Proper Drainage For A Gutter Down Spout

Attach elbow to bottom end of downspout and connect a downspout extension to carry rainwater away from the foundation.

Proper drainage for a gutter down spout.

The size of the downspout should be constant through out its length. There are many things you can do to improve the effectiveness of your gutters. For any house it s important to remove the water that runs off the roof as quickly as possible. For water to drain towards your downspouts your rain gutters need to harness the power of gravity so that excess water flows downhill.

To get started measure the side of the house directly under the gutter to determine its length in feet. To do this i cut the black corrugated pipe added a t and aimed the pipe upwards to the downspout. Gutters can be made up of sections that are usually 10 12 feet long or they can be installed as one continuous piece up to 37 feet long. A proper roof runoff system diverts the flow of water away from paved areas and toward storm drain systems and most importantly away from your home.

The gutter outlet capacity should suit the downspout capacity. For example if the gutter is 16 feet long the end near the down spout must be 1 inch lower than the starting end. Screws are the best option for connecting gutters because they won t back out over time. Downspouts should be constructed with conductor heads every 40 ft 12 2 m to admit air and prevent vacuum.

For the garage i used a downspout adapter without a leaf guard since there aren t trees close enough for that gutter to get clogged up. Without proper drainage erosion would ultimately damage that landscaping. Offset of more than 10 ft 3 0 m can affect drainage capacity. All gutters need to be firmly attached to the center of the downspout aligned under the lip of the roof.

Downspouts on gutters that drain large roof areas or if you live in an area with torrential rains. If using a splash block at end of downspout be sure the splash block and ground upon which it rests slope away from the house. Buy special roof hanger mounting straps for houses without fascia boards or for fascias that aren t vertical. 10 gutter and downspout runoff tips.

Slope long gutter runs 40 feet or more down both directions from the middle and put a downspout on each end. Since my in ground pipe ran right past the garage i had the garage downspout dump in as well. Gutters and downspouts are not expensive and they play a vital role in the roof doing its job. Buried or underground roof drainage downspout defects clogging overflowing holes corrosion leaks that cause wet basements or crawl areas proper installation of buried downspout extensions proper installation of french drains seepage pits at flat sites gutter downspout defects cause wet basements crawl areas questions answers about installing maintaining repairing buried roof.

The right rain gutter slope is subtle enough that you won t notice it from the street but also steep enough so that it easily sheds water towards your downspout.