DOWNSPOUTS

What are downspouts?

Downspouts are the pipes that are buried in the ground that take away the water from your roof and gutters. Many downspouts also take away the water from a garage drain or a sump pump in a basement or crawl space. The main purpose is to carry the water from the house to the street where it will ultimately end up in a storm sewer. Some downspout drains will come out to a hole in the curb or tie in directly to a storm sewer.

Problems with your downspout?

Downspouts are notorious for getting filled up with debris such as asphalt from the decaying of the shingles on the roof, whirly birds in the spring, leaves in the fall, and of course; roots. Most of these problems can be corrected by the use of a conventional power auger or more effectively with a High Pressure Sewer Jet. These blockages can ultimately clog the drain and cause bigger problems later on.

How do you know if your downspout is clogged?

If you think your downspout may be clogged, the first thing that you need to do is visually inspect around the perimeter of your home.

Look at where the pipe goes in the ground and look for ground erosion or mulch that has been washing away. These are all signs that a downspout is clogged. If you look and you see any of those signs, then its a good idea with starting off with a good cleaning of the pipes in the ground out to the street.

Preventing Problems with your downspout

A large percentage of our customers will request preventive maintenance on all downspout drains to prevent problems from occurring.

This is a good idea because the result of a clogged downspout drain in the long run could cause: wet wall, mildew, mold, water in the basement through the walls, carpet-drywall damage.

What problems occur with a clogged downspout?

The water continually overflowing will make a path to the foundation of the house washing mud into the footer drains, making the wall damp and eventually coming in through the block wall.