Neighbour dispute

[finallyhappyinlife]

In may 2024 we had our drive paved by a local businessman . We are very happy with the work he did for us however the white residue from the hardcore he used underneath the blocks has run onto our neighbours drive leaving a strip of lighter tarmac which shows up when her drive is dry . She is extremely unhappy as expected and I have made several attempts to get the workmen back to discuss this issue however he flatly refuses . I have been totally civil with neighbour agreeing that it’s unacceptable and I have tried many many times to get him to sort this issue . I have ended up falling out with the owner of the business as I believe he is totally out of order . He refuses to speak to my neighbour saying she is just jealous of us having the work done . This has caused us immense stress and she has stopped speaking to us . Earlier in the year her son said she was going to have a fence installed between us and was that ok ? I said that’s up to you as we cannot stop your mum doing anything on her own property and it was no business of ours . This fence has never materialised .
Now today I have received a recorded letter saying she has been advised to get 3 quotes for re tarmacing the whole drive . The quotes range from £8800 to £11000 as she is asking us to pay for this work .
She is asking us to respond within 14 days or she will take it to small claims court .
I feel she should be sending said letter to the workmen who did the work and ruined her drive . Am I wrong ? Why should we pay out £10000 approx for the workmen’s error . And advice would be much appreciated on our rights and the next steps for us to take .

There is not a cat in hells chance she is getting 10 grand off us to have a brand new drive for a stain … I’ll go to prison first

I agree. It looks trivial by the photos and about £50 worth of damage!

Totally untrue and no I don’t give a shite about the other neighbours talking about us . What’s it got to do with them ? I also never shrugged my shoulders and said that

Yes you are wrong. You’ve damaged her property. you could tell your builder that this has happened and you’ll be going to them for a contribution but she’s right to pursue you,

You’re out of order in not offering to fix it.

I don’t see how laying new tarmac will help as it will only bleed on to that. Surely you need to remove the hardcore and relay your drive to solve the issue

For it to be reinstated to the original condition

but there isn’t really any other option than redoing it

Reinstated? 😂

Look at the pics. The NDNs driveway is fucked as it is through age.

Tarmac drives degrade over time - especially under the shitty weather conditions the UK has.

Reinstated .... LMFAO.

On what planet do you think agreeing it’s awful but not offering to fix it is okay? That you think leaving it for 18 months is reasonable is ridiculous!

Original condition was a 30 year old faded tarmac drive which is impossible to re create. How is that possible ?

What you should do OP is get a reliable tradesman out and ask how to rectify the damage. Get your own quotes.

It will of been completely faded not the patchy eyesore there left with now

Who ever was going on about force majeur doesnt understand the principle. Essentially it is a concept where an “act of god” prevents a contract being fulfilled and usually suspends the contract or allows it to be terminated.

What has happened here is contamination/run off from your land has damged her drive, she is entitled to bring a claim against you to recompense her for the damage. She isn’t entitled to more, so wouldn’t get a new drive for example, but you would be wise to make a sensible offer to her.

Re the workman, he is responsible for you for damage caused by his work, he is not in ordinary circumstances responsible to your neighbour though he might look to sort it directly for his reputation. Otherwise the chain of events goes neighbour sues you, you sue workman.

Also worth checking you r home insurance, not for legal cover but for damage eminating from your property.

FYI I’m a solicitor and if I’d been dismissed as you have your neighbour I’d have sued you a year ago. Worth thinking that collaboration is generally best and that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

Honestly, if this mark on her drive is the biggest thing she has to worry about, she’s a lucky lady.

Does it run every time it rains though? Because painting it isn’t going to help surely? If it does run all the time then your builders are at fault. Or have I missed something?

But you still need to make it right somehow.

I know f all about driveways but I'd get a professional in to look under some of your blocks to see if it is the hard-core that's causing staining, surely the blocks are sealed and grouted so the water runs off them in all lower directions. They can follow the staining back to the origin and rectify that, it's pointless just resurfacing her drive if it just keeps happening. I would seek legal and insurance advice and they can tell ndn they are getting a specialist in to assess the cause and damage. Maybe he used chalk instead of hard-core.

Not sure why you are laughing. You have sat on this for how long? Have you even stopped to think what your neighbours have been feeling in all that time?

It looks like it just needs to be power washed. The lighter area look cleaner.

Its simple. Before your contractor did the work, her drive was not stained and now it is. She does not want a stained drive and is entitled to have one. If the stain can't be removed such that she is back in the same position as she was before your contractor caused the problem, then she is entitled to a reasonable alternative solution. I think she would not have wound up the cost if you had acted sooner and not faffed about.

So what is YOUR answer to the problem then @finallyhappyinlife ?

What do you think is a fair compromise?

I just generally couldnt be arsed being upset over this.
Unless it was something she'd spent a lot of money on or was unusable I just wouldn't really care ,not enough to cause problems with the people I have e to live amongst anyway 🤷.
It doesn't look much different to the drives over the road .

She's massively trying it on. Disgusting little rat ! Buy her a stiff broom and some cleaning liquid for Christmas ?!

Have you checked Google to see the state of her drive before yours was redone - agree, it looks the same as the one over the road!

How has this been going on for 18 months?!

Yes, this. I absolutely think that it would be fair to arrange for the drive to be resealed/coated with the stuff that costs a few £100 from a builders merchant, and even to pay a chap to do the work. That would be £250 max. And it would look fine. But at the end of the day, it’s a tarmac drive. They wear.