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sgrammer_gw

Gutter Downspout Suggestions Needed!

sgrammer
9 years ago

Currently, my gutters empty straight into the grass in my lawn which isn't that big of a problem for me except that it creates muddy and squishy situation. I was hoping to hear some suggestions I could do to try and prevent all the water just pouring on top of the ground. I've thought about French drains but I'd like to do something that involved a little less digging.

My current plan is to just dig a hole under each downspout and fill it with gravel and put some edging around it. But I'm not sure if that would cause a problem with my slab foundation or even accomplish what I'm trying to achieve.

Any suggestions would be great! Thanks!

Comments (7)

  • beckyinrichmond
    9 years ago

    The ideal solution is to connect the downspouts to drainage pipes that lead off your property to the street where water can then go into storm drains. Whatever you do, make sure the water is led AWAY from your house. Do not let it collect near the foundation.

  • apundt-tx
    9 years ago

    Could you make a rainwater collection system out of your downspouts?

  • ENVY23
    9 years ago

    I agree with both the above. I know you don't want to do any digging, but that water sitting against your foundation is not good. If you have a use for the water, I suggest a rain barrel. If not, rent a trencher and get 4" corrugated pipe($50 for 100ft) and connectors($5/ea) that match your down spout size and run the water away from the house. You can get a trencher for around $75 for 4 hours or $150 for the day. Depending on how far you have to run the pipe and how many down spouts you have, it shouldn't take long. I ran 4 pipes about 50ft each in under 2 hrs. That was installing the pipe and backfilling, too. Trust me, the couple hundred bucks you spend now will save you a ton in foundation repair later on.

    Plan ahead, and mark any underground utilities, septic, etc, before you dig.

    This post was edited by ENVY23 on Sat, Apr 26, 14 at 0:15

  • krnuttle
    9 years ago

    ENVY23

    With small animals: How did you end the corrugate pipe?

    In French drains?

    If open how did you close the end? Did you make a "culvert" at the end of the pipe? With and elbow and a grate?

  • ENVY23
    9 years ago

    knuttle,

    I have a small natural ravine behind my house where the water naturally flows and I ran the rear down spouts into it. 2 down spouts off the covered back porch were joined with a Y pipe into one pipe and then the 3rd at the far end of the house ran solo into the ravine. In the front one downspout goes onto the concrete driveway, and with the other I ran the pipe down my sloped lawn and stopped about 2 ft from the driveway. The water runs out that pipe and across the driveway and follows the natural slope into my lawn and down the hill into the woods. I put snap in slotted grates on the end of the pipes. Let's the water drain and keeps the critters out. Went with green in the front to match the grass.

  • krnuttle
    9 years ago

    So the water discharge is not hidden, but can be seen coming out when raining. I assume the pipes are buried and the only thing visible is slotted grates. Is the discharge from the slotted grates verticle __I or a small bermed area ---( that can be mowed over easily?

    How do you handle the discharge from you air conditioner.
    I hope the "graphics" clear

  • ENVY23
    9 years ago

    They're vertical, but I dug a small trench in front of the grates that allowed me to completely cover the top of the pipe so I can mow right over it.

    As for the air conditioner, I haven't checked on it's discharge. We just moved in last year, and I noticed the down spouts after the first big rain and immediately took care of that.