Water soaking brickwork from neighbour's leaking toilet

Avoriaz

robgoingcrazy wrote: »

My neighbour has an extension, and for some time water has been intermittently coming out of the bottom of this, going all over my patio and soaking into some of the bricks at the bottom of my back wall (ie back wall of house)....

What is the severity of this kind of problem, I am slightly worried the bricks may start to go soft - would I be able to sue the neighbour for any costs?

Is it a lot worse than the effects of heavy rain?

You need to press your neighbour to get it fixed but it is unlikely to damage your brickwork unless it is prolonged, worse than heavy rain or goes over the damp proof course.

I presume it is fresh water from the cistern and not soil water from the toilet pan.

Retro_Bunny

Small bit of hosepipe on the end of the overflow pipe directing the water back onto his side (or preferably back in through his window).
Else a cork in the end will soon get him to sort the problem out!

Else bucket to collect the water, while you ask him to please sort it out is the sensible suggestion - present him with bill for the bucket if you wish, and ensure that you return the water to him; it is his after-all.

robgoingcrazy

Thanks for these replies, I seem to have missed some of them.

The leak slowed down, that is all, and so I spoke to my neighbour yesterday - apart from the fact the water is still leaking down, causing as yet unknown damage, I am concerned should said water start to freeze in between the bricks etc. It's right in the corner of the house, tha bricks at the bottom are discoloured with the water, really dark, and there is a load of moss growing all over his brickwork.

He said it is a problem with the ballcock and he needs a washer, I stated my concerns as assertively as possible but today it's actually got a heck of a lot worse.

Wish my dad was alive, as I had this problem with my toilet and he fixed it in 20 mins so I could have got him round to sort it.

I will give him a week, and then put a written note through with my annual Christmas card, suggesting as above that it needs fixing as the water is damaging my property.

If he doesn't sort it then, I don't think I will have much choice than to pay my solicitor to write him a firm letter?

Biggles

The way you've worded it sounds odd, as in 'water coming out of his wall' - I assume it's coming out of an overflow pipe?

In which case, Retro_Bunny's idea sounds best for the time being, pop a piece of hose over it and redirect it.

But don't do 'notes', sometimes, like threats of solicitors, they have the opposite effect to what you want. Just catch him, 'in passing' so to speak, and ask how he's getting on with it. He'll get fed up eventually but keep doing it nice.

I-Want-To-Move

If it isn't damaging your property then there is nothing much you can do informally. However, if it did damage your property because you told him and he hasn't fixed it his buildings insurance would cover the cost of any damage to your property.

robgoingcrazy

Biggles wrote: »

The way you've worded it sounds odd, as in 'water coming out of his wall' - I assume it's coming out of an overflow pipe?

In which case, Retro_Bunny's idea sounds best for the time being, pop a piece of hose over it and redirect it.

But don't do 'notes', sometimes, like threats of solicitors, they have the opposite effect to what you want. Just catch him, 'in passing' so to speak, and ask how he's getting on with it. He'll get fed up eventually but keep doing it nice.

Not sure how I can better explain it, his toilet is in a downstairs extension building and his toilet cistern is leaking out all over his floor, gravity is then causing the water to find its way down through his floor and out through and underneath the bricks in to the corner outside where his extension building wall is at right angles to my wall. The bricks at the bottom of my wall are dark, like the bricks at the bottom of his extension, where the water is seeping through.

So a hosepipe and bucket is not going to sort the problem. I can't see my inside wall as the kitchen sink unit is in the way, but I wouldn't be surprised if the plaster inside is also getting wet from the water.

As for the comment about rain, it rains heavily a lot, but drains away, this seeping water sinking through his floor is more constant and persistent and becoming very worrying the longer it goes on.

I like the idea of doing it nicely but at the same time I can't afford it if his inaction has caused damage to my house and when it comes time to claim I have no evidence other than "I kept catching him in passing"

Perhaps this thread will serve as proof, I will try to post a picture later when I get it off my phone...

macman

You've not done yourself any favours by letting it drift for another 3 months. It's not going to mend itself. If you don't appear to think it's urgent,how on earth do you think he will?
Letter before action, give him 14 days, as suggested in August.And you don't need a solicitor to do this.

Avoriaz

southcoastrgi wrote: »

you don't need to go down the legal route, a call to your local water co will sort it

OP, have you done this yet?

robgoingcrazy

macman wrote: »

You've not done yourself any favours by letting it drift for another 3 months. It's not going to mend itself. If you don't appear to think it's urgent,how on earth do you think he will?
Letter before action, give him 14 days, as suggested in August.And you don't need a solicitor to do this.

Avoriaz wrote: »

OP, have you done this yet?

Like I said, he had done something which slowed it down, it stopped coming out in large amounts so I thought I'd leave it to dry out and then check over, and then as sometimes happens other things took over and wasn't out as much due to the autumn setting in. I noticed it coming out a lot more last week, that was when I asked him and he said he'd slowed it down but not solved it.

As for phoning the water company, do United Utitilities come out and fix people's toilet cisterns etc?

robgoingcrazy

So there's don't give him a letter because it will annoy him and make things worse, don't get a solicitor because it will annoy him and make things worse, send him a letter and demand he fix it in 14 days, pester him until he caves in, speak to a solicitor afterall, or phone United Utilities...

Seems there isn't really a simple solution to the problem! I'll just have to speak to him one more time I think, after checking the situation with the water today...