Q I own a house in a modern residential development and have a parking driveway with space for one car. We have two cars, and used to park the second on the road outside my house, until our neighbours moved and the new occupants next door constantly park their second car in my spot. What can I do about this? Is the local authority responsible if the estate is in charge?
A Where no parking systems are in place, public on-street parking is not reserved and as such anyone may avail of a space to park their car. Familiarity of habit does not equate to entitlement.
It is possible that the road outside your home is not with the local authority and remains in the development company as private land or as common area land with the owners’ management company (OMC).
You say you live in a modern residential development of which most are a multi-unit development in private ownership and falls under the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011. The question of who is responsible can be investigated by contacting your local authority to clarify the matter. Many public roads now offer pay and display parking schemes to provide for parking for residents of the area with permits to mitigate abuses by local business or commuter parking.
As your issue is with your neighbour having a second car, similar to you, it would not be of assistance to your cause to seek permit parking under control of either an OMC or local authority. Under such controls each household would be provided with an additional parking permit.
On-street parking may not be suitable on your road if such activity would adversely affect refuse collection and the emergency services access.
Parking facilities in residential areas are a product of planning. Frustrations with parking facilities are shared throughout high density residential areas. The planning system, for some time, viewed cars as a non-essential means of dated transit which could be replaced with public services.
Your neighbour is equally entitled to own two cars and as such, two litres of milk will not fit into a pint glass no matter how you pour it. The best you can do is to discuss the matter with your neighbour objectively, which could yield a compromise you may have overlooked.
Paul Huberman is a member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, scsi.ie
Cracks appearing
Q Cracks have developed along the walls of our conservatory where it's adjoined to the house. The wall of the conservatory is approximately 6ft long and the other two sides have walls approximately 2ft long. The floor appears to have shifted because when we looked under the floorboards, it looks like the concrete floor has sunk by 2cm. Do you know why this is happening and what we can do to fix it?
A The occurrence of cracks or movement in your home can be a worry. There may be a number of possible causes and these all require examination. However, initially it should be determined if the cracking is affecting the structural stability of the wall/floor which would give rise to safety concerns.
Cracking and movement can occur as a result of general settlement after construction (slowly, over time), structural movement as a result of a failure (sudden failure), or cracking as a result of thermal movement, the natural expansion and contraction of a building structure.
I believe there are two issues that require further investigation. Firstly, the severity of cracking to the conservatory wall should be determined. This cracking may only occur to the plaster finish and not the structural block wall.
Subject to the level and extent of cracking to the wall/floor there may be a requirement to carry out on-going monitoring of the area to confirm that movement has ceased.
Light cracks (0-2mm wide) within the wall may not indicate a serious problem. Cracks up to 5mm are described as “slight” and can be easily repaired. For wider cracks it is advisable to seek professional advice. You indicate movement of 20mm (2cm) within the floor slab and this requires further investigation. This level of settlement can occur as a result of poorly compacted hardcore during construction. It would be important to determine if the slab has uniformly settled or if any fracturing has occurred.
When subsidence occurs to a structure it is normally abrupt and sudden as a result of a change in ground conditions. If the cracking and movement that you describe has occurred over a period of time, it is unlikely to be a subsidence issue. From what is described I believe that potential settlement has occurred within the concrete floor and to identify this you will need to confirm the date of construction of the conservatory to allow for an assessment on the level of movement that has occurred over a period of time.
It should also be established if there are any piped drains or a water supply running adjacent to or below the wall/floor, which may have been damaged or burst, causing soil erosion beneath the foundation causing it to fracture.
Subject to confirmation of the cause of movement, there are a number of repair options available. Repairs to the wall may require partial rebuilding or the insertion of metal support bars and re-plastering. Mini pilling could be required to the floor structure to prevent any further movement, with the application of a floor levelling compound to provide a level surface.
Andrew Ramsey is chairperson of the Building Surveying Professional Group of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland
Dealing with drains
Q My son recently bought an old terraced house. It has a small kitchen extension that was probably exempt from planning permission. On removing the old laminate floor he discovered that the extension was built over an access junction about 10in square which had been concreted over. Is it acceptable to put a double seal cover on the AJ, leaving a tile or floor board from which access can be gained if required. Would a double seal cover eliminate odours?
A It is not unusual during restoration or alteration works to uncover old concealed drainage runs. These may not always still be in use. Old redundant pipes should be removed or capped as they can allow odours to enter the building. In this case, the drain appears to be live and therefore in my opinion, you have two options in order to deal with the matter.
If the drain serves your property only, you do have the option of relocating the drain so that it runs around the perimeter of the extension. This has the advantage of removing the possibility of ingress of odours and also means that access for rodding of the drains would be much less disruptive. It is possible however that the drain also serves neighbouring properties as well as your own. It is therefore likely to operate at a higher capacity and the number of bends on the drain should be kept to a minimum. If this is the case I would not recommend the reconfiguration of the drainage runs.
If you decide to retain the cover at its existing location, the use of a double sealed cover would be satisfactory. These covers are specifically designed to eliminate the ingress of odours and resist back pressure.
In general, these covers can be used with ceramic tiles, rather than with floorboards. Typically, a brass or metal edge detail will be seen, showing the junction location. The fact that the cover remains visible is not to everyone’s taste, but offers a cheaper solution to relocation of the drains.
If you are unsure as to whether the drain is shared or private, a chartered building surveyor working in the locality should be able to advise following a quick inspection.
Noel Larkin is a member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland
