Buying a House with an Extension? Party Wall Paperwork Worth Checking
You have found a house with the space you wanted: an extended kitchen, a converted loft and a layout that already works. During the paperwork stage, someone mentions a party wall agreement. The seller remembers speaking to the neighbours, but the documents are less easy to find. That is a good moment to ask clear […]
Changed Your Building Plans After Serving a Party Wall Notice? What Happens Next?
You have sent the notices, spoken to the neighbours and started organising the builders. Then something changes. Perhaps the structural engineer recommends a different foundation. Perhaps you decide to keep the chimney breast after all. Or the builder opens up part of the house and discovers that the wall is not quite where the drawings […]
Party Wall Advice When Converting Two Flats Back Into One London Home
Converting two flats back into a single house is becoming more common across London. A Victorian or Edwardian property may have been divided into separate flats decades ago, and a new owner may now want to restore it as one family home. The work can involve removing kitchens, opening staircases, changing floor layouts, removing walls […]
Do You Need a Party Wall Notice When Lowering a Floor in a London Home?
Lowering a floor is one of those renovation jobs that can look fairly straightforward on a drawing but become much more complicated once excavation begins. London homeowners lower floors for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes it is to gain more headroom in a basement or lower-ground room. In other cases, the aim is to create […]
Do You Need a Party Wall Notice for a Kitchen Extension in London?
A kitchen extension can look straightforward on paper. Knock through the back wall, push the room into the garden, add a few rooflights, fit large sliding doors and suddenly the house feels twice as usable. The building work behind that finished space is usually less simple. In many London homes, especially terraces and semi-detached houses, […]
Party Wall Notice for a Two-Storey Rear Extension in London
A two-storey rear extension can completely change the way a London home works. Instead of gaining only a larger kitchen or dining room downstairs, you may also create an additional bedroom, bathroom, study or larger first-floor room. The construction is naturally more involved than a simple internal refurbishment, though, and one issue homeowners sometimes discover […]
Do You Need a Party Wall Notice for a Garden Room in London?
Garden rooms have become a common feature in London homes. Some are used as home offices, others as gyms, studios, workshops or simply somewhere quiet to sit away from the main house. They can also seem fairly straightforward compared with a full extension. After all, it is only a small building at the bottom of […]
Do You Need a Party Wall Agreement for Installing Steel Beams?
If you’re planning a loft conversion, an extension, or knocking through to create an open-plan kitchen, chances are steel beams are somewhere in your plans. They’re the workhorses of home renovation — quietly holding up everything once a wall comes down or a roof gets altered. What a lot of homeowners don’t realise, though, is […]
Do You Need a Party Wall Notice for a Roof Terrace in London?
A roof terrace can make a noticeable difference to a London home. In areas where gardens are small—or missing altogether—turning a flat roof into usable outdoor space can feel like gaining an extra room. The difficulty is that a roof terrace is rarely just a matter of laying decking and adding a railing. The existing […]
Planning Building Work in London? When to Check Party Wall Requirements in Your Local Area
Planning an extension, loft conversion, basement, structural alteration or new foundations in London involves more than choosing a builder and obtaining planning permission. Depending on the location of your property and the type of work being proposed, you may also need to consider your responsibilities under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. London properties are […]