Flooding from neighbors garden

blowin3

I bought an old house last year and did it up. My neighbor installed a aluminum style fence between both gardens. He than got topsoil in and brought up the level up about six inches but kept it away from the fence so there is like a drain running down along the fence. There is now a flood in my garden every time it rains. I spoke to him and he said the land always sloped my way and it was a natural drain. Can I build a raised bed against the fence to stop this flooding as he is not going to help.

Dig all

Dig a trench about 2 ft deep along by the fence and fill it with drainage stone that should help but depends on the depth of water in your garden , I'd rise up the lawn and slope toward the fence !!!

Stoned Since 2011

Dig all wrote: »

Dig a trench about 2 ft deep along by the fence and fill it with drainage stone that should help but depends on the depth of water in your garden , I'd rise up the lawn and slope toward the fence !!!

Waste of time, where will it drain to? The water table is so high now ground is saturated.

Roselm

I'd favour your raised bed idea over raising your whole lawn which will mean even more water is directed towards the spot that is currently flooding.
In the raised bed you will still probably need plants that like wet feet as the soil will be soaking up the water.

Roselm

I'd favour your raised bed idea over raising your whole lawn which will mean even more water is directed towards the spot that is currently flooding.
In the raised bed you will still probably need plants that like wet feet as the soil will be soaking up the water.

fox0512

Hi

Something not right here...if he erected a new fence with a drain at his side it should take any surface water away from his garden providing land is falling towards the fence and it has somewhere to drain to... If a foundation was built and you now have a flooding issue it is likely your garden was draining into his!... if your flooding issue is clearly coming from your neighbors side, he/she is responsible to deal with it in the appropriate manner,if that is the case under no circumstances would I spend any money to rectify a problem that is not yours legally or otherwise.

blowin3

fox0512 wrote: »

Hi

Something not right here...if he erected a new fence with a drain at his side it should take any surface water away from his garden providing land is falling towards the fence and it has somewhere to drain to... If a foundation was built and you now have a flooding issue it is likely your garden was draining into his!... if your flooding issue is clearly coming from your neighbors side, he/she is responsible to deal with it in the appropriate manner,if that is the case under no circumstances would I spend any money to rectify a problem that is not yours legally or otherwise.

Thanks for the replies. We both renovated our houses roughly at the same time. He put in the fence at his cost and I built the front dividing wall at my cost.This fence does not have a foundation only the uprights every 6ft are in the ground the rest is above ground. He than got a lorry load of top soil and has the garden sloping towards the fence. He put in a 4 foot trench at the end of the garden so the earth is not against the fence. So this trench is 6 to 8 inches deep and this is where the water is coming from. He said this natural fall as his garden was higher than mine from the out set. Maybe go to the county council and check the planning (1969) to see if there is drains in the back gardens . This guy does civil engineering as a profession so maybe he knows his rights.

looksee

It sounds as though you have co-operated previously, and if he is a civil engineer he should have more knowledge of the situation than random people on the internet. If he has steered water to a specific area that is now coming into your garden, you need to look at it a bit more carefully, I don't think it is entirely reasonable to consider your flooding to be natural fall, especially if what he has done has made the situation worse for you.

Is there anywhere the water could be reasonably directed? Have a chat with him first, and if he is not prepared to be a bit more co-operative (and you are going to be neighbours for some time) then see about getting independent advice.

looksee

duplicate.

jimd2

blowin3 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. We both renovated our houses roughly at the same time. He put in the fence at his cost and I built the front dividing wall at my cost.This fence does not have a foundation only the uprights every 6ft are in the ground the rest is above ground. He than got a lorry load of top soil and has the garden sloping towards the fence. He put in a 4 foot trench at the end of the garden so the earth is not against the fence. So this trench is 6 to 8 inches deep and this is where the water is coming from. He said this natural fall as his garden was higher than mine from the out set. Maybe go to the county council and check the planning (1969) to see if there is drains in the back gardens . This guy does civil engineering as a profession so maybe he knows his rights.

Or he is using his knowledge / experience to pull a fast one over on you. I actually think that you should get some independent advice from someone that knows the lie of the land if you excuse the pun. You might even pay for professional advice. You dont want a falling out with your neighbour but you dont want to be a soft touch either and be paying for this for the rest of your time there. Getting that balance isn't always easy.

Discodog

Could be worth posting in the Legal forum here.

Stoned Since 2011

Discodog wrote: »

Could be worth posting in the Legal forum here.

What is the point, legal advice cannot be offered there. The response to 99.8% of posters is get a solicitor.

Discodog

Stoned Since 2011 wrote: »

What is the point, legal advice cannot be offered there. The response to 99.8% of posters is get a solicitor.

You can phrase questions so that you do get answers. You can't specifically ask for advice

magicbastarder

a couple of things; we've had the wettest december on record, and i know several people who have had unusually high water tables for an unusually long time, plus you mention that you bought the house last year which means you have been in it for a maximum of one year.
and last year in general was also unusually wet.

is there anyone in the neighbourhood who would be able to offer some friendly advice on how frequently the gardens flood? if the water has nowhere to go to, it sounds like the water table could be naturally high anyway.

magicbastarder

a couple of things; we've had the wettest december on record, and i know several people who have had unusually high water tables for an unusually long time, plus you mention that you bought the house last year which means you have been in it for a maximum of one year.
and last year in general was also unusually wet.

is there anyone in the neighbourhood who would be able to offer some friendly advice on how frequently the gardens flood? if the water has nowhere to go to, it sounds like the water table could be naturally high anyway.

Discodog

Drainage is often an issue in Irish gardens. I visit a lot in the course of my work. It's very rare to see a drain in the garden. Irish houses tend to feature a slab of concrete around the house that often slopes onto the garden.

One that springs to mind is a garden where the owner spent a fortune having it landscaped. All the patios, paths etc drain onto the lawn which is like a paddy field.

The other problem is the use of drainage pipe which soon gets blocked unlike the simple French Drain that lasts forever.

fox0512

ok,now,if he has a trench at fence to collect water he obviously wants/expects to direct water from his garden to it which would suggest to me that when re soiling his garden he has created a fall towards towards it..it is unlikely he split a french drain otherwise for a period of time there would be water every where. You CAN NOT alter your grounds without making the proper allowances for water drainage and a 6 to 8 " trench of any kind is laughable... Dont talk to me about engineers as some dont know their arse from their elbow. if he intended to direct water to a specific area and if there is no storm drain etc to link a soak pipe or french drain to he would have to dig a large soak pit which in an average say 3 bed semi garden would need to be at least 6ft deep x 10ft lenght ish...he hasnt and the water is logging...

blowin3

fox0512 wrote: »

ok,now,if he has a trench at fence to collect water he obviously wants/expects to direct water from his garden to it which would suggest to me that when re soiling his garden he has created a fall towards towards it..it is unlikely he split a french drain otherwise for a period of time there would be water every where. You CAN NOT alter your grounds without making the proper allowances for water drainage and a 6 to 8 " trench of any kind is laughable... Dont talk to me about engineers as some dont know their arse from their elbow. if he intended to direct water to a specific area and if there is no storm drain etc to link a soak pipe or french drain to he would have to dig a large soak pit which in an average say 3 bed semi garden would need to be at least 6ft deep x 10ft lenght ish...he hasnt and the water is logging...

The point is he raised the level which is obvious when looking at the end of the fence. The fall is also very obvious into this corner and using timber as screeds to make the so called drain. Will I be in my rights to build a small wall using pond liner to block this water and put a raised bed there. I already spoke to him re the drain and he just said thats the way the land falls and he put the screed in as he did not want earth against his fence. Thanks again for the good advice.

looksee

I reckon you would be within your rights to do anything in your own garden to improve the situation. Its not as though you are deliberately blocking an existing water course or stream. If you chose to build a wall all along the boundary, you could do so, not really all that different to what he has done.

fox0512

you are well within your rights...water is clearly coming from his side... block it if possible and I would try do it with minimum expense at first...you dont want to fork out only to watch it enter your garden some where else! ...he made a pigs ear of it or cut down on expense...I would mention the problem to local authority/council etc tho to have it on paper with a pic if possible to cover yourself...if he suffers flooding on his side due to any alteration on your side there is nothing he can do about....tell him its an optical illusion and the land is actually falling his way! :pac:

How much water we talking bout??...maybe before spending anything take into acc the volume of rain we had this year on soaked ground...

baaba maal

Without taking away from any of the advice given- but is it possible for you to direct this water from your garden to a nearby ditch?

If you can channel the water away from your garden it might be simpler than getting into a discussion with your neighbour about him altering his garden now (and I say this knowing that it might really stick in the craw not to be able to get him undo any damage). The old cliché about water finding it's own level is, (from bitter experience with a very wet garden) unfortunately true!

baaba maal

Without taking away from any of the advice given- but is it possible for you to direct this water from your garden to a nearby ditch?

If you can channel the water away from your garden it might be simpler than getting into a discussion with your neighbour about him altering his garden now (and I say this knowing that it might really stick in the craw not to be able to get him undo any damage). The old cliché about water finding it's own level is, (from bitter experience with a very wet garden) unfortunately true!

Oldtree

baaba maal wrote: »

Without taking away from any of the advice given- but is it possible for you to direct this water from your garden to a nearby ditch?

If you can channel the water away from your garden it might be simpler than getting into a discussion with your neighbour about him altering his garden now (and I say this knowing that it might really stick in the craw not to be able to get him undo any damage). The old cliché about water finding it's own level is, (from bitter experience with a very wet garden) unfortunately true!

Good advice there. look at the flow of the water and dig a small 6 inch open drain to take the water to where it wants to go. easy to maintain and unblock when necessary.

blowin3

baaba maal wrote: »

Without taking away from any of the advice given- but is it possible for you to direct this water from your garden to a nearby ditch?

If you can channel the water away from your garden it might be simpler than getting into a discussion with your neighbour about him altering his garden now (and I say this knowing that it might really stick in the craw not to be able to get him undo any damage). The old cliché about water finding it's own level is, (from bitter experience with a very wet garden) unfortunately true!

Thanks for the advice! I have also neighbors backing onto my garden so I really have no where to divert it to bar digging up my garden again and connecting to my storm drain ( down pipes). The only way out I can see is building the small wall against the neighbors fence and put in railway sleepers to build a raised be. I really appreciate all the advice and comments.

fox0512

water needs to drain to one, be it artificial or natural....otherwise its just handing the problem to someone else..i this case it was handed to this man....so hand it back