A tutorial on how to bury a gutter downspout to move water away from the house.

You pull out the ladder every few months and painstakingly pluck out all the leaves and debris from your gutters. 

After making sure that all the gutters are running smoothly, you take pride in your hard work.

But while your gutters are essential to protecting your house from water damage, your home could still be at risk. 

Take a closer look at how your gutter drain spout is configured. Is it broken, connected improperly or leaning too close to your house?

As my husband often reminds me, a neglected gutter problem could cause havoc on our foundation and basement. 

And I know he’s right. 

During his years as a home insurance adjuster, he saw disastrous flood damage that could have been prevented with a few critical home maintenance projects. 

And unless you have flood insurance, water leaking into your basement could drain your savings!

We had attached a downspout extension and connector to our gutters for months but it was not ideal.

It was doing the job but who wants a big, black tube lying across their yard? 

gutter extensions

After our grass did not come in as well as we wanted, we knew it was time to put the extension underground.

UPDATE: We decided to upgrade our gutter downspout to a french drain so be sure to see the updating tutorial on underground gutter drainage.

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How to bury a gutter downspout


MATERIALS:

TOOLS:

  • Drill
  • Shovel
  • Razor Blade (Optional)
  • Tarp/Box/Bucket (for putting dirt – optional)

TIP: Make sure your downspout extension and connector fit together and on your gutter.

STEP 1: DIG A TRENCH

BEFORE digging, CALL 811 to have utility lines marked. 

First, you need to dig a trench. We researched and found that the trench needs to be 10-12 inches deep with about a 2-inch slope. 

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 a tarp, box, or bucket, you will need it next to the trench to put your dirt in, and to make the re-filling process 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.)

trench for gutter downspout

STEP 2: DISMANTLE OLD GUTTER SPOUT

Time to remove the old angle from the gutter/downspout. Use a drill to remove the old screws.

remove gutter downspout

Now, remove the angle connector.

extend gutter downspout

STEP 3: CONNECT NEW EXTENSION TO GUTTER 

Put your downspout extension and connector together before placing on your gutter.

place gutter downspout

Now, carefully screw them into place.

screws for gutter

Grab 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 the plastic connector and then screw on.

attach gutter downspout

After you have attached the connector with screws, you will need to put screws in the connector and extension to secure them. 

And because my husband likes to make sure it was never coming off, we placed 3 screws in each section but you would be fine with 2.

bury gutter downspout

STEP 4: ADJUST THE DOWNSPOUT INTO THE TRENCH 

Next, push the downspout into the trench and cut to the length of the trench using a razor blade.

cut downspout

SIDE NOTE: At this point, you should place some type of emitter. We did not do this in this tutorial but in our underground gutter drainage post, we did. The emitter allows access so the pipe can be cleaned out at a later date if needed. 

STEP 5: FILL THE TRENCH WITH SOIL 

Next, it’s time to fill in the hole. Kids helped out with this one.

cover up downspout

Now you should have a nice new downspout that will drain away from the house/building.

bury gutter downspout

We finished both downspouts in our backyard but still have to complete the front, which will be more exciting!

Cost Breakdown for ONE:

  • Downspout Extension- $10
  • Downspout Connector- $5
  • Screws Box- $4
  • Everything else we had- FREE

TOTAL- $19.00

A small price to pay to avoid the risk of water flooding our basement.

Interested in more landscaping projects? Here some more posts you will enjoy:

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6 Comments

    1. 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!

  1. Do u have to cap the end of the spout off with some sort of grate so that it doesn’t get clogged?

    1. 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!

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

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