Downspout Common Sense

Downspout Common Sense

Copyright (c) 2011, Deanna and Jim's GOLD Team

     Downspouts are the unglamourous metal tubes, often white or brown that run vertically from one end of a roof gutter to near the ground.

     Sometimes on neglected or abandoned homes you may find the downspouts detached at the top and tilted at a bizarre angle, or perhaps laying on the ground.

     Where the downspouts get to the ground there are multiple satisfactory choices to route the rushing water that a good rain will direct through them:

1. They can be connected to a drain line buried in the ground which discharges a number of feet away at a lower spot, or perhaps through the curb to the street's gutter.

2. They can be connected to a length of rigid or flexible tubing atop the ground which discharges at least six feet away at a lower spot.

3. They can be connected to a self-recoiling coil of flat perforated tubing which unrolls with water pressure and then sprinkles the water on the ground, then rerolls back up when the water stops.  These are much less common.  They work. I had them once.

4. They can simply discharge the water onto a splash block made of concrete or plastic which directs the water away from the house in a flattened stream.

5. The can discharge directly onto the ground or onto a splash block which directs the water towards the house!

The last alternative is very undesirable and should be rectified immediately.  The water needs to be distributed away from the foundation of the house to avoid building up substantial pressure for subsoil water to penetrate the foundation walls, thereby contributing to a wet basement.

The water also needs to be spread out so that it doesn't erode a hole right at the discharge point.

Mis-directed downspouts cause more problems with wet basements than you might imagine.