You’ve been looking forward to the warm summer months and they’re finally here. You can finally spend some time outdoors. However, your basement is worrying you. Although it isn’t raining or snowing, your basement is showing signs of water damage. What could be the source of your problem?

If you’ve inspected your property and can’t find the source of water, you may want to look next door. Your neighbor could be responsible for the water problems you’re experiencing.

  • Changes to landscape: You may have been living next door to each other for years and have had no problems. However, you may have noticed the water damage soon after your neighbor had their landscaping done. Changes such as the addition of stone work, the building of a retaining wall or the leveling of their landscape can result in a change in grade of their property. This affects the way water drains off the land. Water may be draining onto your property every time it rains or they turn on their sprinklers. Any time your neighbor makes changes that will affect the grading of their property, there is a chance that there will be effects on your foundation.
  • Misaligned downspouts: You may have taken care to ensure that your gutters are cleared and your downspouts are draining far from your foundation, but your neighbor may not have done the same. If their downspouts are misaligned, excess water from their lot will drain into yours and cause water problems in your basement.
  • Lower lot than your neighbors: Many of the things that happen on your neighbor’s property will affect you especially if your lot is lower than theirs. Whenever your neighbor’s lot floods, excess water will drain off onto your lot. This is sure to cause your problems.

What to Do

If you establish that your neighbor is contributing to the water problems in your basement, you may be wondering how to approach the situation.

  • Talk to your neighbor and let them know what the problem is. Chances are that they are unaware of the problem. Many neighbors are willing to fix the problem in order to maintain good relations with those they live next door to.

Invest in waterproofing for your home. Don’t wait until the situation is out of hand. Ensuring that your foundation is waterproof will help to protect you for the long term. You should also consider installing drains and other exterior waterproofing systems to reduce the strain on your foundation.