Downspouts and gutter drainage
Clean gutters only help if the water leaving them ends up somewhere other than against your foundation.
Every drop your gutters catch leaves through a downspout. If it lands right beside the house, it soaks into the soil along the foundation, carves channels in the beds and finds its way into crawl spaces and basements. In the Johnson City area, where many lots slope and much of the ground is slow-draining clay, where that water goes matters as much as the gutters themselves.
Signs your downspouts are part of the problem
- Soggy ground or a puddle where a downspout empties
- Mulch and soil washed off the beds after storms
- A damp crawl space or water in the basement after heavy rain
- Water backing up and spilling from the top of a downspout
- Ice forming on walks or the driveway below a downspout in winter
- Splash blocks that have sunk or tipped back toward the house
What are the fixes?
- Larger downspouts. Moving from 2-by-3-inch to 3-by-4-inch downspouts carries more water and clogs less. Common with 6-inch gutters.
- More outlets. A long run or big roof section may need a second downspout.
- Extensions and splash blocks. The simplest step: carry water several feet out before letting it go.
- Buried drain lines. Pipe that carries downspout water underground to a pop-up emitter, to daylight on a slope, or to another safe outlet.
- Rain barrels. Hold some water for the garden, with an overflow aimed away from the house.
How should water be handled on a sloped lot?
Move it around the house and release it downhill. A downspout on the uphill side of a house is the one most likely to send water back toward the foundation, so many installers route it around the corner or into a buried line that comes out below the house. Don't aim concentrated roof water down a steep bank where it can cut a gully, and don't send it onto a neighbor's yard, a sidewalk or the street.
Do buried downspout drains clog?
They can. Leaves and shingle grit wash down the downspout and settle in the pipe, and roots can find their way in. Smooth-wall pipe laid with steady slope, a cleanout near the downspout, and guards on the gutters above all help. If a buried line backs up, the downspout overflows and you're back to water at the foundation, so ask the installer how the line can be cleared later.
What drives the price of drainage work?
- Number of downspouts and length of each run.
- Above ground or buried. Trenching and pipe add cost.
- Obstacles. Walks, driveways, roots, rock and landscaping.
- Outlet. How far the water has to go to a safe release point.
We don't quote prices. The installer prices the job after measuring your gutter runs, counting downspouts and looking at the roof pitch and the trees overhead, so any number you hear on the phone before that visit is only a ballpark.
Where we connect you with help
Common questions
How far out should a downspout discharge?
At least several feet, and farther where the yard is flat or slopes toward the house. The aim is to keep water from soaking in next to the foundation.
Why does my buried drain back up?
Usually debris in the pipe, roots, or not enough slope. A cleanout makes it easier to clear, and guards keep most debris out to begin with.
Related services
More background: Johnson City gutter guard guide.
Done hauling the ladder out every November?
Call and a local installer will come look at your roofline, your trees and your gutters, then quote guards that fit.