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Another think i dont understand is the retaining wall has t- ankors, (deadman or tie backs) which are under his property. Even if it was my wall I would have to dig up his property to remove the t-ankor in order to rebuild wall. It makes no sense to me.
Did you tell the neighbor about the flooding in your yard? I've never seen wooden walls. All of ours are concrete with drain holes in them. Even during torrential downpours we weren't flooded.
I seriously doubt this guy contacted his insurance company. Give me a break - everyone is looking to put in as few claims as possible and this guy is asking about a retaining wall in his yard, which was damaged by wear and tear (which is NEVER covered under insurance)? He probably talked about it with a couple of his buddies and they said "hey your neighbor probably knows nothing about owning a home, just tell him your insurance said it's his problem".
You need to have another talk with him, maybe get him over while it's flooding or get video of it and tell him he needs to fix it or you'll have to take further steps.
Did none of this show up on your home inspection? It sounds like you knew this was in "desperate need of repair" when you bought the property, and the fact that it HADN'T been repaired should've been a bit of a red flag.
My neighbor claims that since I am the lower side property that his insurance company is claiming that I am responsible. He is willing to negotiate however he does not want to rebuild wooden wall because it would involve digging on his property. The solution he is offering is to leave the current wall in place and build a new wall in front of the old wall on my property. Which I think is ridiculous. Also to add to the problem since i am the lower property I am flooded by water everytime his sprinklers go on or washes his deck or washes anything on his property. Does this give me any reason to push a repair?
Why does he even need a retaining wall?
Go to your town building dept and ask what happens if a neighbor floods you by the simple act of watering or washing a deck. A 3 day rain, now that is to be expected, if you are lower -- flooding from car washing? Deck washing? Sprinkling? No.
In our town, it is ILLEGAL to drain onto another property. He should be obligated to not only fix the wall but drain it away from your property.
[Besides, what proof do you have that his insurance won't fix it? It is HIS wall!]
I'd ask that he drain it to his own sewer so you are not flooded- and that requires a town building permit in most places. (the town connects it)...otherwise, he should be a darn good rain barrel and reuse the water he is draining on you - he can put it where the water floods you and pump the water up to do his work!
If he won't, I'd build a French Drain along the property line and get the water out of the way
" French drains are also used behind retaining walls to relieve ground water pressure." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_drain
(yes, we have one along the road to drain our ditch to a culvert and we have a septic leach field. We are considering another on the property line to flow to the ditch)
Go to your town building dept and ask what happens if a neighbor floods you by the simple act of watering or washing a deck. A 3 day rain, now that is to be expected, if you are lower -- flooding from car washing? Deck washing? Sprinkling? No.
In our town, it is ILLEGAL to drain onto another property. He should be obligated to not only fix the wall but drain it away from your property.
[Besides, what proof do you have that his insurance won't fix it? It is HIS wall!]
I'd ask that he drain it to his own sewer so you are not flooded- and that requires a town building permit in most places. (the town connects it)...otherwise, he should be a darn good rain barrel and reuse the water he is draining on you - he can put it where the water floods you and pump the water up to do his work!
(yes, we have one along the road to drain our ditch to a culvert and we have a septic leach field. We are considering another on the property line to flow to the ditch)
He needs a retaining wall because the OP's property is lower than the house behind him. Without the wall the property could wash away. All retaining walls have drain pipes in them so water drains evenly. My whole block is like that.
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Seeing you have confirmed that the wall is squarely on your neighbors property I would speak with a lawyer to find out who is responsible and what constitutes when replacement is needed. You are not an engineer and your belief that it needs replacement is not reason enough. If you start with the town you may not get valid answers.
All these statements about water run off /drainage don't apply, you "just bought a house" and feel the wall is "in desperate need of repair", why didn't you make the seller resolve this? Now it's your issue to work through. Find out your legal obligations, have an engineer evaluate it if needed, work with the town.
He needs a retaining wall because the OP's property is lower than the house behind him. Without the wall the property could wash away. All retaining walls have drain pipes in them so water drains evenly. My whole block is like that.
Do not make the mistake of thinking things are the same everywhere; I've seen more wooden retaining walls without drainage than with. The natural grade was altered when the area was developed. Sometimes the town or village will require a retaining wall, other times they are erected for the convenience of someone building. The logical step is to make an inquiry in the building department as to what their requirements are for drainage and maintenance of the wall. No insurance company is the governing agency in these cases.
Do not make the mistake of thinking things are the same everywhere; I've seen more wooden retaining walls without drainage than with. The natural grade was altered when the area was developed. Sometimes the town or village will require a retaining wall, other times they are erected for the convenience of someone building. The logical step is to make an inquiry in the building department as to what their requirements are for drainage and maintenance of the wall. No insurance company is the governing agency in these cases.
My bad!!! I meant all "our" walls have them. They were all built by different companies but they all have drainage. Same with houses a few blocks down. Every house has a concrete wall with drainage. Of course it depends on where the OP lives. Different towns may have different rules.
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