Hello everyone!
First off, I'd like to say that I registered to the forum because I don't know where else to turn for guidance concerning my problem. I feel this is the best place to get quality insight.
My problem is that I am unsure of the amount of responibility I have of the maintenance of my sewer line. Allow me to set the scenario.
Back in 1972, my father purchased our home. At the time it was owned by a woman that lived next door to it. The plot of land our home is on was actually a part of her land. What she did was split her plot in half. She lived on her half and had a complete house relocated onto the other half of her land. At which time, she sold the home and land to my father. The land was on the corner of the street. Her home faced to the south and our home faces to the west. The street that her house faced is where the city sewage is located. The street that our home faces does not have any city sewage. Therefore, the sewage for our home had to be ran under her property to the street to the south. But instead of running a dedicated sewer for each property, she just attached our sewer line to hers. She actually had 3 residence on her half of the land. 2 of those homes share a sewer and the 3rd home's sewer is where our sewer was connected. This 3rd home is above a garage, basically a 2nd story. So, whenever there is a main line stoppage, gravity forces all the fecal matter into our home.
Well, this past week we had another main line clog. The owner of the other property was not in town for 4 days, leaving us to call the plumber. The awesome guys at Esther Crump and Associates in Nowalk, CA came out and got everything back to normal. They ran their 150 ft snake then ran their camera for $85 bucks! I couldn't believe it was so cheap!! They were able to pinpoint the location that my sewer tapped into theirs and also pinpoint the location of the probable cause of the blockage. The spot where our sewer tied into theirs was only about 15 feet past the common property line. The location of the blockage was 87 feet down line near the sidewalk in front of her property. Under her front lawn on her easement. A mere 20 feet from the city main sewer under the street. What was causing the clog was a test tee that was not aligned properly which caused an 1 1/2" obstruction impeding the flow of sewage.
The next day, the property owner returned home. When I went to discuss the repair costs with her she copt an attitude with me. Saying "oh, I'll give you 30 dollars". Then, she began to say that she was not going to pay any of it because she had corrected the previous 4x it backed up. None of which she paid anything out of pocket because she had access to a snake that can clear the line. Then she had the audacity to say "I paid too much". That's when I lost it!! "$85 bucks for a 150 foot ream followed by a camera-led roadmap of the sewer!!" I snarelled!! That's when I had enough and returned home.
So, my question is "since the reaccuring blockage is located on her property and I'm the one that has to deal with the cle
anup of the neighbors raw sewage in my bathtub, should I also be responsible for paying half of the plumbers costs? She even said that she was concerned about me personally doing any work on her property because of liability. I am thinking that I should just install a backflow valve under my house before the property line and give her the one finger salute the next time it backs up. Starting neighbor wars isn't what I want to do but if she keeps up with her 'tude that's what she'll get!
Thanks a million in advance for anyone that takes time to lend an opinion.
First off, I'd like to say that I registered to the forum because I don't know where else to turn for guidance concerning my problem. I feel this is the best place to get quality insight.
My problem is that I am unsure of the amount of responibility I have of the maintenance of my sewer line. Allow me to set the scenario.
Back in 1972, my father purchased our home. At the time it was owned by a woman that lived next door to it. The plot of land our home is on was actually a part of her land. What she did was split her plot in half. She lived on her half and had a complete house relocated onto the other half of her land. At which time, she sold the home and land to my father. The land was on the corner of the street. Her home faced to the south and our home faces to the west. The street that her house faced is where the city sewage is located. The street that our home faces does not have any city sewage. Therefore, the sewage for our home had to be ran under her property to the street to the south. But instead of running a dedicated sewer for each property, she just attached our sewer line to hers. She actually had 3 residence on her half of the land. 2 of those homes share a sewer and the 3rd home's sewer is where our sewer was connected. This 3rd home is above a garage, basically a 2nd story. So, whenever there is a main line stoppage, gravity forces all the fecal matter into our home.
Well, this past week we had another main line clog. The owner of the other property was not in town for 4 days, leaving us to call the plumber. The awesome guys at Esther Crump and Associates in Nowalk, CA came out and got everything back to normal. They ran their 150 ft snake then ran their camera for $85 bucks! I couldn't believe it was so cheap!! They were able to pinpoint the location that my sewer tapped into theirs and also pinpoint the location of the probable cause of the blockage. The spot where our sewer tied into theirs was only about 15 feet past the common property line. The location of the blockage was 87 feet down line near the sidewalk in front of her property. Under her front lawn on her easement. A mere 20 feet from the city main sewer under the street. What was causing the clog was a test tee that was not aligned properly which caused an 1 1/2" obstruction impeding the flow of sewage.
The next day, the property owner returned home. When I went to discuss the repair costs with her she copt an attitude with me. Saying "oh, I'll give you 30 dollars". Then, she began to say that she was not going to pay any of it because she had corrected the previous 4x it backed up. None of which she paid anything out of pocket because she had access to a snake that can clear the line. Then she had the audacity to say "I paid too much". That's when I lost it!! "$85 bucks for a 150 foot ream followed by a camera-led roadmap of the sewer!!" I snarelled!! That's when I had enough and returned home.
So, my question is "since the reaccuring blockage is located on her property and I'm the one that has to deal with the cle
anup of the neighbors raw sewage in my bathtub, should I also be responsible for paying half of the plumbers costs? She even said that she was concerned about me personally doing any work on her property because of liability. I am thinking that I should just install a backflow valve under my house before the property line and give her the one finger salute the next time it backs up. Starting neighbor wars isn't what I want to do but if she keeps up with her 'tude that's what she'll get!
Thanks a million in advance for anyone that takes time to lend an opinion.
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