Should a neighbour’s kitchen extractor fan be blowing directly at our house?
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germanefficiency
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Should a neighbour’s kitchen extractor fan be blowing directly at our house?

by germanefficiency » Tue Dec 08, 2020 11:37 am

We’re installing a kitchen extractor in our new extension and building regs stipulate we cannot have this venting in such a way that the fumes blow directly against any neighbours’ walls.
Quite agree, no problem, we’re venting it in a small chimney pipe that points upwards anyway.

My question is this: our neighbour has an existing kitchen extension into whose wall their builders sited their extractor fan, many years ago when they had it built and before we lived here, at first floor level, above their kitchen).
This extractor is directly opposite the side of our first floor and blows fumes into the side return space that used to be empty but is now our kitchen side return extension.
Fumes also inevitably blow into our back bedroom where one of our kids sleeps, which was very tricky last summer as we couldn’t leave the baby’s window open when it was hot, as they would be cooking and the smells were bad.
We’re talking frying onions, frying fish in 38 degrees C. Not fun.

My question is: should their extractor outlet me venting towards our house like this?
The wall it is in is the base of their first floor bathroom, just above the kitchen extension that is beneath.
Shouldn’t they have also been told to vent it upwards and away, like we were told to?

I’ve had a look at building regs, but can’t find anything about this.

The smells, particularly in warm weather, are relentless and often awful (what the hell do some folk do to their food, to make it smell so bad?!)
We also have a back part of our through lounge with a French window opening out onto a small light shaft.
This shaft also collects the smells like a well, and again we can’t open that door if it’s warm and they are killing their food.

Thanks for your help.

stoneyboy
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Re: Should a neighbour’s kitchen extractor fan be blowing directly at our house?

by stoneyboy » Wed Dec 09, 2020 7:52 pm

Hi germanefficiency
You best course of action is to approach you neighbour. It is unlikely that your local BR dept will be interested since your neighbours extension was completed some time ago.
Regards S

germanefficiency
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Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2020 6:21 pm

Re: Should a neighbour’s kitchen extractor fan be blowing directly at our house?

by germanefficiency » Wed Dec 09, 2020 7:59 pm

Thanks for replying.
I know I could approach them, but they are difficult to deal with at the best of times, so I wanted to know if, from a building regs/legal viewpoint we actually had a case.

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