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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

downstairs neighbour getting water in but didnt tell us for a year

46 replies

michelle2003 · 18/04/2012 13:43

my downstairs neighbour has had water about 18 months ago so we looked around our bath room and didnt find leaky pipes so told her it might be pipes and rough cast needing replaced that is causeing it as it badly needed done, no relpy. so one year later she is at the door again ( different part area getting water through)so this time we got a plumber out and he looked at pipes nothing so said about pipes and rough cast again and offered to pay all as it is a lot of money and we had it at the mo with no time limit to pay back but she said no and finaly got it done six months later after having to get legal advice (not payed yet). Then this morning about 7 months after she came before her plumber came to our door saying she had water in again and said it prob coming from the shower and the silocone will need replacing. fine we will sort it as we dont want damage to her house but is it just me if she had told use a year ago that it was not sorted the damage would be a lot less and if we have to pay up for it i will not be happy as she left it so long and would have been a simply repair to both houses insted of all the work she now need. there is other things she has done but thats for an other day. any advice anyone

OP posts:
wimblehorse · 18/04/2012 13:48

My eyes hurt.
Paragraphs are good.

cwtch4967 · 18/04/2012 13:49

I can't make head or tail of your post!

Original poster
michelle2003 · 18/04/2012 13:50

sorry just so mad

OP posts:
Original poster
michelle2003 · 18/04/2012 13:53

it is basicly that our down stairs neighbour has had water coming in for over a year and not told use and now she has lots of damage but if she had told use it would have been sorted

OP posts:
TeWihara · 18/04/2012 13:55

Okay, just to ask a possibly silly question, afaik there is nothing obviously wrong with your plumbing and never has been. But because neighbour says there is water coming into her flat you have been paying a plumber (her plumber?) to do things that could possibly be an issue?

Have you seen the damage in her flat at any point?

SuchProspects · 18/04/2012 14:01

I think YABU. Not sure because you aren't very clear, but it sounds like she's told you three times over the last 18 months that water is coming into her flat from yours. But all you've done is looked at pipes and thought they needed replacing but didn't actually do anything?

Original poster
michelle2003 · 18/04/2012 14:02

no we got our own plumber and today my partner went down with her plumber to see the damage.
there is water coming in and we will sort it but the thing im mad about is she never said it wasnt sorted even though we asked (no reply), so we thought it was. she only talks through letters.
but why leave it so long to say she has made that damage worse by not saying

OP posts:
Original poster
michelle2003 · 18/04/2012 14:04

yes we did do something we have had plumbers out and asked her if it was sorted but no reply so thought it was. we cant fix something if we dont know about it.

OP posts:
LIZS · 18/04/2012 14:06

Trying to decipher the timescales and it seems as if she has asked you to make good and each time you've delayed doing so. It hasnlt been a year since the last request as you imply. Water damage to her flat should be covered by insurance but putting the fault right won't. Surely damaged sealant is pretty self evident .Did you ask her plumber to take a proper look ?

Original poster
michelle2003 · 18/04/2012 14:16

we did not delay we had plumbers out the next day then asked her if the prob was fixed but no reply.
SHE ONLY TALKS THROUGH LETTERS

OP posts:
TeWihara · 18/04/2012 14:20

If I have understood correctly, I think you should ask the CAB/a lawyer for advice if she wants you to pay for damage caused after the original fix (which she did not inform you hadn't worked).

valiumredhead · 18/04/2012 14:21

She needs to claim off her insurance for any damage you have caused. Don't pay her anything directly.

AwkwardMaryHadAnEasterLamb · 18/04/2012 14:23

It sounds like your plumber wasn't thourough and you took him at his word...if she had water and he said not your fault...you should have got him to put it in writing.

SuchProspects · 18/04/2012 14:25

Then YANBU. If you wrote to her asking if the water incursion had stopped and she didn't reply you may be able to limit your liability for the damage.

LIZS · 18/04/2012 14:29

"offered to pay all as it is a lot of money and we had it at the mo with no time limit to pay back but she said no and finaly got it done six months later after having to get legal advice (not payed yet). "

sorry , not clear on this - did you pay for work expecting her to reimburse you? Do you/she own or rent the property, is it elasehold or freehold and do you have a collective insurance policy for the buidling and/or contents ?

Original poster
michelle2003 · 18/04/2012 14:32

we ask him to check pipes and we do have in writing from him that it was not them which she has a copy of.
also the coments about the silcone needing done again being pretty self evident it is not the way our bath is u can only see if u lift a pannel up because of the shape of our bathroom our bath does not go flush against the wall to there is a pannel between them.

OP posts:
YonWhaleFish · 18/04/2012 14:34

Punctuation & paragraphs, please!

Original poster
michelle2003 · 18/04/2012 14:46

no liz that was for outside work which we both have to pay for and we payed it because the roughcast was falling off and pipes outside leaking but she needs to pay half

OP posts:
Original poster
michelle2003 · 18/04/2012 14:49

ok her plumber come up looked not pipes, its silcone and it is coming away from that bath because the bath was not fited prop and moves.

£75 to fix and make water tight. im happy and would have been done ages ago if we knew she still had water comeing in.

OP posts:
curiositykitten · 18/04/2012 14:56

The silicone has come away from your bath badly enough to cause damage to the property downstairs and it's taken you 18 months to work that out and plan to fix it?

Original poster
michelle2003 · 18/04/2012 15:07

no as i said it is not easy to see so didnt know, u would need to see our bath to understand and we have tryed too fixed it, my point is she didnt let us know that she was still getting water in.
if she had only told us we would have and also s the two times she has said over 18 months she changed where she was getting water in only this time it has been over the bath MY POINT IS HOW CAN WE FIX SOMETHING IF WE DONT KNOW IT NEED FIXED.

OP posts:
mynewpassion · 18/04/2012 15:09

just pay it.

laughlovelife · 18/04/2012 15:12

well you waited a year, after she had told you, then you got a plumber out 6 months after the second complaint, you should have done it straight away, its your responsibility, not hers, so stop trying to pass the buck!!

LIZS · 18/04/2012 15:13

I guess now you know what the problem areas are you will be able to check them more regularly for wear and tear. Also worth checking the floor and plaster work below and in the bath area in case that has been damaged over time. Is your shower over the bath and are the adjacent walls fully tiled ? Would be worth checking the grouting and ensuring there is no splashing or condensation on untiled walls which could seep through.

laughlovelife · 18/04/2012 15:16

why is it OK for you to leave it, but not the neighbour.

Why does she need to pay?, did she say she would pay, she said NO, and you went ahead anyway, so why should she pay for it??? is her house a rented/mortgage property etc... if so the pipes would belong to you, as you have the roof access not her.

Im confused.