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Our upstairs duplex owner has informed us of their intent to convert their aged and excessively noisy dumbwaiter into a lift – to carry people instead of groceries and luggage. The dumbwaiter joins their basement garage to their floor above our apartment; the shaft runs through our bathroom. They claim that it won’t have anything to do with us, nor will require any council approval. A well beneath the basement floor will be needed to encase equipment to drive it, so we’ve been told.

However, the information we have been provided is seriously short of the real building requirements. It is clear, that in order to increase the size of the two openings – an entry/exit for people at basement level and second floor level (a dumbwaiter opening is less than a metre square at waist level), a certain amount of masonry demolition will be required. That means removal of bricks and addition of lintels. The openings will certainly be close to our ceiling and floor in that area. It is not a trivial modification. This is in addition to the new drive mechanisms and attachment points of tracks/guides behind our bathroom walls.

Apart from any council approval, do we have rights to see the detail in regard to the modifications, and in particular the noise levels? And is it Owners’ Corporation approval that needs to be sought? The existing 50 year-old dumbwaiter will wake the dead, and all of our complaints regarding it have fallen on deaf ears – so to speak. We’ve just handed over to a strata manager, following resolution over other matters and the strata manager has said that he needs to see detail of this proposal. What about us?

What do you think?

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