vintageboy
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I am not really that worried about the size of the gutter or the sewage......... Really all I wanted to do was to canvas the members of the forum on how to approach the issue of a neighbour of my daughter discharging rainwater from their own guttering onto my daughter's guttering. From my scant legal knowledge and research the issue is covered by the Party Wall Act of 1996 and would have to be taken up as a civil matter which might be aided by the local Environmental Health Department.
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I just contacted the local "Building Control" office at my daughter's local council they say that they will not be interested in looking at issues involving guttering. Apparently it is a civil matter and might be investigated by the Environmental Health Department but only if there are two boxes ticked: 1. The guttering issue is a direct and identified "nuisance" to my daughter's property 2. That damp problems are directly related to issues connected with the neighbours guttering. The person I spoke to at building control said that I should maybe invest in larger (110mm) downpipes to cope with the larger volume of water. However it does not address the issue of illegality on the behalf of the neighbour. Also why should I have to replace fairly new guttering to suit someone else's selfish/nasty behaviour.?
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thankyou for your input - I think I will maybe excavate the soakaway/drain and ask my daughter to contact some of the building/environmental people in the local council. I feel much more informed and prepared for the next step in the process - thankyou.
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Hello I think you are correct - one house further up the terrace shgould have a downpipe and drain/soakaway and there is none. I will have a good look next time I am there to see if there are screwholes. Looks like it might be down to Building control or Environmental health. Am I correct in assuming that both of these bodies have "enforcement" powers.? Regards Vintageboy
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Hello - Thankyou for the information on the different building methods. I have only seen the house once and I had thought it was a cavity wall construction but I could well be wrong. My next visit is next weekend so I will examine the brick bond pattern and let you know. If Building control cannot help with regards to the guttering who should my daughter contact if the neighbour refuses to take any action.? Is there a department within the local council that it would be worth approaching.? Once I have visited I will take some pictures of the guttering of my daughter's neighbour and her own so you can see the problem. I am thinking of digging a new soakaway but that would not deal with the gutters being overloaded. The existing down pipes are approx 70mm diameter. Regards Vintageboy
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Hello - Its an early 1900's house - one "pair" of gutters does not go into a downpipe - it is simply connected via a short piece of pipe with an elbow onto the next "pair" of houses which has my daughter's downpipe as the only outlet - its a 70mm diameter pipe. While increasing the diameter of the downpipe would improve "flow rate" I do not think the actual guttering will cope with heavy downpours. One end section of guttering is currently sagging where water enters probably due to the excessive weight of rainwater. I do not think the guttering as currently configured woiuld pass any building control scrutiny. Regards Vintageboy
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Hello - I will pass this info on to my daughter - she just wants to know some options for addressing the issue and trying to eliminate any damp problems in the building without creating bad feelings with her neighbours. Quite rightly she doesnt want to move into her new house and start off on the wrong foot - but it will need a "solution" before the bad weather hits us. Thankyou for your reply. OH nearly forgot I am not 100% sure if the single downpipe goes into a soakaway or a gulley/drain. Some digging should clarify that.
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Hello F16 - It is a complictaed set up and I am nearly 250 miles away. I am probably going to look into the lay out of drains and soak away when I visit again in about a weeks time. My main concern is thast there are a total of 4 roofs plus a single level extension all discharging rain water into a single 70mm diameter pipe. My worry is that the standard profile guttering cannot simply cope with a heavy downpour of rain. I have noted areas of damp on the inner face of external walls. My worry is that the ground water level is raised and that water pouring down the rear brick wall may be causing damp at just above ground level. The wall cavity may also be affected as damp is showing at just above ground floor level internally.. Yes the property is early 1900's . On the legal front can two neighbouring properties simply divert their rain water onto a third party property. Unfortunately my daughter is at the end of the run of guttering. Thankyou for your reply.
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My daughter has just bought a terraced house within a row of ten properties. Each "pair" of houses has shared drainage and sewage piping as was common in many terraced houses. I was rather amazed to discover today when I visited her house for the first time, that she has THREE houses connecting onto her own single guttering down pipe in a "waterfall" like series of connections along the roof line. All of the other houses have shared downpipes between two houses. My daughter strongly believes that what she thought was damp walls caused by rising ground water might actually be caused by overloaded guttering. Is it legal to "discharge" rainwater like this.? I am sure that neighbours will not want to know but who should she approach once the neighbours walk away. Is there any point contacting the local authority planning office.? Who else might be able to assist.? Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.
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