Neighbours path above our dpc, help!

[WolframBeta]

Very recently our neighbour has had an extension, and has built a new path between our houses. The path between their house and ours has been built to around 65mm above our DPC in our wall, with only a 20mm gap between the path’s slabs and our wall.

They did not ask for permission to do so, and we had asked them to ensure the path would be built within the building regs and ensure that the water that falls on their property is managed by their property to reduce the risk of damp in our house. However their slabs have been installed such that the rainwater will run towards the wall of our house, at a height of 65mm above our walls DPC. We are on good terms with our neighbours, so I am completely at a loss as to how we have ended up with this sub-optimal situation, and I would really like to come to some sort of better arrangement before we start to see issues in our home.

It mentions on the DPC page that: “The property owner must consent to the breach.� regarding breaches of Building Regs relating to the DPC, however I’m unable to find anything about that enforces this. http://www.pavingexpert.com/dpc01.htm
Is anyone able to suggest anything?

Whilst we would be happy to work to get something approaching any of the alternative solutions listed on the DPC page on this site (which is what we suggested - I actually sent the link to the builder!), the builder has gone ahead and installed the slabs as described.

Our concern is that the 20mm gap is not sufficient to allow the channel to be maintained and allow sufficient drainage. Also there is no drain channel and the water that lands on their side of the property would just be drained towards the base/foundations of our wall (i.e. it is not linked up to any drainage system), and we live in an area with a high water table. Also the water draining down our wall is also a cause for concern, especially above our DPC.

When we previously suggested a “Dry Area Arrangement� as described on the site, the builder replied that the builder inspector had stated that this causes a “fall hazard� and a CDM issue (I assume he means Construction Design and Management) - although I have no way of verifying this claim.

When I phoned my local planning office / building control, they told me that their building inspector will only be inspecting the new extensions compliance with the building regulations, and that breaches of regulations relating to our DPC would not be picked up or concerned. Something I am still struggling to understand why this is not considered.

If you have any advice or suggestions of actions that could help us out in this situation that would be greatly appreciated. I am very concerned and completely out of ideas. The builder seems to do what he wants, and whilst I have spoken to the neighbours about our concerns, they seem happy to let the builder go about his work.

Thanks
WB.

P.s. on a lighter note, I love the site, use it heavily and built a lovely patio last summer with the info on it, and I have just ordered Tony’s book

[edit] Got my calculations wrong their slabs are approx 65mm above our DPC[/edit]

[seanandruby]

Pals, or not they have taken a liberty, time for legal action. Get yourself a good solicitor. Tony will be along with some sound advice.

[lutonlagerlout]

I have seen this before and it is a joke,eventually will cause damage to your house
needs to be rectified ASAP
LLL

[WolframBeta]

Thanks for the replies, I am unsure about the next steps, and could really do with some advice.

The Builder provided me with the diagram of the path before implementing it the next day:

click for bigger version of diagram

The one thing that is different is that in the gap, there is no gravel, but what appears to be old bricks.

The distance between the houses is 820mm.

When I asked why the path needed to be so high, the builder informed me it needed to be on the pile cap. Having phoned my local building Control office, I was told that there was no building regs or anything that would mandate this, so it may well just be for aesthetic purposes.

When it rains it collects water in the gap, as you can see in this picture:

click for bigger version of photo
As such it is demonstrative that it is not effective as a drainage channel.

I would very much like to try and resolve this amicably, and write them a letter detailing everything, which is what I am currently doing.

Tony, I almost dropped you an email earlier but I noted that you read the forum posts first. I would be happy to pay you consultancy if you could review my letter and offer any feedback or advice. Feel free to drop me a message or reply here if you are available. I would be extremely grateful.

Thanks again, WB.

edit: Here is another couple of pics that show the state of the groundwork prior to ther slabs being placed on the blocks.

[lutonlagerlout]

his diagram and installation are complete and utter bollox
it all looks very convincing, but its not your problem his pile cap is that high, and also pile caps are not left like he has shown,the concrete is drilled away and a ring beam is formed, at the very least the path should have fallen front to back and they should have installed code 5 lead at least 150mm abover the path to stop splash affecting your brickwork (we have had to do this in similar situations)
I am not an engineer but have come across this type of stuff many times on domestic work, and a qualified person will laugh at that

regards
LLL

[WolframBeta]

LutonLagerLout, yes it's definitely not acceptable.

Do you what kind of engineer/expert could I get in touch with who would be able to highlight the inadequacies sufficiently to convince the neighbours?

I'm based in Leeds if that helps. I am tempted to Text Tony for help/consultancy.

[lutonlagerlout]

I would get hold of Tony Mc
if this was such a great system why didnt they fall it towards his property?
to me this shows a complete lack of understanding and a disregard for long established building regulations
its NOT your problem its their problem
LLL

[WolframBeta]

Thank you, I have dropped Tony a text. Fingers crossed he has some available time.

[Tony McC]

I've been away at a family event in Ireland and, due to some cock-up by EE - which I suspect is a sneaky way for them NOT to provide a same-cost roaming service across Europe -I've not been able to send or receive texts or calls.

If you email me, or text me again from Tuesday onwards, mentioning this post in the Brew Cabin, I'll se what I can come up with.

Having said all that, LLL's comments are corect. This *is* a bollocks of a job by the builder who is now compromising YOUR property because THEY cocked-up the height of the pile caps. They could have and should have been set at least 200mm deeper to ensure any paving would not breach the 150mm below DPC requirement for YOUR property.

For the BCO to state that they will only check certain aspects of Building Regs and ignore others is unacceptable, and if your mortgage provider's solicitor was to ask them about this policy, and the fact that their 'turning a blind eye' was effectively threatening the property in which they have a significant investment, I suspect it would be a different story coming from that BCO.

I would start with a letter to your neighbour, no matter how good are the terms by wich you co-exiost, to document and place on record your concerns and your desire to have your property properly respected by the neighbours' builder.

If this does not elicit the right response, the next step would be to talk to your mortgage provider: in *some* cases, they will intervene when what they consider to be their property is compromised by adjacent development works. Similarly, yout buildings insurance provider may well be interested.

And, of course, you have the right to involve your own solicitor, and to drag in the BCO. There is *nothing* they like less than being dragged into legal disputes regrading decisions they have taken. It's very costly for them; it takes up disproportionate amounts of their time; it lays their decision making open to the sort of scrutiny they do not like; and it puts them at risk of being held liable because of advice and guidance they allegedly gave to the builder.

At the end of the day, you have a right to protect the stuctural integrity of your property against potential damage caused by development work undertaken by others. Everything you've said and shown us so far backs up your case that this construction breaches Building Regs without your consent, and that is not permissible.

[WolframBeta]

Thank you Tony, for your thorough and helpful reply.

I have had a chat with the neighbour yesterday, and I was able to properly inspect the path, which I had not been able to previously due to a locked gate and it being on their property.

Whilst the path is still a considerable breach of building regs, it is not *quite* as bad as I had feared, or as bad as the builder had depicted in his diagram.

The top of the slab is in fact level with our DPC (not above as per Builder's diagram)
The gap between the wall and slab is around 50 mm (not 20mm as per builders diagram).

He mentioned was that when we had witnessed it flooding previously, the drain for their house was not connected to the drainage system so all the roof's rainwater had been channeled into the path. Now the drainpipe is now connected, so there should be less water entering this area.

Regarding the "legal" options presented, we don't have legal cover with the buildings insurance, and although we do have a mortgage, the majority of the house ownership is with us, so I suspect if we were to take this down the legal route it would have to be self funded. The general advice seems to be that neighbourly disputes are stressful experiences, costly, and may also have to be declared when selling. If possible we would like to avoid.

The conversation was left with the outcome that although the path is not ideal, and has potential to damage our property, we can monitor it and see if it causes any issues. If they occur we can discuss and try to come up with alternative options.

Although this is not ideal from my point of view (my preferred solution would to wave a wand and have the path 150mm below our DPC and with a linear drain), it does allow us in future to talk to the neighbour and discuss, hopefully rationally, how we can address any issues that occur. Although this approach of addressing the issue after it arises is not one I am fond of, it does allow us to find a decent contractor specialising in drains and paths rather than a general builder, to rectify any problems (and hopefully without dragging each other through the legal system).

I also pointed out that rainwater landing on their property was their responsibility and should not be channeling it to our wall or its foundations. Something he seemed to take on board. Having seen that now the slab level is in line with the DPC in our wall, there is potential to employ some of the work arounds listed on your DPC page such as the Linear drain option or the drained channel arrangement, ultimately with a view to drain the rainwater away as opposed to letting it soak into the ground/wall.

Thanks Tony, LLL, for taking the time to help with this matter. If it wasn't for this website and forum I probably wouldn't have known about DPCs, the related building regulations, etc. I would like to say it is resolved, it is not, but hopefully it is not as bad as feared, and we have a way forward to address any arising issues.

WB

[lutonlagerlout]

sounds like a good compromise has been reached

however...

please get this "lets give it a year and see what happens" in writing.

my preferred fix would be code 4 lead installed into your wall 150 at least above paving level so that splash does not cause dampness for you 2-3-10 years down the line

we have done this in the past when a breach of existing DPC was unavoidable due to disabled ramps etc

cheers LLL