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Private Road causing damage to property

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justry4n
justry4n Posts: 50 Forumite
in House buying, renting & selling
I need some advice if possible.

Basically, there's a private road, owned by the local farmer - which is the only road which we can access my house. The issue is, there's a lot of flooding on the road, and what's happening is because cars drive down the road quite a lot to get to the farm, they spray water all up the building causing damp.

I have spoke to the farmer regarding getting drains in the road to help with the problem on my house, but simply got told to get lost in a not so nice way.

What are my next options, is there anything i can do?
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  • ACG
    ACG Posts: 23,729 Forumite
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    Are you sure some puddles splashing on your home is causing the dampness?

    How do you get on when we have one of those days where it is constant rain.

    Have you had a surveyor down to confirm the reason for the damp?
    I am a Mortgage Adviser
    You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a mortgage adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.
  • 00ec25
    00ec25 Posts: 9,123 Forumite
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    so a wall gets intermittently splashed with water and that causes "damp"? As above, what happens when it continuously rains?
    No wonder the farmer was unimpressed.
  • justry4n
    justry4n Posts: 50 Forumite
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    We're positive - there is constant flooding on the road, when a builder who had a look at the situation said it's the splashing and the water seeping into the ground and through the building causing the issue.
  • justry4n
    justry4n Posts: 50 Forumite
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    To note - the recently converted garage to utility room is having the issue, not the main property.
  • Nobbie1967
    Nobbie1967 Posts: 1,474 Forumite
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    justry4n wrote: »
    To note - the recently converted garage to utility room is having the issue, not the main property.

    Is this a single skin garage? If it's a double skin I wouldn't expect water on the outer skin to travel to the inner skin. Have you checked the soil level is below the DPC. What finish is on the outer wall? What construction is the wall?
  • ACG
    ACG Posts: 23,729 Forumite
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    Have you had a survey carried out to determine what is causing the problem?

    I am finding it hard to believe water splashing on a wall is causing damp and if that is the case, then it surely can not be up to the correct standards.
    I am a Mortgage Adviser
    You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a mortgage adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.
  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977 Forumite
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    edited 10 March 2018 at 1:26PM
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    justry4n wrote: »
    We're positive - there is constant flooding on the road, when a builder who had a look at the situation said it's the splashing and the water seeping into the ground and through the building causing the issue.
    Like others, I'm sceptical.

    So there are 2 issues you believe?

    1) splashing. Well, house walls get wet whenever it rains. They are designed to withstand this - the water runs down the external wall. Granted, if a gutter/downpipe is blocked and there is continuous running water down a wall this can cause penetrating damp.

    Just how much traffc is there? If continuous traffic and hence continuous splashing onto the wall, then that might be a problem - but occassional vehicles would not be an issue.

    2) water seeping into the ground.
    That's where water goes! Your property should have
    a) sufficient damp proof course to prevent damp rising UP the walls from below the ground, and
    b) some mechanism (eg a French Drain?) to divert ground water away from the property



    What do the various Deeds say regarding the road?
    * OK - the farmer owns it but
    * who can use it?
    * who must maintain it?
    * maintain to what extent?

    If you wish to take action (over and above the tea and cake approach with the farmer), you'll need

    a) to establish your rights and his obligations

    b) to establish, beyond reasonable doubt, and with professional evidence (not 'a builder'), that the farmer's failure to maintain is the cause of any damage.
  • EachPenny
    EachPenny Posts: 12,239 Forumite
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    If water is being splashed up by vehicles going through puddles then that would be a very different kind of problem compared to rain falling and some of it soaking into the brickwork. 'Puddle splash' can involve a significant volume of water with considerable kinetic energy, and that can have a greater penetrating effect than rainfall. Over time the water can simply 'wash' bricks out of the wall.

    To draw a comparison, if a poster was asking whether it was a good idea to use a pressure washer to clean the brick walls of their house on a weekly basis then I think most people would say no :o

    However, the OP would need to establish the problem with this road is significant, not just an occasional bit of spray. And ultimately getting anything done might require legal action which is unlikely to have a positive outcome for the OP's overall situation.

    G_M's tea and cake approach is the obvious way to proceed. If that doesn't work then perhaps looking at some kind of fence like willow screening to absorb some of the energy from the splash. This would reduce the extent to which the damp would be able to penetrate and reduce the risk of the bricks being damaged by the force of the water (if that's what is happening).

    If the road isn't tarmac or concrete then filling in any holes might help. If it is concrete or tarmac then just putting some drains in won't help on its own, the surface needs to be laid to a fall so the water drains towards the drain - that kind of work is not cheap, so the owner of the road is unlikely to be willing to do anything unless the problem is very obvious.
    "In the future, everyone will be rich for 15 minutes"
  • ACG
    ACG Posts: 23,729 Forumite
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    Splash from a puddle is hardly a pressure washer. I have been soaked by a puddle and I have been sprayed by a pressure washer - There is a big difference.
    I am a Mortgage Adviser
    You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a mortgage adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.
  • EachPenny
    EachPenny Posts: 12,239 Forumite
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    ACG wrote: »
    Splash from a puddle is hardly a pressure washer. I have been soaked by a puddle and I have been sprayed by a pressure washer - There is a big difference.

    It depends on the circumstances. The damage caused will be a function of frequency, volume of water and impact velocity. 'Splashing' is known to cause damage to brickwork and in the real world people make claims against highway authorities for such damage. And very often those claims result in a pay out.

    The OP only gives limited details of the circumstances involved, but it is plausible that the use/maintenance of the road is such that water damage over and above that which could be expected from rainfall alone might be happening.
    "In the future, everyone will be rich for 15 minutes"
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