The Case of the Careless Designer It is a sad fact that contributors to a consumer forum are more likely to criticise party wall surveyors as being an expensive irrelevance than praise them for a job well done. Yes, there are party wall  surveyors who charge too much, but it is worth looking at some of the reasons why party wall surveyors’ fees may seem high- for example -poor, inadequate or inconsistent design  information. An experienced party wall surveyor will use their knowledge of building construction to spot problems. Designers

Consent to a Party Wall Notice SHOULD I BE NEIGHBOURLY AND JUST CONSENT TO A PARTY WALL NOTICE? Sometimes consent to a neighbour’s proposals should not be given! Alan provided free advice an adjoining owner recently where the building owner (the person doing the work) proposed to build the wall of a new extension up to the boundary and was seeking consent to a party wall notice from the adjoining owner. BUT the drawings  for the new extension showed the gutter overhanging the adjoining owner’s land. We pointed out that

  Party wall surveyors are often asked what are the consequences of doing work such as a loft conversion or extension without first serving notice and complying with the party Wall Act. One answer is that purchaser’s solicitors DO ask in their searches whether the Act has been complied with. We had an email from a solicitor acting for prospective purchasers of a property in London SW6: “ we understand that you acted as the party wall surveyor for the previous owners of this property for their works carried out

How not to prop a wall!                              Disaster strikes! We had a case in SW London where the owner of a house appointed incompetent  contractors to lower the level of their garden.  No structural engineer was appointed to design the works and no party wall surveyor had been appointed to give the neighbours the protection of the Party Wall Act.  The property where work was being carried out is at a lower level than their neighbours’ house, but the contractor set about undermining the concrete retaining wall that separates