shared wall

[lina]

Our neighbours are complaining of damp penetrating the shared party wall. Although we have no damp they think it is because we don't have flashing where our roof tiles meet the party wall. Whilst it could be this we have no damp and we think it could be caused by either the poor quality of the rendering when they created a roof terrace in 2011 or possibly condensation in their internal bathroom (which is not fully tiled).

We are willing to make repairs if we are responsible but before spending money we would like to be sure. We have asked them if they have spoken to a builder and they have not. In the UK if there was a dispute surveyors might be used but surveyors are not so common in France. Does anyone have a suggestion?

[Allan]

Our neighbours are complaining of damp penetrating the shared party wall. Although we have no damp they think it is because we don't have flashing where our roof tiles meet the party wall. Whilst it could be this we have no damp and we think it could be caused by either the poor quality of the rendering when they created a roof terrace in 2011 or possibly condensation in their internal bathroom (which is not fully tiled).

We are willing to make repairs if we are responsible but before spending money we would like to be sure. We have asked them if they have spoken to a builder and they have not. In the UK if there was a dispute surveyors might be used but surveyors are not so common in France. Does anyone have a suggestion?

Buy a moisture meter £20 on Amazon, you push it against the wall and it shows you how damp it is, by testing different areas you can find out if the damp is rising or coming down a wall. No substitute for an expert but a very cheap way of getting an idea what is going on.

[Owens88]

Is their internal bathroom ventilated?

[lina]

Thanks Allan for the suggestion about the meter. This sounds a good idea.

The damp shows up in a bedroom, the bathroom and an internal store room sharing a wall with the bathroom (which does have a small window - my mistake - but is not otherwise ventilated). It is not tiled up to the ceiling so we thought this might be a problem.

They also created a roof terrace exposing the party wall. We already had a roof terrace but the wall was not exposed as it was covered by their roof. We don't feel their builder did a good rendering job on the wall. He also came on to our roof breaking a couple of our roof tiles. They are repaired but might have moved so this may also be a cause of some water penetration but we would expect damp our side.

Our problem is that they are adamant the problem is the lack of flashing even though we have had no problem with our roof terrace since we bought the property in 2002 with the roof terrace already completed by the previous owner. It is possible there may be deterioration over time.

[opas]

Speak to your insurance, if you have jurifique they can send an expert, that said if your neighbours are the ones with the damp I would have thought they would do that, Itake it your neighbour is french.

[Sus]

I would try and get an agreement with your neighbour to jointly pay for a survey to be done, if there is moisture in the party wall, it is ultimately in both of your interest to get it resolved, in my experience just a question of when rather than whether it eventually shows up on your side. it also sounds like it would be good to have a "neutral" party to give some facts.

[rainbow]

Excellent advise from Sus however if you receive a (neutral opinion) make sure that the cause of the dampness is attribute to which part of the property?.

[rainbow]

Excellent advise from Sus however if you receive a (neutral opinion) make sure that the cause of the dampness is attribute to which part of the property?.

[lina]

Thanks for your replies opas, sus and rainbow. I shall look into the insurance option to see if it is suitable.

I shall also try to reach agreement with the neighbour - and take into account the advice to make sure that the cause of the damp can be attributed. If not perhaps an agreement to share costs.

My main concern is to find the cause of the damp rather than rush into repairs that may not solve the problem. So I think purchasing a cheap meter may also be helpful.

Lina

[Santiago]

I had some friends who had a similar problem with damp on their side caused by their neighbours roof leaking. They in the end called the insurance company and he called his and it all got sorted out that way.

Perhaps you should go back to your neighbour as they are the one with the problem and get them to contact their insurance company who will come round and assess the situation and also call in the correct person to make judgement. goodluck.