All of our gutters do not do a very good job at getting the water away from the house. And if you know my husband (he was a home insurance adjuster for 5 years and worries about lots of possible losses, mostly water, but this could be a whole story so we will stop there) we had to fix the problem because it could flood our basement (not covered, you have to have flood insurance). We have had the downspout extension + connector for months just sitting on our downspouts.
It was doing the job but who wants a big black thing across their yard, not us. After our grass did not come in as well as we wanted, we decided it was time to put the extension underground.
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How to bury a gutter downspout
SUPPLIES:
- Downspout Extension (comes in 10ft)
- Downspout Connector
- Sheet Metal Screws
- Drill
- Shovel
- Razor Blade (Optional)
- Tarp/Box/Bucket (for putting dirt but Optional)
TIP: Make sure your downspout extension and connector fit together and on your gutter.
First thing first, dig a trench. We researched how long and deep the trench should be. We found that the trench needs to be 10-12 inches deep with about a 2-inch slope. And the length is how long you want it but far enough away from the building, we decided we did not want less than 5 feet. If you are using tarp/box/bucket you will need it here to put your dirt in, we did not use anything, this will just make filling easier. Now start digging… (You do not have to go straight out from the downspout, it could be better to go at an angle but depends on your house.)
Time to take off the old angle off the gutter/downspout. Take a drill and remove the old screws.
Then remove the angle connector.
Have your downspout extension and connector together then place on your gutter.
Now time to screw them into place.
Take your sheet metal screws (I found them in the gutter section at our local hardware store) and drill them into the connector and the gutter. TIP: we found it was easier to drill a hole through just the plastic connector then screws on.
After you have attached the connector with screws, you will need to put screws in the connector and extension to hold them together. And because my husband likes to make sure it was not coming off we places 3 screws on each section but you would be fine with 2.
Next push the downspout into the hole and cut to the length of the hole using a razor blade.
Then it’s time to fill in the hole. Kids helped out with this one.
Now you should have a nice new downspout that will drain away from the house/building.
We finished both downspouts in our backyard but still have to do the front which will be more exciting.
Cost Breakdown for ONE:
Downspout Extension- $5.50
Downspout Connector- $4.40
Screws Box- $2.60
Everything else we had- FREE
TOTAL- $12.50
Worth the cost of water flooding our basement.
I like how you buried your downspout, but where does it drain out?
Our downspout just drains into the ground. But I have seen them with a drain that sits about grass level that you can clean out. Hope this helps and good luck!
Do u have to cap the end of the spout off with some sort of grate so that it doesn’t get clogged?
Hi Katy! We do not have an end cap but there are ends that make it easy to clean out. We did not worry about it because we have covers on our gutters that stop most debris. But without the covers, we would have trouble with the spout getting clogged. So make sure you have something!
Using a 90-Degree elbow would have put less strain on the downspout joint and looked aesthetically better. A bubbler at the end of the pipe would have allowed for better draining and clean-out, if necessary. (Especially for downpours). If it just flows out “into” the ground, you will have eventual erosion.
Hello all
I live in SA where water is scarce. The golf courses here use a similar black pipe for drainage. It has slots along the top side. What we do is dig a trench at least 35 x 35 cm. We use the builders gravel in the bottom, wrap shade cloth or bidem around the pipe (so that it does not clog) then lay the pipe on the gravel floor. We then fill up with more gravel. Cover with soil and plant lawn over it. The pipe needs to slope to a lower level.
For a larger gutter or for underground water, we have laid pipes in a herring bone pattern under the lawn. This serves as a watering and drainage system.
I have not seen the connection you are using for the gutter over here.
Good luck.