Legal (and neighborly) responsibility re: waterproofing basement

A neighbor in an adjoining brownstone recently waterproofed his basement (building a french drain or some sort of similar system digging a deep trench against the garden wall and sealing the basement wall). He is continuing to get some water in his basement through our shared wall, as my basement is not waterproofed and tends to get some seepage after heavy or extended rain or snow (the water seems to soak the ground and then seep in through the wall in a shared corner). He is now pressuring me to waterproof my basement. I understand the benefits of having a dry basement, but as this is a relatively minor annoyance I’ve lived with for years, and because of the expense and disruption it will cause I’m not so inclined to waterproof, despite him wanting me to. (I would be open to other less expensive or intrusive options, like sealing cracks in the ground and diverting my drainpipe further from the house.) What is my legal responsibility regarding waterproofing my basement? In case it makes a difference, his property is higher on the slope than mine. And in terms of neighborly responsibilities – this seems like quite a big ask (costs are upwards of $10,000 with 1-2 weeks of trench digging and filling directly outside my bedroom). On the other hand, I hate to have conflict with a neighbor who has otherwise been friendly. Any feedback, advice, or similar stories are all appreciated!

BklynDahl

in Brownstoner Renovation 11 years and 11 months ago

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Guest User | 11 years and 11 months ago

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My cousin, who is an architect, came to my house as we wanted him to look at our basement water issues (we already had the pipe from outside into our house replaced) and he said we could spend thousands of dollars to try to have a dry basement, but if we’re close to the water table, it might not be possible and that we should spend that kind of money on something we’d actually be able to enjoy. Food for thought. As anotherposted noted, it might not work.

cate | 11 years and 11 months ago

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The first thing you should do is determine where the water is coming from. Is your drainpipe or a drain in the yard connected to your house sewage system? Run a long hose up the outside of your house onto your roof and into your gutter. (A roofer did this for us.) See if the water appears in his basement. If so, it’s likely your drainpipe/wastepipe is cracked under ground where it enters your basement. We had this same problem but we were the ones getting the water. Our neighbor repaired it (although we offered to pay for the whole thing). We did an almost identical repair though the purpose was different (putting a fresh air vent in to the front of the house and connecting underground and into the cellar to the main waste pipe) and it cost us $1200 from a licensed plumber. If that’s not the issue, run the house outside and soak the ground and see where the water comes in. We got estimates on waterproofing half of our rear wall and they ranged from $1200 to $2000\. In any case, if water is seeping through the party wall, it’s undermining your house as much as his.

Arkady | 11 years and 11 months ago

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It’s odd that he’s higher than you & gets the leak. I’d try a french drain in your garden – a few feet out from the back wall. It’s not terribly expensive if you hire casual labor to dig & put the pvc pipe, landscape fabric & rocks & pea grit in yourself. Sounds as if you’d benefit greatly from it. And perhaps you could ask the neighbor to contribute since it’s to mitigate his problem.

Augustiner | 11 years and 11 months ago

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You have no obligation to waterproof your cellar. But you can be nice and allow him to extend his exterior wall waterproofing 2 or 3 feet into your back wall at his expense. That should take care of his problem. Another reason causing this spot to be wet might be that your roof spout is not properly connected to the sewage system.

bk1lnite | 11 years and 11 months ago

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I think Waterproofing a basement from inside doesn’t really work. You hit on what I would try – diverting my drainpipe further from the house. In my (detached) house I had issues a couple of years ago with water in the basement after heavy rains and after some diy work diverting the water from downspouts away from the ground at the places where water seeped in and trying to pitch the ground so water flows away from the house it’s been dry. You might try putting some pavers set in sand in the problem area.

anotherposter | 11 years and 11 months ago

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Are you even sure that would fix his problem? Water in cellars and basements is rarely an easy issue to deal with. Actually figuring out where it’s coming from is often harder than people expect and “fixing” it might just move or change the problem. Maybe he just needs a drain/pump where the water is coming in. As for neighborly relations, you might just have to tell him it’s not a problem for you but the cost would be.