topic Re: Neighbor's Sprinklers in Home

Neighbor's Sprinklers

kivah — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 21:32:23 GMT

There's a wood fence between me and my neighbor. The horizontal wood piece that attaches to the bottom of the fence fell off (several feet). My neighbor re-did their backyard and planted flowers along the wood fence - so their sprinklers are hitting the fence and flooding my grassy area along the bottom of the fence. My gardener told me the problem is going to get worse - and to tell them - but I have a feeling they won't correct the problem. Do I have any recourse? My gardener says no.

Re: Neighbor's Sprinklers

Sweetbay magnolia — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 21:48:02 GMT

Correct the drainage on your side - even if the fence bottom piece were there runoff would occur, it sounds like.

Re: Neighbor's Sprinklers

Cookie06 — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 21:49:33 GMT

Have you tried talking to your neighbors? I would politely tell them the problem and see if you can both agree on some sort of sollution. I am sure that they don't want to rot your fence with all the watering. They could use soaker hoses or something that wouldn't water your fence all the time. I would certainly try and talk to them before you give up. Good luck.

Re: Neighbor's Sprinklers

kivah — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 22:04:17 GMT

The fence has 7-1/2 panels and 3 panels need to be replaced. I didn't speak to the neighbor yet as the problem started recently - when they re-did their backyard. Just not sure what I could do, if the husband won't fix the problem. He should have put rocks along the fence - not flowers.

Re: Neighbor's Sprinklers

Silver Lining — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 22:08:16 GMT

Although they might not or you expect they won't, go ahead and talk to them. I sympathize with you, though. My neighbor on the other side of the wood privacy fence would probably get annoyed and then use the sprinklers even more.

Re: Neighbor's Sprinklers

RainyDayGal — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 22:10:12 GMT

It has been my experience that the other neighbors don't care about the fence. I have always had to either put one up, or maintain and fix the one that was there when I moved in. If we didn't the others would just let it get ruined. No one wants to pay for anything, yet they want to have the security the fence provides.

Good luck. If they redid their backyard, they could probably afford to pay for part of the cost of replacing the panels.

Re: Neighbor's Sprinklers

goodstuff — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 00:16:28 GMT

If there's a drainage problem that's causing water to run into and pool in your grassy area, it doesn't sound like a situation that would be corrected by replacing the missing fence panels, although you or your neighbor (whoever owns the fence) should replace them to keep the fence nice-looking and in good repair! If your neighbor created the drainage problem when he re-did his back yard, he might have a responsibility to correct the drainage situation. Or you may need to have a landscaper correct the slope of your yard and/or create a channel to carry off drainage water. Your neighbor should have a right to plant flowers in his yard and to water them, but I'd talk with him about the drainage problem. I doubt the fence is the problem.

Re: Neighbor's Sprinklers

151949 — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 15:27:02 GMT

When we lived in Pa our neighbor has a spring in her yard that drained into our yard and it was constantly soggy in a portion of our yard. She would not do anything about it so we had to pay $3500 to have a french drain installed between the properties in order to dry our yard up so it could be used. When we asked her to pay for part of it she said she had no money - then went and had a facelift and butt lift done!! We were going to take her to small claims court as the law says if the source of the water is on your property that you are responsible but she decided to sell and the Realtor told her she would have a lien against her house and would have difficulty getting a clear title if we did so she gave us $1000. We decided to let it go at that.

Re: Neighbor's Sprinklers

twocent — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 15:35:05 GMT

On 1/8/2015 Silver Lining said: Although they might not or you expect they won't, go ahead and talk to them. I sympathize with you, though. My neighbor on the other side of the wood privacy fence would probably get annoyed and then use the sprinklers even more.

We must have the same neighbor. Mine would do the same -and could care less if the fence rotted ,as it isn't theirs.

Their unsecured trampoline flew across the top of our 6ft fence and busted the entire side of my house , during a severe storm. The neighbor said to her husband, "At least it didn't tear up anything important -like the grandkids toys ."

Re: Neighbor's Sprinklers

05gage25 — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 17:48:00 GMT

Wow....really nice neighbors you have, twocent. What happened to the days when your neighbors were really your neighbors!

Re: Neighbor's Sprinklers

scotnovel — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 18:09:21 GMT

How large is the area that is being flooded? If it is a large area, it sounds like they are just running the sprinklers for too long. If they are automatic, they can reduce the amount of time that they run. You might propose something like that to them by pointing out how much "extra" water they are paying for since they are watering your yard in addition to their flowers. When you talk to them make sure it is at a time when they have watered and your yard is flooded so they can see what you are describing.

Re: Neighbor's Sprinklers

stevieb — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 18:19:18 GMT

It depends on the neighbors... If you're at all friendly or at least civil, it couldn't hurt to mention it... If not, or if it falls on deaf ears, I guess I'd build up the area, so that the water runs back into their yard and then let them deal with their soggy flowers... Then, I'd fix the fence and make sure it was as well waterproofed as is possible. Maybe use fiberglass in those sections that matches as much as possible, replacing the rest as needed.

Re: Neighbor's Sprinklers

twocent — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 20:15:38 GMT

On 1/9/2015 05gage25 said:
Wow....really nice neighbors you have, twocent. What happened to the days when your neighbors were really your neighbors!

I wonder that , myself. No looking out for each other, in my neighborhood. It has changed so much , thru the years.

If dh would move, I would be out of here.

Re: Neighbor's Sprinklers

ChynnaBlue — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 20:24:09 GMT

On 1/9/2015 Scotnovel said:
How large is the area that is being flooded? If it is a large area, it sounds like they are just running the sprinklers for too long. If they are automatic, they can reduce the amount of time that they run. You might propose something like that to them by pointing out how much "extra" water they are paying for since they are watering your yard in addition to their flowers. When you talk to them make sure it is at a time when they have watered and your yard is flooded so they can see what you are describing.

I agree. You shouldn't assume the worst until you talk to them about it and show them the problem and explain what your gardener has told you. Pointing out that they may save water by watering less.

If the fence is dividing the property, you could also offer to help pay for the repair of the area OR you could contact some fence repair people in the area and talk to them about the types of repairs needed and give that information to your neighbor as a way of showing them that you've already found someone who could get an estimate and do the repairs, which is sometimes the hard part of home repairs.

Re: Neighbor's Sprinklers

Cookie06 — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 20:33:15 GMT

It is a sad thing in today's world. So many people just care about themselves and don't card about anyone else. You see it everyday. I wouldn't be surprised if they did not do anything about it, but at least you could give it a try.

Re: Neighbor's Sprinklers

vicki is ok — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 20:52:45 GMT

Not knowing the history between you and your neighbor it's hard to say what to do.

I do know if I was the neighbor causing the problem in the other's yard I would WANT someone to let me know. If there is a fence there, they may not know about the standing water on your lawn. I have always said if I am causing a problem unbeknownst to me, I want someone to tell me first before telling anyone else so that I can resolve it.

Like I said, I don't know you and your neighbor's history so maybe you just don't feel comfortable about talking to them.

I certainly hope you can get this resolved as we all want our yards to look nice

Best Wishes

Vicki

Re: Neighbor's Sprinklers

bluejeansluvr — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 21:02:07 GMT

On 1/8/2015 Silver Lining said: Although they might not or you expect they won't, go ahead and talk to them. I sympathize with you, though. My neighbor on the other side of the wood privacy fence would probably get annoyed and then use the sprinklers even more.

These are the kind of neighbors I have.

and yes they are a pain in the butt. Worst neighbors we have ever had!

Re: Neighbor's Sprinklers

bluejeansluvr — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 21:03:46 GMT

On 1/9/2015 Cookie06 said:
It is a sad thing in today's world. So many people just care about themselves and don't card about anyone else. You see it everyday. I wouldn't be surprised if they did not do anything about it, but at least you could give it a try.

Yep! That's it! They think it's all about THEM. The only thing that matters is what they want, need, care about etc. Have no common courtesy. None. You're right it is sad.

Re: Neighbor's Sprinklers

bluejeansluvr — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 21:06:09 GMT

On 1/9/2015 twocent said:
On 1/8/2015 Silver Lining said: Although they might not or you expect they won't, go ahead and talk to them. I sympathize with you, though. My neighbor on the other side of the wood privacy fence would probably get annoyed and then use the sprinklers even more.

We must have the same neighbor. Mine would do the same -and could care less if the fence rotted ,as it isn't theirs.

Their unsecured trampoline flew across the top of our 6ft fence and busted the entire side of my house , during a severe storm. The neighbor said to her husband, "At least it didn't tear up anything important -like the grandkids toys ."

Wow! What is wrong with people today?

Re: Neighbor's Sprinklers

Blondbychoice — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 21:14:16 GMT

What about neighbors that build a small stone area on your property to place their clippings in? My DH didn't say a word to them or me, found out after they moved out. He knew not to tell me cause I would've had a fit !They did some other stuff too, thought all the property was theirs!