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Ok...here's the thing...my neighbor who is selling his house is now residing out-of-state. We share the same water line, so whenever a water pipe is being used on his end, the pipes at my house would make a "helicopter" noise. It feels like my pipes are under pressure and would burst any time.
So, I called him and his realtor and mentioned the situation. He supposedly had gotten it fixed. I haven't called him to complain for the past few months, until recently. I called him again and he said he would take care of it. I waited for weeks before I called him (again) and left a message. He has not returned my calls. I don't know if he's avoiding my calls, but I'm a neighbor who's easy to get along with.
Question: What is my next step? The first time we called, the realtor suggested to call the builder. Both our houses are approximately ~3 to 4 yrs old. What has the builder got to do with it? Shouldn't it be the resposibility of the owner? If I feel like my issues are being dismissed, what should I do? Bring it up with the HOA? I'm a first-time homeowner. Bought my house less than 6 months, and I just don't know if there's a neighborly protocol in getting this resolved.
HOA would be my next step. They should know if others are having the same problem, and its most likely to lead to something.
Builder may be responsible for up to ten years on certain things, but once again the HOA should be able to put more weight on them than you can individually.
I would not automatically assume the problem is his to fix, plus he is selling his house so he will not be anywhere near as interested in resolving the problem as you are.
If I were you and I realize I'm not, I would call a plumber next, not the HOA. Get a solid professional opinion before taking it further.
Most public water utilities prohibit shared water supply laterals, especially in new construction. Was this possibly an older house on a lot that was later sub-divided and a newer house built? Never mind, I see the houses are about the same age. It sounds like the builder/owner cut some corners. There are situations that allow a shared well if non-public supply. It also sounds as if an inspection either wasn't done or the inspector dropped the ball.
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
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You should install a pressure regulator on your branch of the water line. They aren't expensive and maybe about 2 or 3 hours worth of labor to expose the line and install it. After it's installed have them put a (We call them "Christie boxes") box over it so it can be accessed easily in the future. You do the digging and have a friend who is handy with plumbing tools do the connection if you're not handy.
I did hire a plumber. He said that it's not on my end. He even went to the neighbor's outside faucet (for the hose) to open it, and as soon as he turn my neiggbor's water on...the "helicopter" sound started happening. It's louder on his end, esp in the garage...but it resonates/radiates on MY plumbing system. The plumber suggested for me to call the owner of the house or HOA, but I don't really know how the HOA could fix this problem or even the builder of the house, which I believe is Highland.
The plumber said that we share main water line and then it goes into a "Y", hence the separate meters.
Today, I called the realtor and left a message. Neither the realtor nor the owner has called me back to touch base.
Now what?? Help
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