Rather than fixing their gutter and adding proper drainage, my neighbors DIY’d this concrete slab recently which now dumps all of their rainwater directly into my driveway. They made no effort to contact me prior to doing this.
I’m located in Eastern MA, so the thing I’m most worried about with this is snow melt in the winter time dumping into my (fairly steep) driveway and basically turning it into a perpetual black ice machine. Not to mention the long term damage this will do to the retaining wall through erosion and freeze / thaw cycles. We had heavy rain yesterday and you can see what happens in the last picture.
My question is, is there anything else I should be concerned about? How would you go about handling this situation with the neighbor? What would be the right way to handle rain runoff? Is what they did even legal?
I plan to talk with them this weekend about it to see if we can modify this because this will 100% be my problem if left unmitigated. I think the right thing to do would be for them to fix their gutters and have the gutters directed out towards the front of the house, toward the street and away from my driveway. Curious to hear other people’s thoughts though.
by Top_Pumpkin313
44 Comments
Holy shit, that’s awful. I would contact your city’s code enforcement. Sorry you have such shitty neighbors.
Lmao what a pos. On the bright side that concrete might just be rubble in a few years if you can wait it out
This is not acceptable
that concrete slab will, also, be a black ice machine from the roof run-off. That system isn’t going to be very long lasting. But, yes, that drainage will be a nightmare for your driveway and will certainly cause premature degradation.
Pfusch am Bau
If I had to come up with the worst possible solution to this problem, this would probably be the result.
Definitely not allowed. Call code office, these assholes don’t deserve any grace.
I don’t like all this water. Here you have it.
That’s just lame. I wonder if that violates some kind of code. It’s going to make a huge mess during the winter for sure. That’s just a total dick move on their part.
Effective and aesthetically pleasing. I wonder if they’re for hire.
I’m plugging up that hole. lol
Get some spray foam and plug those holes in the cinder blocks?
That fourth picture – imagine parking in your own driveway, getting out of your car and suddenly your shoes are FLOODED with your neighbor’s runoff water 💔
In most states it is illegal to change the intensity or amount of water that flows across your property. Also, many local building codes require a property owner to dispose of runoff water on their own property. You might check with your local government.
A 4″ pipe run would cost less and last 100x longer than that hack job.
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This situation couldn’t get any more Massachusetts if it tried.
Terrible solution. The proper solution would have been easier and cheaper than this. They clearly have fall in the picture so they could have done a French drain to the street with tile and rock for a fraction of the price. Plus this looks like garbage.
Is the concrete block wall yours or theirs?
How long has that been like that? The bricks are covered in mildew but the concrete could look freshly poured?
Your neighbor spent more time and money by doing the wrong thing. He must be a coworker of mine. 😅
They can not direct water into your yard or drive. This can and probably will create a sheet of ice in the winter and possibly affect your foundation. The down spout needs to direct water away from both homes. Your neighbor is an ass.
City living sucks for this reason alone.
It’s not automatically illegal, but your neighbors may have crossed the line if they skipped permits, violated drainage codes, or created an unreasonable runoff situation that damages your property.
Massachusetts follows a “reasonable use” rule — homeowners can change surface water flow only if it doesn’t cause substantial harm to others. Since their new slab dumps water straight into your driveway, the setup seems both unreasonable and risky. The skating rink alone is risky as shlt.
Sorry and good luck. Let us know how it goes.
Contact code enforcement. Many municipalities mandate gutters to be in working condition.
You must have a permit to create impervious surfaces. The township code officer and storm water management office will have him remove it.
100% Illegal
Can you plug up the holes? Lol
It’s illegal to redirect the natural flow of water like that onto someone else’s property. Contact your city compliance department and if they don’t do anything about it, you’re gonna have to lawyer up. But that is 100% illegal.
Not sure where you are located exactly, but here’s where you would go to report such a thing in Springfield, MA for example:
[https://www.springfield-ma.gov/code/inspectional-services](https://www.springfield-ma.gov/code/inspectional-services)
Not sure where you are located exactly, but here’s where you would go to report such a thing in Springfield, MA for example:
[https://www.springfield-ma.gov/code/inspectional-services](https://www.springfield-ma.gov/code/inspectional-services)
Not sure where you are located exactly, but here’s where you would go to report such a thing in Springfield, MA for example:
[https://www.springfield-ma.gov/code/inspectional-services](https://www.springfield-ma.gov/code/inspectional-services)
Not sure where you are located exactly, but here’s where you would go to report such a thing in Springfield, MA for example:
[https://www.springfield-ma.gov/code/inspectional-services](https://www.springfield-ma.gov/code/inspectional-services)
Dirtbag energy for sure. Your approach is the right way. Avoid lawyers if at all possible. Give him a chance to cure, failing that, have your attorney contact his. Keep us posted.
There will be codes prohibiting the diversion of rainwater directly onto your neighbor’s property. Call code enforcement.
Do. Not. Delay. It’s not legal. You absolutely can not discharge your runoff to a neighbors property. If the local govt doesn’t help quickly and the neighbors aren’t actively changing it get a lawyer ASAP. I’ve been in court for 3 years for EXACTLY this on a larger scale. The three houses up the hill from me are all family. They joined all their downspouts and cistern overflows to the same three 8” pipes that exhaust directly onto my land. It’s against local ordinance, it’s compounded by the fact they are 20’ over on our large shared boundary.
Get the county involved.
I severely underestimate how inconsiderate humans can be… the blatant “go fuck yourself neighbor” and “i’ll make my problem their problem” this projects is truly baffling to me. Sorry for having these people as neighbors OP.
That’s a LOT of work to avoid some work…
You can’t redirect water to someone else’s property.
Get a book. Write everything down. Names, dates, weather. Including your friendly interaction with your neighbor where you discuss your concerns. Follow amd record the weather. Take pictures and videos. Do not go on their property. Be cordial. Retain counsel
I would look up by-laws about routing rainwater onto your neighbour’s property. There is a very good chance that this is not allowed. Where I live, the neighbour would be responsible for fixing another eroded by the diverted water and would have to actually fix their gutters.
In parts of my state, this illegal, not to discharge water to either a sewer or somewhere far away from the property. Your neighbor is an asshole for doing this by the way and I don’t blame you. You’re going to have a sheet of ice on your driveway all winter long talk to them about getting a gutter like they should have and directing this water away from the home.
I think its illegal to redirect their runoff onto your property. Call code enforcement.
He can’t dump his water onto your property. Call your building department