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Our neighbours have a dripping overflow pipe that is right up against the side of our property. I have mentioned it to them but they don't seem concerned and are not in a hurry to get it fixed. I understand that a leaking pipe can undermine foundations is the same true of a dripping overflow pipe leading to water continuously sitting against the walls. On the one hand; external walls are supposed to be exposed to water, but on the other, its continuous water

enter image description here

It's dripping such that a 6 litre watering can placed underneath (neighbours solution) fills up over night.

Obviously the issue causing the overflow to leak should be fixed but I'm trying to gauge if that's entirely my neighbours problem or if it could cause damage to my house and I should be more insistent.

If relevant we are in the UK, a somewhat cold, rainy country¹ that rarely has built in AC units

¹That makes the UK sound horrible, it's a nice place really

Richard Tingle
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  • What is an over-flow pipe? Where is the water coming from ? – George Anderson Sep 16 '22 at 14:07
  • @GeorgeAnderson The dripping pipe is labelled in the picture. It is the larger slightly greenish one. An over-flow pipe is a pipe coming out of the house that in emergency situations drains outside the house rather than causing an internal flood. E.g. toilet cisterns are often connected to an overflow pipe in case the ball cock fails to stop the cistern filling then the excess water is sent down the over-flow pipe. (The pipe is from my neighbours so exactly where it comes from I don't know) – Richard Tingle Sep 16 '22 at 14:15
  • Roughly one litre an hour is a pretty significant drip. You may want to point out that fixing the leak is going to be cheaper in the long run than ignoring it. Not sure how much you pay for water, but you might consider doing the math. If it adds up to more than a pint or two a day would cost, that may be motivation enough for them to fix it! :) – FreeMan Sep 16 '22 at 15:17
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    the UK is a nice place, but it certainly isn't the weather that makes it so. ;^) – Tiger Guy Sep 16 '22 at 15:20
  • It's hard to know how foundations are built where you are, but in the US, a whole-house AC unit's condensate drain is very typically discharged to about 1 inch from a slab foundation. – Tiger Guy Sep 16 '22 at 15:22
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    I'd just knock on the door & say "Do you want me to fix that cistern overflow for you?" 30s job, assuming the level is just set a bit high. If you set it 2" lower & it still leaks, then the annoyance of the extra difficulty in making it flush twice in succession might eventually persuade them to get a new ballcock ;)) On the other hand - maybe they like frogs... – Tetsujin Sep 16 '22 at 15:43
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    Just install a pipe that diverts the drip from there to about 3 feet to the right in your picture, further away from your property. If they don't notice or care about the drip they certainly won't notice or care about your doing this. – jay613 Sep 16 '22 at 16:01
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    6 liters in one night doesn't sound worrisome to be honest unless you have non-porous soil like clay or something. Ideally you would just divert the water further from the foundation and be done with it. I'm a little surprised it's not the white pipe that's leaking since that is much more likely to be a condensate drain. – MonkeyZeus Sep 16 '22 at 19:12

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That looks like a drain for the condensate from their air handler for their AC unit. If so, it's not something they can fix, it was installed that way. It also looks like there's a white PVC pipe exiting that wall too that might be from your AC unit.

It could also be from a leaking pressure relief valve from a water heater. Is the water warm or hot? The piping used to be done this way. If so, the neighbor should get this fixed, wasting water and energy.

You might try diverting the water with one of these water diverters, see picture below from Amazon.

enter image description here

JACK
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    Using a diverter is an excellent idea - low-cost, unobtrusive, non-controversial (hopefully) and easily installed. I'm not convinced that 1/2-1 liter an hour is a threat to the foundation, but this solution should allay any fears about it. – MattDMo Sep 16 '22 at 17:18
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The answer is simple yet the solution can be tricky. There should never be water constantly dripping from any source along the foundation of a structure. A simple solution is to shut off the drip. However it may be from an AC drain or some other necessary drain and cannot be shut off. Then there should be pipe added to carry the water away from the foundation. Now comes the tricky part. The pic showed your home and the neighbors home sharing a common wall. Depending on the laws in the area where you live you may , or may not be allowed to address this yourself.
If there is a manager of the complex ask them. Perhaps there is a board or some entity responsible for the common area. Tell them about this problem and be sure to include that it is more than an annoyance, but a concern with the long term safety of the structure. Since you discovered this instance there may be other areas around the building/s that have the same issue with the other owners ignorant to the long term implications. They all should be addressed. Good Luck

RMDman
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  • Could you take a look at this [question](https://diy.stackexchange.com/q/252733/142629) please ? – Amogam Oct 07 '22 at 17:32