Reading - Berkshire, RG2 | Party Wall Schedule of Condition
Shinfield - Reading, Party Wall Schedule of Condition (close to Sandhurst)
Background: The Building Owner had not served Notice on the Adjoining Owner before undertaking excavation works pour foundations for his new rear extension and now wished to rectify matters (in a manner of speaking) and have a Schedule undertaken of the neighbour's garage.
This was a standalone request to undertake a Schedule of Condition. There was no formal Party Wall Surveyor appointment.
There was one adjoining owner to the works.
The works involved the excavation for foundations for the purpose of erecting a rear extension in proximity to the neighbour's garage foundations. The works had already commenced and the neighbours called to request that a Schedule of Condition be undertaken.
Conclusion:
The undertaking of the Schedule of Condition mainly served to provide peace of mind to the Building Owner and Adjoining Owner. The Building Owner did not want to be asked to compensate the Adjoining Owners if damage was pre-existing. Conversely, the Adjoining Owner wanted the protection of the written and photographic Schedule of Condition which could be used in the event that damage was discovered in order to prove that damage was not pre-existing.
The properties were situated on a new development and an added benefit of our visit was to advise the parties that they should ascertain the correct boundary lines of their respective properties as the boundary line did not appear to follow a straight line.
The garage flank wall was behind the house and is a separate standalone structure but it is not in line with the apparent dividing line with the neighbours. Furthermore, the garage has an overhanging roof and its gutter downpipe connected underneath the overhang drains onto land that the Adjoining Owner considers to be his own. This raised the question as to whether the garage roof was indeed overhanging the neighbouring land or whether the land below the overhang belonged in fact, to the garage owner.