Basement Excavations
The defining local project. Digging below and close to neighbouring foundations almost always triggers the Act, usually with more than one notice.
Section 6Party Wall Services. Handled by Professional Surveyors.
Planning works on a Hammersmith home, or just received a Party Wall Notice from a neighbour? LENIO Party Wall Surveyors handles the whole process for you.
Looking for a party wall surveyor in Hammersmith? LENIO Party Wall Surveyors works across Brook Green, Brackenbury Village, Ravenscourt Park, Hammersmith Grove and the Riverside, on both sides of the wall.
This is part of our West London coverage, and a busy party wall area of mansion blocks and period homes. Most basements, extensions and refurbishments here engage the Party Wall etc. Act 1996.
Most homeowners here ask this before a basement, extension or refurbishment, usually when an architect raises it. Whether you need a notice depends on the works and how close they sit to your neighbour.
This guide sets out exactly which works are notifiable, how proximity to the boundary matters, and what to do if you are uncertain.
On these dense homes and mansion blocks, works usually affect a shared wall or dig close to a neighbour's foundations. That is why most projects are notifiable, and the party wall notice Hammersmith projects require is the first formal step. Our guide on whether you need a Party Wall Notice covers it in full.
Hammersmith mixes grand mansion blocks with riverside homes and period terraces. Around Brook Green, Brackenbury Village and the river, the housing is dense and often valuable. Basements are a common way to add space.
In the mansion blocks, works that cut into a shared wall are notifiable, and there can be several owners to serve. On the terraces and larger homes, basements and underpinning bring real risk to neighbouring foundations.
That makes excavation the central party wall concern in Hammersmith. A careful notice and record matter, whichever type of home you own.
Most Hammersmith projects engage the Act through one of four works. Each triggers a different notice.
The defining local project. Digging below and close to neighbouring foundations almost always triggers the Act, usually with more than one notice.
Section 6In a mansion block or terrace, cutting into, thickening or altering a shared wall is notifiable work to a party structure.
Sections 2 & 3Strengthening an older home's foundations is notifiable work to a party structure, especially where it adjoins a neighbour.
Section 2New foundations near the neighbour, or building to the boundary, bring the Act into play under the excavation and boundary provisions.
Sections 1 & 6The most common mistake we see in Hammersmith is ignoring a Party Wall Notice that lands on your doormat. Many Adjoining Owners assume that saying nothing will make the works go away.
It does the opposite. If you do not respond within 14 days, you are treated as having dissented, and the surveyor process begins anyway. Ignoring the notice does not stop the build.
Responding promptly protects you. It lets you appoint a surveyor, usually at the Building Owner's cost, and secure a Schedule of Condition before any work starts.
Wherever you are in the process, LENIO Party Wall Surveyors covers it for Hammersmith owners. The work breaks down into a handful of clear services, whether you are the Building Owner or the Adjoining Owner.
Working out which notice a Hammersmith project needs, and serving it correctly on the right Adjoining Owners, is where the process starts. Get this step right and the rest tends to follow.
Explore Party Wall Notices →
We photograph and document the neighbouring property before anything begins. That record is what settles any question about damage later, for both sides.
Explore Schedule of Condition →
When a neighbour dissents, we draft the Party Wall Award that allows works to proceed, covering hours, access and the condition record.
Explore Party Wall Awards →
Planning the works yourself? We act on your behalf, handling the notices and running the process so your Hammersmith project does not lose time.
Explore Building Owner Surveyor →
Received a notice from next door? We represent you, protecting your property and your rights, typically at the Building Owner's cost.
Explore Adjoining Owner Surveyor →
If both sides are comfortable with a single impartial surveyor, LENIO can take that role for both. It is usually faster and cheaper than two separate appointments.
Explore Agreed Surveyor →Three terms Hammersmith homeowners ask about most, and what each one actually means for your project.
A Party Wall Award is the document surveyors prepare when a neighbour dissents to your notice. It sets out how the works are carried out, the working hours, access arrangements and a Schedule of Condition. You only need one if your neighbour dissents, or does not respond within 14 days. If they consent in writing, the works proceed on the notice alone.
Many homeowners say party wall agreement when they mean either written consent or the Award that follows a dissent. A verbal yes gives no protection. If your neighbour consents in writing, that written consent is the agreement Hammersmith owners rely on. If they dissent, the Award becomes the formal agreement that governs the works.
Before works begin, a party wall survey records the condition of the neighbouring property in photographs and notes. On these period homes and mansion blocks, where the dig sits close to next door, that baseline is what settles any later question about damage. Both owners hold the same record, so neither side can argue about what the property looked like before the works.
In most cases, a short look at your plans is enough to confirm whether you need a notice, which one applies, roughly how long it will take, and what happens next. LENIO Party Wall Surveyors offers this initial advice for free, with no obligation to go further. For Hammersmith, that usually starts with a look at how your basement excavations sits relative to the boundary.
In Hammersmith, the party wall surveyor's job goes well beyond paperwork. It means reading your project correctly, identifying every owner who has to be served, and resolving disputes early enough that the works are not held up.
LENIO Party Wall Surveyors is a specialist practice, led by a Chartered Civil Engineer and Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). The lead surveyor is also a Chartered Building Engineer and Member of the Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE). On Hammersmith basements, mansion blocks and riverside homes, that mix of engineering and party wall knowledge is exactly what the job needs.
LENIO knows the local mansion blocks and period homes well, and handles the process end to end. We keep your neighbour relationship calm while the works go ahead. LENIO is the party wall surveyor Hammersmith homeowners call first.
Chartered Civil Engineer, Member of the ICE
Chartered Building Engineer, Member of the CABE
LENIO is based in central London and covers Hammersmith and the wider West London area in person. We attend for the party wall survey and the Schedule of Condition, so wherever your project sits in Hammersmith, a chartered surveyor comes to you.
Call LENIO TodayConflict is the exception, not the rule, in a party wall matter. Mostly it is a procedural step, there to protect the neighbouring property while your works go ahead. In Hammersmith, a specialist party wall surveyor gets that done properly and without friction. Here that most often means basement excavations, so it is usually the first thing we ask about.
Cutting corners has real consequences. A notice that is not valid has to be reissued, and that delay lands on your programme. Skip the Schedule of Condition and you have no defence if a damage claim comes in later. And a neighbour who is left in the dark is considerably more likely to dissent.
LENIO Party Wall Surveyors prefers a reassuring tone to an alarming one. The first call is free, and you will have a firm quote once the drawings have been looked over.
Still working through a party wall question? These guides answer the most common ones in full. Start with the one closest to your situation, or explore the full library.
Which works are notifiable, how proximity to the boundary matters, and what to do if you are uncertain.
Explore The Guide →If your neighbour dissents, your project is not blocked. The surveyor route, the Award, and how long a dissent adds.
Explore The Guide →What each one is, when each applies, and how a notice can lead to an Award, so you know which applies to you.
Explore The Guide →The timeline stage by stage, what makes it longer or shorter, and how serving notice early keeps you on schedule.
Explore The Guide →Typical fee ranges for notices and Awards, who pays, and how to keep your party wall costs down.
Explore The Guide →What it includes, when you need one, what it costs, and how it protects both sides if damage is alleged.
Explore The Guide →Yes. LENIO works across the whole area, from Brook Green and Brackenbury Village to Ravenscourt Park, Hammersmith Grove and the Riverside. If your street is not named on this page, a quick call confirms that we cover it.
We travel to you for the party wall survey and the Schedule of Condition, as part of our West London coverage.
Respond within 14 days, and do not ignore it. If you do nothing, you are treated as having dissented, and the surveyor process starts anyway.
Responding lets you appoint a surveyor, usually at the Building Owner's cost, and secure a Schedule of Condition before work begins. We can act for you.
Yes, almost always. A basement digs below and close to neighbouring foundations, which triggers the Act, usually under more than one notice. Basements are the most common notifiable work here.
Because basements carry real structural risk, the Award goes further than for a simpler job, and a surveyor who reads the structure is worth having.
Often, yes. Cutting into or altering a shared wall in a mansion block is notifiable to a party structure. There can be several qualifying owners, including the freeholder and neighbouring leaseholders.
We identify everyone who must be served before any notice goes out.
There is no single price, because the cost depends on how your neighbour responds and how many owners are involved. A consented notice sits at the low end, while a party wall award in Hammersmith, after a dissent, costs more.
LENIO gives free initial advice and a clear quote after reviewing your drawings. You will know the cost before any work begins.
Whether your own project is underway or a neighbour has just served you a notice, LENIO Party Wall Surveyors covers Hammersmith and the wider West London area. Get in touch for free initial advice and a quote built around your project. Basement Excavations is the project we see most often here, so we usually know the ground before we start.