Wet floor in garage, from someones garden

[srp]

My garage is at the end of a block and on the other side of one wall is so= meone's garden. I've noticed over recent year, there is a progressively wor= sening wet patch on the floor. The water seems to be coming from the bottom= of the wall that has the garden on the other side. I suspect that there ma= y be soil piled up on the other side of the wall ( can't see to check) so = I am going to knock on the door and politely make some enquires.=20

Now I don't want to put the horse before the cart, but how do I stand on th= is from a legal point of view ? If this were a major problem for the occupa= nts to rectify would I have any legal standing to force them to take action= ? =20

I have my MX5 and my Bike in the garage and would prefer not to have all th= at dampness getting in there, but I guess it's not a major issue really. I = definitely think it's worth me going and having a chat though ?

[Nthkentman]

Now I don't want to put the horse before the cart, but how do I stand on this from a legal point of view ? If this were a major problem for the occupants to rectify would I have any legal standing to force them to take action ?

I have my MX5 and my Bike in the garage and would prefer not to have all that dampness getting in there, but I guess it's not a major issue really. I definitely think it's worth me going and having a chat though ?

Sounds like a case of a friendly word and inspect the issue before offering to "Assist" with resolving the problem with them helping, explaining why you would prefer no dampness to get it.

Might just be a case of a bit of digging, some suitable membrane installation between the earth etc and garage then backfill and plantt a couple of nice flowers to "appease" them. I know it's not your problem to appease, but imagine the issue escalating and the problem worsening if they don't co-operate.

[Martin Brown]

someone's garden. I've noticed over recent year, there is a progressively worsening wet patch on the floor. The water seems to be coming from the bottom of the wall that has the garden on the other side. I suspect that there may be soil piled up on the other side of the wall ( can't see to check) so I am going to knock on the door and politely make some enquires.

One end of my garage is into a hill side. Heavy clay soil.

There is heavy gauge ~200u blue polythene sheet against the walls on the outside which seems to work OK. Bits exposed to light have long since perished. The ground water level is about 4" below my concrete garage floor - which makes the pit a PITA since it has to be syphoned out before you can use it and is soggy and horrible to work in.

from a legal point of view ? If this were a major problem for the occupants to rectify would I have any legal standing to force them to take action ?

Chances are slates and/or thick polythene sheet buried against the wall on the outside will be plenty good enough to sort it out.

dampness getting in there, but I guess it's not a major issue really. I definitely think it's worth me going and having a chat though ?

It might be obvious why it is damp if they have a compost heap up against it for instance.

[Harry Bloomfield]

[e-mail] explained on 12/06/2012 :

Our land has a gradual slope up to the rear, so garage is level with the front and land is slightly higher towards rear. In times of heavy rain it tended to flood in a couple of times a year. I resolved it by adding some drainage all of the way around the rear and sides - problem solved.

Might you be able to find a similar solution?

If they are piling soil up against your actual garage wall, as it is your wall then tell them to stop doing it and clear it away. Could you not simply climb on the garage roof to see what is happening at the other side?

[srp]

OK So as someone mentioned I took the common sense approach and had a peek = over the wall, using a step ladder. They do have a small bit of concrete pa= tio area, under a wooden BBQ canopy adjoining my wall. Mostly there is jus= t a fairly innocent looking flower/ shrub bed running along the wall though= .=20

I would think the most likely cause is that the gutter is sagging and parti= ally blocked. It's obviously overflowing and running down the wall. I could= see that the gutter was still full and sagging and the wall was still soak= ing wet. Would it probably be a single skin wall on a garage ? (It's made f= rom brick ) Would water be coming in this way ?

OK so time to go round there and sort out the gutter.. should be easier tha= t the one I fixed above my conservatory any how ! So then hopefully no more= water under my MX5 !=20

If that's not the problem then I shall order them to dig up their patio ;-)

[Harry Bloomfield]

[e-mail] explained on 12/06/2012 :

If the soil of the bed is higher than your garages concrete slab, run off will be into your garage - if I understand the layout correctly. Is your garage wall on the boundary, with their patio/ flower bed directly up against it?

Yes, probably with piers every so often. I'm surprised your neighbour has not complained about the gutter.

Yes, either that or the gutter leakage could be collecting on the slab below and then flowing in.

The patio may also be to blame...

If the patio is inclined towards your garage, the run off will end up alongside your garage wall and on its slab base. We get this from next doors patio which is built higher than and inclines slightly in our direction. So we get part our lawn flooded in really wet weather.

[Tim Lamb]

In message , Harry Bloomfield writes

French drain! Cut and remove a 12" wide strip of your neighbour's concrete alongside your garage wall, dig down a similar amount and back fill with pea shingle.

Looks fairly good, is easy to maintain and works:-)

regards

>

[srp]

yes that's what I was thinking.. well along those lines any way if that turns out to be the cause.

My bet is still on the gutter leak being the cause since their concrete slab only adjoins by a meter or so and it's also under a tiled canopy too.

It looked like water was running down the wall and collecting at the damp course.. kind of like the membrane was working in reverse.