Neighbour want’s to instal a bathroom extractor in the side passage

archtop

We live in an ex-council house which a part of a 4-house terrace. There is a passageway / gennel between our house and our neighbour’s, and our second story is overhanging the passage.

Our neighbour has been doing a lot of DIY renovations over the past few years and now wants to put an extractor fan in the passageway which will vent the moist air from his shower. I had some reservations because he is essentially venting underneath my daughter’s bedroom and the floor which overhangs the passageway is not insulated, and I've no idea about what vapour barrier might be there. I’m sure most days the air flow would be adequate but there is also the question of having a mechanical vent in what is essentially the party wall (or an extension of it). As the fan bearings wear out over time we might well start to notice the noise as it resonates with the wall.

For anyone one who might know,
Are there proper guidelines for mechanical vent placement in relation to adjoining property?
In general, is venting underneath an adjoining dwelling considered normal practice?

Before posting this I did some searching but I can’t find anything definitive.

Thanks for any advice!

John

archtop

Here is a sketchup model which shows the layout

Calahonda52

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2009/act/27/enacted/en/print#part8-chap3
might help.
my instinct is no as its a shared space.

the level of detail here may not be enough, they are not mad money IIRC
sample attached from the site
https://www.landregistryireland.com/sample

or
https://www.osi.ie/services/map-agents/

archtop

Super - thanks very much for this

It seems this is a good starting point for understanding what’s permissible. When we bought the house I remember the solicitor showed me a land map with a red border going down the middle of the passageway indicating the space is shared and that it is not a right-of-way situation.

In the statute book you referenced it describes the party structure meaning, “any arch, ceiling, ditch, fence, floor, hedge, partition, shrub, tree, wall or other structure which horizontally, vertically or in any other way— (a) divides adjoining and separately owned buildings”

I’m not a legal person but this seems to imply that carrying out works in the archway / passageway is in fact carrying out works in the party divide. So I guess now I need to work out If contsent is required from both parties in order for any works to proceed.

mad m

Seen a lot of these houses, sometimes people have 1/2 Marley coming out of their wall into shared laneway from a sink or washing machine. Kitchens might have a vent on that party wall iirc....

archtop

mad m wrote: »

Seen a lot of these houses, sometimes people have 1/2 Marley coming out of their wall into shared laneway from a sink or washing machine. Kitchens might have a vent on that party wall iirc....

That's interesting. From looking around at similar houses in the area, laneways seem to be undisturbed. I've no doubt people will go ahead with alterations like this without considering what's legit.

As it happens, the same neighbour installed a new boiler last year and the flu vents into the passageway. it is venting from his extension at the back and not underneath our house. My daughter sometimes gets a blast of gassey fumes when she opens her bedroom window. I wasn't asked about this installation and just ignored it at the time. I now understand better the importance of considering possible nuisances from such alterations.

Calahonda52

Re the gas flue, check out the dimensions in Part J
https://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/building-standards/tgd-part-d-materials-and-workmanship/technical-guidance-documents

Interesting re the red line, begs the question about the room above, he might break into that next!!

archtop

Calahonda52 wrote: »

Re the gas flue, check out the dimensions in Part J
https://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/building-standards/tgd-part-d-materials-and-workmanship/technical-guidance-documents

Interesting re the red line, begs the question about the room above, he might break into that next!!

Funny, he accidentally poked a hole in the wall when putting in the RSJ for the attic conversion! He's a nice bloke in fairness and well able to fix things like that so it didn't bother me at all.

Thanks for pointing out the part J regs. I checked it out and the flue position doesn't comply at all. I'm reluctant to make a fuss about it but I will need to work out if it is an actual problem now. My daughter said it didn't bother her too much but she is super chill and I'd like her to be able to sit on her bed with the window open and not smell exhaust fumes!

Calahonda52

Fuss is not the issue here:
No REGI should have signed off on the install, is it a self install?

archtop

Calahonda52 wrote: »

Fuss is not the issue here:
No REGI should have signed off on the install, is it a self install?

I believe he did the internal plumbing and sourced/fitted the boiler himself. He got more qualified people in to plumb the gas pipes (registered installers I assume). I think I'll let him know that I discovered the boiler position was not legit while I was researching the guidelines for the fan installation. He might not actually be aware of this so I'll see if he offers to do something about it. I really don't want to fall out with him but I have to say something.

Gumbo

This problem may come back to bite you, should you wish to sell in the future.