Neighbor Draining Roof onto My Property

[TD]

"Pittman Pirate" wrote in news:XInEl.31343$% [e-mail]:

I'd do the same. The guy is a jerk.

[Steve Daniels]

On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 21:54:39 -0500, against all advice, something compelled "HeyBub" , to say:

Gay gay gay gay gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[JIMMIE]

My neighbor built a dam that blocked drainage of my property across his and he had to remove it. He did so quite willingly once he was informed of the law.

JImmie

[Perry Aynum]

I did mention that he did do this in my original post, and this is the 2nd go-round. Please see the 2nd paragraph.

[Perry Aynum]

Whatever he did, he can't suddenly start dumping water onto the neighbors property, creating a flood around his shed, where it didn't occur before. And I agree with Bob. From the way it's stated, it appears far more likely that it's not just a foot of corrugated pipe. I don't think I've ever seen anyone use a piece of corrugated pipe to move water just a foot.

But let's ask Perry exactly what he did, how much further he redirected the water, etc.

He ran what must be about 30' or 40' feet of corrugated pipes from downspouts on both ends of his garage into a "T", and then ran them down to about 6 to 8' up from the corner, so it drains right into my shed area. THe drains pipes are orders of magnitude different from a 6' drain pipe extension.

[HeyBub]

The thought occurred to me and is one reason I opted for a local anesthetic instead of general sedation.

But, turns out, he's only an employee of "Elizabeth's Cosmetic Surgery, LLC." [Not the real name] "Elizabeth's" picture was prominently displayed in several places, including business cards. She's hot! Plus, the other patients I saw there were women. The office manager is, however, a little light in the loafers.

Maybe "Elizabeth" used to be a male?

I dunno.

[BobR]

A number of years ago I had a neighbor behind me threaten to sue me over a drain that I had put into the corner of my back yard. The yard had a natural slope from the front to back and left to right. The drain pipes were put into the right rear corner of the yard. The drop from the front to back was at least 3.5 feet.

What I asked the neighbor to do was come visit me during the next major rain. We lived in North Houston where major rain events were quite common. A few weeks later he took me up on my offer and visited me in the middle of a heavy down pour to complain about the water coming through the pipe. I took him into the back yard where he immediately dropped his objections to my drain pipes.

As I said, the drain pipe was in the right corner but was only about three inches in diameter. The flower beds around the back yard were all built up considerably with high backings against the fence. They ranged from 1 to 2 feet high against the fence. A walkway wound through the back yard that used epoxy stone and flagstone to allow for some water absorbtion. Due to the natural drainage of both my property and my next door neighbors property, all of the rain water from both ran across my back yard.

What convinced the neighbor to drop his suit was seeing that instead of dumping all that water directly onto his property as it was falling, I was restricting the water from flowing onto his property. The water in that corner of the yard was over two feet deep and the walkway around the backyard was like a retention pond with the water between 6" and 2 ft. deep. It would normally take upwards of an hour for the water to drain after a major rain. The neighbor decided to put in a drain system from the point where I was funneling the water around and by the side of his house to the street.

Sometimes the best thing is to talk with your neighbor and get a view of why they have done what they have done before getting mad.

[Oren]

Is this perforated drain pipes or solid? HE needs a French drain on his property with perforated pipe. Let his land absorb the water.

Think of a septic leech field.

What's that saying fool me once, fool me twice.... The guy is on a two stike rule (boxing gloves optional).

[norminn]

There is a Florida eye surgeon - incredibly wealthy - who used to have a Polaroid photo taken of himself with each patient and presented to the patient. Like I make a scrapbook of surgeries with the surgeon's photo? Yuck!

[mkirsch1]

Don't worry about it. Reading comprehension is a lost art.

If you put more than two sentences in a paragraph, or more than three in a post, it's too much for most people.

[HerHusband]

Obviously, I don't know what kind of person the neighbor is, or what the topography of the land is. My point was if the water runoff occurred naturally anyway, I would rather solve the drainage issue, than argue with the neighbor about his drain line.

I'm not against taking legal action, I just think it should be the last resort. I'm always amazed how many people immediately jump to the conclusion that someone is trying to screw them over and rush to clog the courts with lawsuits.

In my opinion, it would be a rare individual who would intentionally direct water runoff to a neighbors property. Yes, those types of folks are out there, but in most cases he's probably just trying to solve issues on his own property and didn't take the time to consider the side effects. He may not have taken any action from the intial complaints because he didn't "KNOW" what to do about it. Maybe he moved the pipe after your complaints and caused problems for a different neighbor?

Instead of just complaining and blaming the neighbor, offer to help find a workable solution for both parties. THEN if he doesn't take action, you can pursue legal actions. Remember, you still have to live next to this person when all is said and done. I would make every effort to come to a peaceful solution than to start a war that could last for years.

Anthony

[Bob F]

So when would you actually try to force him to not divert water onto your yard. After the third offense. Fourth, fifth?

This was clearly posted as a second offense, with multiple complaints before the first was temporarily corrected.

[harry k]

There is nothign in the OP to indicate "multiple complaints". Yes, some "hints" of prior problems but only one incident is mentioned.

Her Husband is correct. Taking legal action prior to trying to resolve it amicably is downright stupid UNLESS there is already a neighbor/neighbor war going on.

Harry K

[Phisherman]

Check your local laws and tell him. The law might be something like 5 feet from the property line. Try to speak slowly and as calm as possible when you discuss. Or, build a berm to keep the flow away from your property. Avoid arguments.

[trader4]

This is nothing?

"I can't believe this is anything but intentional. In fact, he did it a few years ago, and even more blatantly, and halfway from front to back, instead of the back corner. "

[harry k]

So show where there is "multiple complaints" in that quote.

If you follow your own advice I can see you having a lot of neighbor problems.

Harry K

[HerHusband]

Bob,

When I had made every effort to peacefully find a "solution" with the neighbor. This may be after the second offense, or after the tenth. Just standing on my side of the fence and complaining isn't helping anyone, it just makes me an annoying neighbor. But showing the neighbor what the problem is and offering to help find a solution would benefit both parties.

OK, let's assume neighbor is doing this on purpose and you have exhausted all peaceful solutions. Do you KNOW what is legal in your area?

I think Phisherman gave some great advice, call the county and check what the local laws are. You may find the neighbor is completely within his legal rights. Afterall, I think the original poster stated the drainline ended eight feet away from the property line. That's a lot different than dumping right at the fence. And the restrictions may be a lot different on a city lot than they would be on rural property. If he is not breaking any local codes, that makes YOU the annoying neighbor complaining about things he has every right to do. In that case, you're right back to solving the problem on your own.

Otherwise, you can show the neighbor the requirements and let him know you would like to solve this peacefully before you have to take legal action. Keep in mind, if he's dumping 8 feet from the fence and the laws state he has to keep back at least 12 feet, he may just cut four feet off the pipe. Will that eliminate the problem? Good luck...

Oh, and before you call the law into matters, you might want to make sure sure you don't have any barking dogs, junk cars sitting around, fences too tall or close to the property line, structures that exceed height or size restrictions, buildings or other projects you constructed without a permit, etc.. The law works both ways you know... You might also want to think twice if the neighbor is a lawyer or a member of a biker gang... :)

Anthony

[Bob F]

And from a followup message: "I am not interested in suing the guy. But the last time he did this little trick I had to ask him twice to move the drain. I am tempted to go to the city so the butthead gets the message this time."

[Kyle]

Let me reiterate what others have said, because it is the best answer: you need to talk with your neighbor! Approach him without rancor or accusation. Say something along the lines of, "I don't know if you're aware, but your downspout drains into my yard and is creating a problem, and I wonder what solution we might be able to come up with that will be good for both of us."

Approaching him that way either defuses him and he'll have to work with you, or he will be a jerk to your face in which case you respond by saying that his action has forced you to contact the county/city/ town/-ship for their help in solving the problem.

NOW...my wife and I have gotten into this rain runoff barrel thing where we capture the water from the downspout to use to water the lawn, garden and flower beds. So one possible solution would be to suggest neighbor guy could get a barrel to help with his own lawn, or you could offer to rig something up that would allow you to capture his runoff and use it yourself. (Heck, if it's that much runoff, get a greywater tank system and use his runoff to flush your toilets!)

Just some thoughts...