Shower Vent goes to Party Wall Outside

I’m on the ground floor of a brownstone and there is a vent in my shower that appears to vent directly out the brick wall which looks over my neighbors yard. They are complaining that the vent is not to code and are demanding that I change my whole venting system, but they have not provided any actual information on what building code. The building is from 1912 and the vent looks ancient. It actually lets cold air in in the winter and you can hear talking from outside so it seems that it’s just a metal grid on both sides and might not even have a fan in it. Does anyone have a similar setup in park slope or in their NYC brownstone? Do you know if this is to code? If not, any suggestions on how to change it?

hp123

in Bath & Kitchen 3 months ago

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cate | 3 months ago

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Thanks, OP. Many houses in Brooklyn have extensions in the rear that are original to the houses. (BTW, FWIW, the city’s dates are wrong and your house is probably 19th century, not 1912). Your bathroom air vent is probably just fine and not violating any code. The idea that a vent on your property could affect their inspection seems ridiculous. Brooklyn backyards are incredibly buggy in the warm months, which may be news to the new owners next door. If any backyards have any standing water, it will make the problem worse. If your vent is somehow harboring drops of water, mosquitos could be breeding in it but it seems unlikely a vent could allow in water. And mosquitoes are not coming through it into the bathroom, right? (If drops of water are standing in the vent, maybe a hooded vent to keep out water and a mosquito screen to keep out the mosquitos would fix that.) Your new neighbors sound a bit misguided. I guess it if it were me, I’d try to talk to them again, explain it’s just a harmless passive bathroom air vent (not for a dryer, stove, AC, boiler, etc.) that has been there for decades with no problem and is not violating any codes as far as you know. If they disagree, I’d ask them to show you the code it violates. If it does violate a code (highly unlikely) one option would be to close up that vent and put a new one just like it on a different wall in the extension that doesn’t face their backyard.

hp123 | 3 months ago

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Thank you for responding Steve. I believe the part where the bathroom is is original to 1912 but I am not sure if the vent is original or not. If it’s not original, it’s probably from the 1970s. I’m the owner of the building and have a tenant that lives in the apartment. I would prefer to leave it as is and put a flapper on the outside as you recommended but I’m wondering if my neighbor’s threats of “60 days to fix it or else” have any weight. I agree with you, I don’t believe it’s a party wall. It’s the wall of my building and it extends past their building into their backyard. Appreciate your advice!

hp123 | 3 months ago

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Thank you for taking the time to respond. The bathroom is in what appears to be an extension on the building except that all the buildings on the block have the same extension. So I believe they were all built in a sort of L shape and the extension is original. I’ve owned the building for 10 years and never had a problem and then 3 years ago the neighbors sold to someone knew and immediately the new people started giving me a hard time about it. First they claimed it wasn’t to code and they wouldn’t pass their DOB inspection, since they had just renovated, but they did pass their inspection. Then 3 years later they are claiming it’s causing bugs in their yard. They have not told me what specific code it violates. We have no other means of letting moisture out, there is no window in the bathroom and there are apartments above it so it’s not easily accessible to the roof or any other floor.

cate | 3 months ago

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Is your bathroom with the shower located in an extension in the rear of the building? And the vent in question is simply a hole in the wall covered by a metal grill that perhaps overlooks your neighbor’s patio in their backyard? Is your neighbor concerned because of a privacy issue or something else? Can your neighbor point to a specific code this violates? Does your bathroom have any other means of letting out moisture, such as a window? If not, the bathroom will need a means to vent moisture somewhere. An HVAC person might actually be the best informed about how to accomplish this. (Other possible options include an architect with a lot of experience designing bathrooms in prewar townhouses in Brooklyn or an engineer with the same. An expediter will also be familiar with code (old and new) and what code says about vent placement. The lot-line requirement may apply only to mechanical ventilation.) Depending on your bathroom setup, options might include leaving the vent as is, removing/closing up the vent, venting through a different wall onto your own backyard, or venting through the roof of the extension. A wall vent will be easiest. If you vent through the roof, a vetted, experienced roofer would be the right person to handle the exterior aspect by installing a proper roof vent and flashing that won’t leak. It’s a small job but because of their overhead, any good roofer probably has a $2,000 minimum.

Brownstone Home Inspection | 3 months ago

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I am not sure if i would call that a party wall. If it were a party wall and you went into their side, you might have an issue. This is your wall that extends beyond the back of their house.

I would get a vent with a flapper on it and have it installed to keep the cold out in the winter.

Also, just in case they try to make an issue out of this, do you think this vent is original to the 1912 structure? Or, when was the place or bathrooms reno’d? If this has been in place since day naught, i would not worry about it.

Lastly, do you live in and are you the owner of a unit in a condo or coop and is this venting arrangement the same for all restrooms? That this vent goes through an exterior wall and this may have been built this way sounds like it is the building’s problem and not an individual owner’s problem. (In which case if you want a flapper cover on it, it is up to the building).

I might see if i can look the code up but situations like this are often part of living in new your city.

Steve