off today.
Extension will be about 8m x 3.6m and I have no idea how much more this
will entail.

Probably not more than a few days for the piling at a guess. You would
only need three or four piles to support each side of a 8m foundation beam.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

John Rumm wrote:
Invisible Man wrote:
John Rumm wrote:
Invisible Man wrote:

The piles look to be about 20cm diameter. I suspect the Party Wall
Act relates to removal of support for neighbours foundations whereas
I am more interested in the vibration aspect.

No new cracks or pictures falling off the walls yet.

How are they driving the piles? Typically they use auger piling
machines in these cases that don't make anything like the noise and
vibration you get from impact piling machines.

Not a big rig but it lifts a long cylindrical weight and then drops it
inside what I take to be the pile every few seconds. Cannot get a
clear view but every so often it stops and there appears to be flashes
from welding. Seems a lot of effort for a single story extension but
there are a lot of tree roots in the area and we are on clay soil.

A friend of mine used to run a piling business doing this sort of thing.
They would auger the hole first, and then insert a steel pile casing.
This was the only bit that needed hammering into the ground once the
hole was drilled. The casing comes in lengths - each length is tapped
into place and the next one welded onto it. You keep knocking in casing
until you reach the bottom of your hole (or til - "refusal").

Once the casing is in place, rebar is assembled and lowered in, and then
it is filled with concrete. Once you have some piles in place the rebar
sticking out of the top is then incorporated into reinforcement for a
beam foundation, which is then shuttered up and poured. You end up with
a foundation that is well and truly nailed in place!

The roof is going to be tiled and have velux windows so hopefully they
are not intending to add another story any time soon.
They have been at it for 2 days but are having a day off today.
Extension will be about 8m x 3.6m and I have no idea how much more
this will entail.

Probably not more than a few days for the piling at a guess. You would
only need three or four piles to support each side of a 8m foundation beam.


Thanks John

No sign of an auger to my untutored eyes. I cannot get a clear view
anyway. Difficult to tell but they seem to be running the piles across
the centre of the area parallel to the longer sides.
The houses were built mid sixties so will probably not have very deep
foundations. I have this vision of a very fixed extension with the
original house moving up and down slightly as the local clay varies in
wetness.

Invisible Man wrote:
I have this vision of a very fixed extension with the
original house moving up and down slightly as the local clay varies in
wetness.

Yep, that's exactly what happens.
--
Hugo Nebula
"If no-one on the internet wants a piece of this,
just how far from the pack have you strayed"?

Cash wrote:
geraldthehamster wrote:
On 29 Nov, 13:22, "Cash"
wrote:
Invisible Man wrote:
Our neighbours are having a new extension built to their house.
Piling started yesterday. Vibration can be felt and noise from
things vibrating in cupboards.
Is there any requirement to notify such work?
Yes, particularly under the Party Wall Act if the are working within
a certain distance of it
See

http://www.communities.gov.uk/docume...pdf/133214.pdf

and especially Section 26:

"If you plan to:
excavate,or excavate and construct foundations for a new building or
structure, within 3 metres of a neighbouring owner’s building or
structure,
where that work will go deeper than the neighbour’s foundations (see
diagram 6); or
excavate, or excavate for and construct foundations for a new building
or
structure, within 6 metres of a neighbouring owner’s building or
structure,
where that work will cut a line drawn downwards at 45° from the bottom
of
the neighbour’s foundations (see diagram 7)
you must inform the Adjoining Owner or owners by serving a notice -
see paragraphs
7 and 8."

So if their foundation works are within those distances, they should
have served you a Party Wall notice.

I'd real the whole booklet.

Regards
Richard

Richard,

Thanks for that snippet, my memory was a little sketchy on this, and I have
just rooted out my copy of the Party Wall Act Explained - and I had
forgotten the 3 metre rule.

Cash


Thanks for all who posted.

I managed to have a word with the boss of the building firm.
When they made trial holes they discovered the original house was on
piles and the ground conditions were like tea leaves for 4m and very
wet. Hence they had to unexpectedly pile for the extension.

Just hope our house is also piled. At least we shouldn't suffer from the
large amounts of greenery in the area.

The plots used to be an old orchard and the ground slopes away on 2
sides. Could be some sort of old filled pit or pond I guess surrounded
by clay which stops water running away. Might be very localised because
50 feet high ash trees about 60 feet away don't blow over.
The topsoil in our garden is good and drains well. If there is a lot of
wetness below perhaps that explains why some of our larger shrubs just
keep getting bigger and bigger.

Paul Matthews wrote:
Invisible Man wrote:
The plots used to be an old orchard and the ground slopes away on 2
sides. Could be some sort of old filled pit or pond

I may have missed - whereabouts in the country are you?

On the filled pit front the street my dad lives in is interesting. A small cul
de sac, with houses all along both sides, but just one "plot" vacant - there is
a little green space there. It appears to be the only street on the estate with
such a vacant plot - the plot is the same size as all the others.

A little research suggests that it is the location of an old coal mine, but
then round Bolton/Leigh/Wigan there are few places that will not have been
within a short distance of a mine.

I'm in mid-Essex so unlikely to be old coal workings!

In article ,
Paul Matthews writes:
I may have missed - whereabouts in the country are you?

On the filled pit front the street my dad lives in is interesting. A small cul
de sac, with houses all along both sides, but just one "plot" vacant - there is
a little green space there. It appears to be the only street on the estate with
such a vacant plot - the plot is the same size as all the others.

A little research suggests that it is the location of an old coal mine, but
then round Bolton/Leigh/Wigan there are few places that will not have been
within a short distance of a mine.

My parents house is on an estate built in the 1950's. Most of the
houses were bought before they started building them (my parents
one included). There was an option to buy a double plot if you
wanted a bigger garden, and a few of the houses did this. I suspect
that with the plot being a much smaller portion of the total purchase
price than today, a double plot probably wasn't much more expensive.
In more recent years, I think all the double plot gardens have been
split and a new house built in the garden.

In estates which predate WWII, you often ended up with an empty plot
where a house got bombed. A few years ago, we drove around Sutton
where my father was brought up, and he pointed out about 3 plots in
what was his road where the houses had been bombed, each with a newer
house built in it now of course, but that didn't happen until much
later (one of them looked very new).

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]