French drain help

5 years ago

My neighbor installed a DIY french drain, because he claims our new concrete is causing water to enter his basement. He first installed the drain on our property. When we pointed that out he moved it over to his side. The gangway is very narrow. My property is the concrete and the little strip of dirt separated by the plastic edging. I'm worried all his digging will break my concrete.

Would a professionally installed french drain help? I don't think the neighbor dug the drain deep enough and he covered it with the same dirt that was there before and some pea gravel.

Any advice is much appreciated.

This is the gangway on a dry day.

Finally, this is the gangway right after we had the concrete installed. This was before he started tearing up the land.

Featured Answer

3onthetree

5 years ago

"We repaved our side bc the water was seeping into our basement. I had three professionals assess the situation. All said to pitch the concrete higher and away from our home."

Unfortunately, concrete is not a solution to a water problem. You have exacerbated the neighbor's issues, and just have not experienced a heavy enough rain to re-experience yours. The water will run off the concrete (as long as you caulk and maintain the gap against the house) in a more concentrated manner, and will easily move sideways under the concrete. You needed a french drain as well, but now cannot address one or the wall deficiencies because the concrete sidewalk is in the way.

A better way would have been working with the neighbor on this shared problem from the start.

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Comments (7)

lkloes
5 years ago
Oh my! Call a professional ASAP.
Sigrid
5 years ago
In theory, a french drain will collect water and move it elsewhere. Talk to your neighbor to find out what he did. What pipe did he use, where does the water exit? A prperly installed French drain will take water that falls between your houses (or just too close to his foundation) and move it to a more acceptable place. At the end of the yard is a popular place.

If his digging isn't csusing problems now, you should be good. A badly installed Frencch drsin might cause problems with frost heaves, but in general, moving water out of that space is good and a poorly installed drain will just be ineffective and not much different from nothing.
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Jessica Borrego
Original Author
5 years ago
We repaved our side bc the water was seeping into our basement. I had three professionals assess the situation. All said to pitch the concrete higher and away from our home.
Jessica Borrego
Original Author
5 years ago
Also, the run off goes towards the front of the house. However, the water falling from the sky is gonna fall where it’s gonna fall.
krissie55
5 years ago
Put a concrete curb on your side high enough that water from your house runs downhill and not onto neighbors dirt.
worthy
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I've owned older rental homes where p.o's figured concrete was the be-all and end-all of "waterproofing". When they inevitably leaked in rainstorms, I packed the space between the concrete and the house with cold patch, which worked well for a couple of years till it was time to sell.

The proper repair is digging to the footings, installing a footing drain and waterproofing the wall. Usually, a Delta membrane or equivalent is more than sufficient.

(Incidentally, the space between the houses is a walkway; gangways are for ships.)