Suggestions on this dispute with my neighbor?

Im trying to figure out what rights and rules there are related to drainage (and I recognize that things are different by statethis is Wisconsin)

I live on a small lot in a city, with our house about 6 feet away from the neighbors driveway. We have had seepage on the back corner of the house and are trying to direct water away from that corner, as well as away from the connected garage which has water damage and is now musty. So naturally I have positioned the downspout perpendicular to the house, which points at the neighbors driveway.
Because of the short lot, it is a short downspout, ending about ~2 feet from the house and thus ~4 feet from the neighbors lot line/driveway

Our neighbor has complained to us about this because they say that it directs water into their driveway which then runs against their house and gets into their basementapparently they had this same dispute with the previous owner of our house and it had caused damage to their basement in the past.

From my perspective, I am diverting the water away from our house in a manner that is reasonableit doesnt go directly onto the neighbors property but there isnt a whole lot of room for the water to go anywhere with such a small lot. And the neighbors driveway is old asphalt with big dips in it that collect rainwater. As far as Im concerned a new driveway would solve the neighbors problem, but they are retired, on fixed income, and have cancer

So Im sympathetic to the neighbor, but also Im not sure Im doing anything unreasonable since I dont want to cause damage to my own home. Im trying to figure out what my responsibilities are surrounding this but what I have seen makes it seem pretty vague and open to interpretation of what is reasonable

tl;dr what responsibility do I have as a homeowner to make sure water from my house isnt flowing onto a neighbors lot?

here are some terrible pictures that I tried to take discreetly that kind of show what Im working with here

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/4/47a20c9b.jpg
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/4/4d871704.jpg

I don't know about a legal responsibility, that would vary by state, but it's polite to not take an action that a neighbor informs you has caused damage to their property in the past. Could you use a hose to direct the water all the way to the street?

Giacomo_Hawkins posted...

I don't know about a legal responsibility, that would vary by state, but it's polite to not take an action that a neighbor informs you has caused damage to their property in the past. Could you use a hose to direct the water all the way to the street?

the thing is, Im doing what it takes to not cause damage to my house, and Im fairly certain the neighbors issues would be solved by replacing their old-ass asphalt driveway with properly graded concrete

yes, the hose is one thing were considering but will look bad and be a pain to navigate around, there isnt really anywhere convenient for it to be routed that doesnt block our walkway to the backyard

lol we messaged back explaining that it is damaging our own house and we are taking steps to fix that, perhaps she could have someone out to suggest things she could fix on her house and she came back with a screed insulting and threatening us so fuck her

This is her driveway btw. Notice her drainage for the downspout is angled toward her house. Notice the driveway is old and in rough shape. These are things I suggested she look into fixing before accusing us of being at fault for her basement leakage

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/a/abb98f8f.jpg

fucken neighbors man. This is why nobody likes her

TheGoldenEel posted...

the thing is, Im doing what it takes to not cause damage to my house, and Im fairly certain the neighbors issues would be solved by replacing their old-ass asphalt driveway with properly graded concrete

yes, the hose is one thing were considering but will look bad and be a pain to navigate around, there isnt really anywhere convenient for it to be routed that doesnt block our walkway to the backyard

Option 1: install underground plastic pipe from gutter drain out towards street with a pop-up drain cover. Everything is underground and can be mowed over with no issues.

Option 2: install a rain garden in that area so water flows into and collects there instead of flooding your or your neighbors basement. Not sure if you really have the space to fit one, but it depends on where exactly the property line is

i gotta be honest tho, if you are pointing a gutter right at their basement window i kind of get what they are saying.

im not justifying how they are acting, but I do agree with them if your gutter is pointing at their window. you should get a moveable gutter thing like this:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/d/dd66b30c.jpg

and point the water away from their window. I think this should solve your problem and avoid damage to the other property.

sorry if i am misunderstanding the exact setup and situation.

An underground downspout line will let you divert the water through your yard and closer to the street, keeping it out of your neighbors yard. It's hidden under your lawn so it will out of the way and won't be an eyesore.

In many states it's illegal to redirect water onto a neighbors property, leaving you liable for damages. You might want to check into that for your state.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/c/cc8cdfa3.jpg

TheGoldenEel posted...

These are things I suggested she look into fixing before accusing us of being at fault for her basement leakage

If what you did is causing her basement leakage, then you ARE at fault. If it wasn't happening before you did something, and started happening after you did something, you're at fault, and it's not reasonable for you to tell them to spend money to fix something you caused.

also the thing i posted is like 20 bucks.

Bugmeat posted...

An underground downspout line will let you divert the water through your yard and closer to the street, keepit it out of your neighbors yard. It is hidden under your lawn so it's out of the way and isn't an eyesore.

Many states it is illegal to redirect water onto a neighbors property, leaving you liable for damages. You might want to check into that for your state.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/c/cc8cdfa3.jpg

Yea, this is a good image representation of what I was talking about in my earlier post. Its the route I would go if I was in your situation. Just make sure to get the utilities marked before digging

Robot2600 posted...

i gotta be honest tho, if you are pointing a gutter right at their basement window i kind of get what they are saying.

im not justifying how they are acting, but I do agree with them if your gutter is pointing at their window. you should get a moveable gutter thing like this:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/d/dd66b30c.jpg

and point the water away from their window. I think this should solve your problem and avoid damage to the other property.

sorry if i am misunderstanding the exact setup and situation.

See the pics. I know theyre not great but hopefully give somewhat of a representative idea

heres a shitty diagram I just drew with my fingers

<img src="//:0">https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/c/ca7333c8.jpg

there is about 6-7 feet between my house and her driveway/the lot line. Because of this, our downspout is only 2ish feet long (and yes it is one of those curved pieces you suggested) and so terminates about 4-5 feet from her lot.

we live in a city where all the lots are small and the houses are close together, and on top of that we are on the corner anywhere in the back of the house would run into the issue of directing water at something. On top of that, our city was built on a swamp between two lakes, so the entire area is prone to flooding. These are old houses and everyone should be doing what they can to prevent water damage

But as you can see from the picture of her driveway, there are multiple things she could be doing: A) her downspout is directed towards her house B) the driveway has big pits in it that collect water, and it is not sloped away from her house at all and C) there is no apparent sealant filling the crack between her driveway and the foundation

to me its a thing where, if both of us were doing what was recommended to mitigate leakage, then Id look into what else we could dobut she has basically set up her house to collect rainwater in several ways and is telling us its our fault

also note that in the picture of her driveway, you cant even see our downspout, so its not like its particularly close to her house

Would it be an option to use a plastic barrel to gather the water and then use a hose to drain it when needed?

An underground drain line would also be an improvement for your own property. They're shallow enough that you can do it yourself. It would solve the problem and look nice and take the water away from your own yard more efficiently.

Bugmeat posted...

An underground drain line would also be an improvement for your own property. They're shallow enough that you can do it yourself. It would solve the problem and look nice and take the water away from your own yard more efficiently.

I have one of these.

It was worth the effort. And the concrete doesnt get so dirty since runoff water runs doesnt run down it to the street.

I recommend taking the Hatfield-McCoy approach to resolve this situation.

I find it hard to believe the water from your spout goes onto the grass---->on her driveway------>across her driveway------>into the ground--------> into her basement

The green plastic tray underneath her spout is facing the wrong way.

You could change the direction the water flows to the other side of the house by altering the gutters.
Expecting her to redo her driveway is insane.

pupeye posted...

I find it hard to believe the water from your spout goes onto the grass---->on her driveway------>across her driveway------>into the ground--------> into her basement

this is what Im saying

The green plastic tray underneath her spout is facing the wrong way.

You could change the direction the water flows to the other side of the house by altering the gutters.

we have a fairly large house so there are gutters on all four corners, the one in question here also drains from the garage

Expecting her to redo her driveway is insane.

I dont expect her to redo her driveway but it does look like it is near the end of its functional life, and a concrete driveway properly sloped away from her house would likely solve any seepage issues she has on that side of the house

i think you can also do things to alter the slope of a driveway by pumping it up on one side but that doesnt seem worthwhile with such an old driveway which is why Id say replace is the better option

Look at it this way.

For the cost of some plastic pipe and maybe an hour and a half of your time you improve your property and you never have to hear from this lady again.

TheGoldenEel posted...

On top of that, our city was built on a swamp between two lakes, so the entire area is prone to flooding.

after reading this, my opinion is that she's simply looking for someone or something to direct her anger towards.

like if you're in a flood zone, there really isn't much you can do in the grand scheme of things. diverting water might help, but honestly theres only so much you can do

idk, at most I'd get something to turn the water spout so its not facing towards her house. tbh she sounds like a neighborhood karen looking for a reason to be upset

divot1338 posted...

you never have to hear from this lady again.

maybe she gets off from being bitter at others. she craves it :(.

The plastic spillway facing back to the house is killing me

Sephirothe posted...

Yea, this is a good image representation of what I was talking about in my earlier post. Its the route I would go if I was in your situation. Just make sure to get the utilities marked before digging

I actually busted the top of my curb and ran the pipe straight to the road. Then poured a little bit of concrete on top to reform the curb.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/3/3f68b343.jpg

BucketCat posted...

idk, at most I'd get something to turn the water spout so its not facing towards her house. tbh she sounds like a neighborhood karen looking for a reason to be upset

I think really in this situation the neighbor is more than likely documenting reasons to sue for property damage regardless of who is actually at fault, so taking steps to actually minimize it instead of suggesting ways the neighbor could do it would go a long way toward mitigating the event when that neighbor decides to take that step.

Redirect your water so it's not pouring onto her driveway. It doesn't matter if she's also directing her own water back towards her house, how small the lots are, or what the state of her driveway is. If she can prove that you're also directing water towards her house, that doesn't change the fact that you're knowingly making the situation worse and leaves you liable.

Somebody earlier suggested getting a flexible gutter extension, do that. If the issue is that the position of the downspout means you'll be tripping over it, you may want to replace your gutters so the downspout is somewhere else.

If you have a garden, you could also get a system to collect rainwater on that side of the house

divot1338 posted...

I actually busted the top of my curb and ran the pipe straight to the road. Then poured a little bit of concrete on top to reform the curb.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/3/3f68b343.jpg

That is definitely illegal

Sounds like you need to fix your drainage to prevent damaging your's and others' property. By this I mean hire someone to fix it or invest in the goods and materials to do it in such a way that is complaint with local regulations.

Imo

TheGoldenEel posted...

That is definitely illegal

Nah.

On the other hand I have the only sidewalk in the neighborhood that doesnt floor in heavy rain.

TheGoldenEel posted...

See the pics. I know theyre not great but hopefully give somewhat of a representative idea

heres a shitty diagram I just drew with my fingers

<img src="//:0">https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/c/ca7333c8.jpg

there is about 6-7 feet between my house and her driveway/the lot line. Because of this, our downspout is only 2ish feet long (and yes it is one of those curved pieces you suggested) and so terminates about 4-5 feet from her lot.

we live in a city where all the lots are small and the houses are close together, and on top of that we are on the corner anywhere in the back of the house would run into the issue of directing water at something. On top of that, our city was built on a swamp between two lakes, so the entire area is prone to flooding. These are old houses and everyone should be doing what they can to prevent water damage

But as you can see from the picture of her driveway, there are multiple things she could be doing: A) her downspout is directed towards her house B) the driveway has big pits in it that collect water, and it is not sloped away from her house at all and C) there is no apparent sealant filling the crack between her driveway and the foundation

to me its a thing where, if both of us were doing what was recommended to mitigate leakage, then Id look into what else we could dobut she has basically set up her house to collect rainwater in several ways and is telling us its our fault

also note that in the picture of her driveway, you cant even see our downspout, so its not like its particularly close to her house

Get one of flexible tubes posted earlier and angle it 45 degrees, away from your house but momentum towards the street.

Long term consider an underground drainage pipe.

Reading your post, this came to mind:

a-c-a-b posted...

Would it be an option to use a plastic barrel to gather the water and then use a hose to drain it when needed?

Also, have you considered a french drain ?

Punch him

Nah, I'd have sued you for doing damage to my house. You are definitely at fault tbh