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Neighbor's DOB Complaint
9:44 AM 06/14/2012
Hello all -
My neighbor has filed a complaint to the DOB claiming that an illegally constructed electrical outlet in my home damaged his chimney flue on the other side of my wall; a DOB inspector has come by attempting to gain access to the house.
The back story is the allegedly illegal construction occurred over eight years ago, before I purchased the house, under a prior owner against whom this neighbor had a history of filing complaints. About five years ago, my neighbor turned on his gas fireplace; toxic fumes were released into my house and the gas company ordered him to shut off the chimney. He has ever since been blaming the prior owners of my house and insisting that the only way he can look at his own chimney is by ripping open my wall, which I have told him he can't do. So, years later, he has now filed a complaint to the DOB.
My question for the community is do I need to let a DOB inspector in? I have nothing to hide in my home and strongly feel this neighbor's comp;aints are bogus, but I am wary of letting in an inspector who may just use the opportunity to find some unrelated other issues that will be annoying and expensive.
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Bedford Stuyvesant, NY
No, you don't need to let him in.
9:49 AM 06/14/2012 | 0 Votes
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Windsor Terrace, NY
it will go away if you don't answer. your neighbor on the other hand....
i thought brownstones were made with double walls with a space in between? which makes me wonder why your wall needs to be ripped open. perhaps someone more expereinced could chime in.12:08 PM 06/14/2012 | 0 Votes
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South Slope, NY
The inspector will try to make the inspection then post a notice saying you need to make an appointment with the DOB or else. They will try two times and then stop. Check the DOB BIS and the complaint will be closed shortly after the second failed attempt.
You share a party wall? and if your homes were built by the same developer the chimney flue may only be a single layer of brick. If the electrician chopped out the brick to install the box he may have disturbed the clay chimney liner. Tell him to get a stainless steel liner installed.2:02 PM 06/14/2012 | 0 Votes
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There are two layers of brick between our attached brownstones. The neighbor is convinced that bricks were dislodged into the flue from my side when a standard electrical outlet was installed years ago, and that this is the reason toxic fumes escape into my house. The gas company ordered him to shut down his gas fireplace because the chimney is not up to code; I have told him that if he has a problem with his chimney lining, he needs to inspect and repair it from his own house, and that it is unreasonable for him to ask me to rip open my bedroom wall so he can visually test his theory. So, he's trying to file complaints to the DOB. Great neighbor!
3:24 PM 06/14/2012 | 0 Votes
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Yes, Totoro. That might be the situation -- I don't know as I did not own the house at the time the electrical boxes were installed, and the walls are sealed up and behind bookshelves. I have told the neighbor that if he needs to reline his chimney, he should do it from his own property.
3:28 PM 06/14/2012 | -1 Votes
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Brooklyn, NY
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Brooklyn, NY
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your neighbor is a jerk. but he's not going away, and it doesn't sound like a lot of fun to be hiding from the dob in your own home. and there's nothing to stop him from filing another complaint in the future. so why not offer to let him open up the wall if he covers all the costs to do so? it sucks to reward jerky behaviour, but in the long run it might be less trouble for you.
6:41 PM 06/14/2012 | 0 Votes
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Brooklyn, NY
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Windsor Terrace, NY
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Gowanus, NY
If you KNOW the outlet is illegally constructed, you would be wise to get a licensed electrician in there immediately to make it right. If he gets any sort of legal order for you to allow an inspector in, anything they find will add ammo to his arsenal. You want him to open HIS walls to reline his flue, but there is obviously a gap in the party wall if his fumes get into your space. If they find even a minor violation they could conclude he may be right, and they could order you to "fix" your side, even if the problem isn't on your side at all. He's looking for a way to do this big job with a minimum mess on his side of the wall. He'll use anything he can to get the mess totally on your side (and a flue-job is ALWAYS a huge mess), so you have to be prepared and be 100% violation-free to look like the good guy.
9:53 PM 06/14/2012 | 0 Votes
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Cobble Hill, NY
Just to add background information...
Oftentimes in older 1850's and earlier, the party wall is two bricks thick in all locations except the back of the flues.
In terms of whose wall is whose, the single layer behind the flues is on the same plane as the adjacent home's half of the party wall. So if this your situation, He has no party wall there and the bricks he sees at the rear of his flue are actually your half of the party wall, and should be on your side of the property line.11:26 PM 06/14/2012 | 0 Votes
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I would never allow a neighbor to do his/her own inspection of my property. If I was forced to, I might allow an appropriatelly qualified, independent inspector to come in, inspect and report, provided my property was left the way it was found and the neighbor paid the entire cost. There is an officious type of person that is all to common in our communities that will insist s/he is qualified to determine that you have violated the building code, even though s/he is an accountant or a systems engineer or basically anything unrelated to the construction professions and trades. I am not inclined to indulge their flights of fancy.
I suspect this person has been told by the gas company that they need to make an expensive upgrade to their chimney, and s/he want someone else to pay for it. Sucks to be him/her.7:08 AM 06/15/2012 | 0 Votes
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I agree with brikenny that you should get an electrician in there to make sure you are totally legal. If they take the outlet out, couldn't they see behind for any abnormalities? Do electricians use those tiny cameras to poke around spaces (like plumbers)? If you can disprove the theory, then it could in the end save you lots of time, money and annoyance.
In any event, to play devil's advocate, while the outlet may not have been installed when you owned the house, it is your responsibility now. From your neighbor's perspective, he is convinced his theory is right (or could be) and you have injured him. Is the flue out of code just because of the crack or would it have been shut down irregardless? Sure, it seems crazy that the cost of an enitre flue could be attributed to that (potential) one small crack, but if it is the only reason that the flue needs to be replaced -- well, then maybe he has a point. If there wouldn't have been a problem if the outlet hadn't been (illegally) installed in the first place, then why aren't you liable? Again, just devil's advocate...
One thing I don't understand is that if toxic fumes were released into your apartment, how did he know? It is certainly lucky that it was discovered, but I don't get the time sequence.7:46 AM 06/17/2012 | 1 Votes
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