Questions tagged [downspout]
The part of a gutter where the water falls downward and typically away from the building it is affixed to or into some sort of water capture system. Use this tag for questions about installation, best practices, and general advice about downspouts.
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What can I do with water pooling next to my house?
I have 4 downspouts coming on to the side my house. I wanted to drain water to the front and about 6ft away from my house. The current grading seems level.
With 4 ft spacing and level ground what are ...
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Why divide a downspout or require an extra sleeve?
A gutter installer just put gutters and downspouts on my new addition. Is this some new technique that I am not privy to? What would be the purpose of doing it this way?
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Does this downspout design make sense?
I've recently started smelling a musty smell in my upstairs bedroom. The bedroom closet just happens to be where the downspout from the main roof drains onto the roof for my garage and creates a kind ...
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How to fix gutter downspout leaking at Tee?
I have an underground storm drainage pipe that is connected to both my downspout and sump pump drain. The underground drain pipe, the downspout and the sump pump pipe all tie together with a 3" ...
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Where to outlet the water that comes from storm drain and gutters, to prevent soil/roots getting into pipe?
In my house, currently, all the water that comes from gutters and storm drains goes into one main underground 4-inch PVC pipe that outlets at the end of my backyard, right into under the soil, at 1-1/...
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Fixing PVC pipe connection leaking from downspout
I was doing some construction and while trying to figure out where the PVC pipe that brings water from the gutters away from my home was going to, I messed up a connection/joint in that pipe. Some ...
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Can you build a rain diverter with a double T and a toilet plunger?
I'm reading the GrowNYC Rainwater Harvesting Guide and I see in the diagram a "winterizing tee" - a double tee with a reference to a plunger. Are they really just talking about a toilet ...
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How to couple 4" round corrugated downspout to plain round
I'd like to connect a 4" plain round downspout filter to an existing 4" round corrugated downspout. Do I need a specific type of coupling to do that, or will the 4" corrugated fit ...
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how to divert a corrugated round downspout when I can only find non corrugated adapters
I need to add a downspout diverter to my 3" round corrugated downspout. I have a combined sewer and storm sewer system in my basement and don't want it to overflow during heavy fast downpours ...
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Dry Well Against Foundation
I live in a house with a slab foundation. The soil is red clay. One of the downspouts outputs 8 inches above the ground into a small flower bed and walkway. When it rains, a divot is formed into the ...
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Leak from the connection between downspout adapter and drain pipe
I have a downspout adapter (2x3x3 NDS 903) connecting a downspout to a drain pipe. The adapter is female, drain pipe is male, there is leak from the connection because it is not very tight:
How can I ...
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How do I fix my leaking gutter?
When it rains, my gutter leaks badly.
What's the best way to go about fixing this?
Here's a photo:
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How do I fix this retaining wall?
I have a broken retaining wall that I'd like to fix up. It's cracked, presumably from water pressure building up behind it. It's rectangular, about 13'x33', and one of the four sides is connected to ...
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moving water away from gutter downspout
I have a dip around one of my downspouts and I have a lot of water gathering in that area when it rains. It's coming from gutter downspout and neighbors gutters.
I want to install water collector (...
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How can I wrap a downspout around a corner into a rain barrel?
I am looking to get a new patio put in my back yard, and my local township laws require use of rain barrels if you have over a certain amount of impervious surfaces on your property.
I have this ...
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How should I fix my downspout?
I just moved into this house that needs a lot of work. I noticed that the upper gutters drain onto the roof of the lower gutters and I learned that this will ruin my roof. I was originally thinking ...
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Ensuring a down pipe attached to a wall stays elevated above the ground
I have a downpipe that I noticed was full of water. When I lifted it up, all the water started gushing out. The attachments had come off and it had slipped down leading me to believe it was sitting ...
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How can I waterproof a hole in my vinyl deck to fit a downspout?
I am wondering if anyone might have some suggestions on solving this drainage issue with our vinyl deck.
We used to have 2 separate decks but upon rebuild we have them joined with a narrow walkway. ...
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How close to roof should downspout be?
I know it is common for 2nd story gutters to empty on the roof surface; however, houses I've seen the gutter empty close to the roof. my recently install gutters seem to be four to five inches off ...
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Why has my tub spout diverter not dropping back down after use? (brand new installation)
I installed a replacement tub spout with diverter and after about a week, the diverter doesn't always come back down after a shower. At first it dropped down right after a shower. Sometimes it happens ...
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Improve downspout fitting on gutter
This used to be fine without the flexible adapter, I had a rigid gutter to pipe adapter in the past. The ground below must have pushed the pipe around over time. The fitting was barely working for the ...
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Clogged downspout pipe
My downspout, next to a stucco wall, used to go into a cast iron pipe. Recently, the water must have gotten behind the stucco and in the winter, the stucco wall collapsed, pushed the downspout out of ...
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How to keep a downspout extension from coming off?
Had to replace a downspout because it was stepped on. I replaced it with a downspout extension, which is longer and does a better job of letting the rain water drain away from the house.
The only ...
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How to replace an odd-size (2 1/4" x 1 7/8") downspout elbow?
An elbow in one of my downspouts is broken and I want to replace it. But the downspout's measurements are 2 1/4" x 1 7/8" which is different from the standard sizes in USA which are 2" x 3" inches or ...
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How far should I insert downspout into sewer connection pipe?
Is there a standard or should I insert it as far as it'll go?
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Connecting downspout to first floor gutter
I am looking to connect my second floor downspout to the first floor gutter. In any sort of wind, the water misses the gutter completely and makes a big mess. I found the thread here very helpful ...
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Gutter pitch configuration
I have a shed withe following gutter/downspout configuration:
The problem at the moment is that there is standing water in all of the gutters. The gutters are not sagging, but they are perfectly ...
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Standing water in gutters
I have a 1 car garage shed with gutters around the roof. There are two downspouts, both on the same side of the structure (there is an alley on one side so both drain into the alley). I was up on the ...
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What is going on with my downspouts?
Most of the downspouts on my house (built in 1951) are routed into the foundation, like this:
My questions about this situation:
Why on earth did someone do this? (I just bought the damn thing and ...
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Upper roof downspout emptying onto lower roof
I have an upper roof downspout emptying onto a lower roof. the downspout exit sits near the side of the lower roof, and water falls off the side before continuing down to fall into the lower roof ...
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Proper gutter downspout location on sloped ground for shed
I built a shed last year on sloped ground, using concrete piers. I didn't get around to adding gutters, and was contemplating not doing it. But, the water seems to be eroding some areas of the soil ...
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Is there any reference (or probably web/online calculator) to figure the size for downspout pipe for a known flow rate
The total flow rate of water collected by the gutter of my roof is known (50 L/minute). I need to figure the safe size for my downspout pipe for this roof.
What's the minimum diameter for the ...
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Can I approximate flow rate of a roof with known flow rate of another roof?
My main building roof
I need to know the flow rate (FR, for example Litre per minute) of water coming out from the gutter of this roof. The easiest way would be catching the flowing water coming out ...
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How can raise a downspout drain from ground level (Picture)
I have a gutter downspout in my backyard that leads to a 4" clay drain which leads to the municipal sewer line. Currently the opening sits at ground level. I'd like to raise the ground level a few ...
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Underground downspout extensions - Are pop up emitters needed?
To move rainwater further away from a foundation than the standard 2~3 foot above-ground downspout extensions, what are the underground options?
Example of standard downspout extension:
(Photo from ...
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Can I fix my leaking downspout without taking it apart?
I have a downspout leading to a large rain barrel that leaks from one or more of the joints.
Instructions I can find on the internet suggest either taking it apart and re-assembling with new sealant, ...
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Rain chains at an angle from the vertical
I'd like to hang a rain chain, but not quite vertical straight down -- at a slight angle from vertical. What angle from vertical can I hang the rain chains, and still have them work? Are there any ...
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Protecting a PVC downspout under a driveway?
I need to run a 3" PVC downspout to the street. The issue is that the only place I have to run it is down my gravel driveway. At the house, the downspout is at least 12in below the surface of the ...
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Move or remove a downspout inside brick wall
I just moved into 1912 townhouse in DC. It has cast iron drain lines for the gutter downspouts. One of the lines is clogged, but I assume it eventually connects to the sewer. At some point in the ...
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What is the minimum distance from property line water can be drained?
My city (Redmond, WA) enforces the 2015 International Residential Code, but I could not find any requirements around distances of downspout and/or sump pump drainage from property lines. Perhaps I'm ...
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Can I cap off a 2" x 3" downspout?
I engineered a downspout with a side hole to divert water. However, I also need to cap off the bottom of the existing 2"x3" original downspout.
I can't find any "caps" anywhere so they might not ...
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How can I prevent this ice build up on my driveway/walkway?
My house faces North. I have down spouts on all four corners of the house.
My challenge is that in the late winter/ early spring, the sun melts the snow off the roof and comes down the downspouts.
...
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How do I unclog underground downspout pipes?
Our gutters drain into a downspout pipe that goes underground. It's very clogged with dirt, leaves, sticks, etc., and now water is backing up and leaking into the foundation of our house. I stuck my ...
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Downspout repair (with the 6 inch section)
I cut a 6 inch section out of a 3x4 inch downspout. How can i put it back together? I was installing a rain diverter and placed it too high. Thought about using 2 adapters but having trouble finding ...
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Underground downspout pipe may be leaking
I have been getting more and more water in my basement in the last few years. Every time it snows and melts, water trickles in around one spot in the basement floor.
I had someone come out to take a ...
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Can I cap off this gutter downspout?
I have a gutter downspout about halfway through the lower section of a flat roof that currently connects to a rain barrel. The barrel is poor quality and sprung a leak that I have tried patching ...
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I need to change the slope of my gutters. What do I need to know for this?
My questions are at the bottom of the post
Here is the picture that shows what I am trying to do
The gutters are attached to the
My questions:
-in order to correct the slope would it be enough ...
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How can I close and seal an abandoned downspout opening?
I need to relocate the downspout indicated in the picture below. How do I seal the opening that will be left after I relocate it ? (I will post a separate question about how to redo the slope of the ...
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How to reroute this downspout?
I am looking for some suggestions on how to best reroute this downspout. Currently gravity is working it's magic and it is draining downhill following the blue arrow in the images. The water runs ...
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How to fill soil void along basement wall?
The previous homeowners did not keep up with the downspouts and some erosion occurred. All of the drains to the street are great and I have reconnected the downspouts to the drain pipes; some were ...
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