misscyn
New Member
- Jurisdiction
- North Carolina
I inherited a house from my husband that has a shared well with about six houses. I have lived there 28 years. A new neighbor moved in right after my husband died about four years ago. He had a new concrete driveway built soon after moving in. I did not realize it at the time, but it was poured right over my water line.
My house is situated on the side of a mountain and down a hill. Sometime in July of 2015, I noticed my driveway deteriorating and my house appearing to settle a bit. The front porch had pulled loose. A wrinkle appeared in the stucco next to my front door; two of my basement walls had developed mildew. This was all very alarming, particularly the mildew, and appeared to have happened somewhat suddenly. My handyman had cleaned the basement in just May of that year, and reported nothing unusual.
I had a water and mold 'specialist' look at it, (who also says he is an engineer) and he told me it was a combination of rain water running down against the house, a small drill hole in a foundation block filling with water, the house settling over time, humidity in the basement due to sealing issues, etc. I corrected all issues that were advised to me. It appeared to help.
However, I found a small crack in my foundation in the basement below the stucco wrinkle, and some dips in my asphalt driveway earlier this year. I contacted the specialist/engineer and he sent my message to some home services guys who emailed me and offered to come out to look at the problems. I showed them the dips and the foundation crack and the stucco wrinkle, and they told me it was still the rainwater, and I needed a $2000 French drain installed to fix the problem, and they could do it, so I had it done.
In June the water line broke and blew out two holes in my driveway. I paid to fix the water line, and paid extra so my neighbor's driveway would not be disturbed to be nice to my neighbors. Afterward, however, the plumber who fixed the line said the heavy driveway had cracked the main water line pipe over time, and virtually all of the above problems in his opinion, were due to that. Which means that for several years, every time I used the water in any form, it was leaking out and running against my foundation underground.
My homeowner's policy, an HO3, specifically says it does not cover underground water damage, sinking patios, or cracks in foundations due to water. I have not filed a claim because I had a major fire in 1999 and another claim in 2014 for a busted septic line and its damage. My shared well agreement says I can't sue my neighbor for damage concerning the well and water line easements barring 'gross negligence' on his part. Complicating all this is the fact that another neighbor confessed to jacking up the well pressure to 80 for years without telling my husband, because he is up the hill and needed it; this made the pressure at my house higher, and although I did install a pressure release valve at the house after he told me, I am sure all that pressure did not help my 20 something year old water line going up the road.
I feel totally screwed. I am a 54-year-old widow with a disabled adult child. Much of this was happening when I was grieving and in shock and trying to settle my husband's complicated estate. Since he passed I have invested heavily in making improvements to my house and I was vigilant every time I saw a problem. My house has been damaged by the actions of others, and it doesn't look like there's anything I can do about it. Please advise.
My house is situated on the side of a mountain and down a hill. Sometime in July of 2015, I noticed my driveway deteriorating and my house appearing to settle a bit. The front porch had pulled loose. A wrinkle appeared in the stucco next to my front door; two of my basement walls had developed mildew. This was all very alarming, particularly the mildew, and appeared to have happened somewhat suddenly. My handyman had cleaned the basement in just May of that year, and reported nothing unusual.
I had a water and mold 'specialist' look at it, (who also says he is an engineer) and he told me it was a combination of rain water running down against the house, a small drill hole in a foundation block filling with water, the house settling over time, humidity in the basement due to sealing issues, etc. I corrected all issues that were advised to me. It appeared to help.
However, I found a small crack in my foundation in the basement below the stucco wrinkle, and some dips in my asphalt driveway earlier this year. I contacted the specialist/engineer and he sent my message to some home services guys who emailed me and offered to come out to look at the problems. I showed them the dips and the foundation crack and the stucco wrinkle, and they told me it was still the rainwater, and I needed a $2000 French drain installed to fix the problem, and they could do it, so I had it done.
In June the water line broke and blew out two holes in my driveway. I paid to fix the water line, and paid extra so my neighbor's driveway would not be disturbed to be nice to my neighbors. Afterward, however, the plumber who fixed the line said the heavy driveway had cracked the main water line pipe over time, and virtually all of the above problems in his opinion, were due to that. Which means that for several years, every time I used the water in any form, it was leaking out and running against my foundation underground.
My homeowner's policy, an HO3, specifically says it does not cover underground water damage, sinking patios, or cracks in foundations due to water. I have not filed a claim because I had a major fire in 1999 and another claim in 2014 for a busted septic line and its damage. My shared well agreement says I can't sue my neighbor for damage concerning the well and water line easements barring 'gross negligence' on his part. Complicating all this is the fact that another neighbor confessed to jacking up the well pressure to 80 for years without telling my husband, because he is up the hill and needed it; this made the pressure at my house higher, and although I did install a pressure release valve at the house after he told me, I am sure all that pressure did not help my 20 something year old water line going up the road.
I feel totally screwed. I am a 54-year-old widow with a disabled adult child. Much of this was happening when I was grieving and in shock and trying to settle my husband's complicated estate. Since he passed I have invested heavily in making improvements to my house and I was vigilant every time I saw a problem. My house has been damaged by the actions of others, and it doesn't look like there's anything I can do about it. Please advise.
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