I have 2 down spouts from the gutter system that drain into my lawn. I
hear this should be 6' from the house, but there is no practicle and
visibly pleasing way to accomplish this AFAIK?

I was thinking to bury a pipe along the perimeter of my house to grab
the water from these 2 downspouts and pipe it to where the other 2 and
the sump pump are piped.

Is this acceptable? Anything I should be worried about like water
sitting in the pipe? Any special type of PVC should be used if its to
be buried in dirt?

also The A/C fan is about 1 foot from my house. Is it ok to run the
pipe under ground between the a/c fan which is sitting on a block of
cement and the house?

thanks

--
Respectfully,


CL Gilbert

CL (dnoyeB) Gilbert wrote:
I have 2 down spouts from the gutter system that drain into my lawn. I
hear this should be 6' from the house, but there is no practicle and
visibly pleasing way to accomplish this AFAIK?

I was thinking to bury a pipe along the perimeter of my house to grab
the water from these 2 downspouts and pipe it to where the other 2 and
the sump pump are piped.

Is this acceptable? Anything I should be worried about like water
sitting in the pipe? Any special type of PVC should be used if its to
be buried in dirt?

It's a fine way to do it. Make sure there's at least an 1/8" slope per
foot along the entire length. Don't use the perforated corrugated
plastic stuff - that just invites roots to block it...unless you use
filter fabric or a "sock".

http://tinyurl.com/9ldru

also The A/C fan is about 1 foot from my house. Is it ok to run the
pipe under ground between the a/c fan which is sitting on a block of
cement and the house?

Sure.

R

"CL (dnoyeB) Gilbert" wrote:
I have 2 down spouts from the gutter system that drain into my lawn. I
hear this should be 6' from the house, but there is no practicle and
visibly pleasing way to accomplish this AFAIK?

Cut the downspout a foot shorter, scrape up the sod and topsoil, and then
get a load of fill top build the area up so that it slopes away from the
house (if work a large are, the slope won't be particularly obvious.
Cover with an inch of clay-heavy soil, then replace your topsoil and sod.

I was thinking to bury a pipe along the perimeter of my house to grab
the water from these 2 downspouts and pipe it to where the other 2 and
the sump pump are piped.

Is this acceptable? Anything I should be worried about like water
sitting in the pipe? Any special type of PVC should be used if its to
be buried in dirt?

Foundation drain pipe, and you'll want to make sure it's pitched well,
surrounded by gravel and, ideally surrounded by filter fabric: this will
prevent soil from filling up the pipe. Of coursse, if you do this, you'll
likely end up building up the soil around your home and creating the angle
that I was talking about above so that the water naturally runs away from
the foundation.

Don't just pipe your roof drins around the house: if they clog with sticks
or debris the water could well be forced directly into your basement.

Correcting the grade is IMO, the best way to go. For more info, see:
http://www.ci.redmond.wa.us/insideci...e/pdfs/pg2.pdf



John
--
Remove the dead poet to e-mail, tho CC'd posts are unwelcome.
Mean People Suck - It takes two deviations to get cool.
Ask me about joining the NRA.

wrote:
"CL (dnoyeB) Gilbert" wrote:

I have 2 down spouts from the gutter system that drain into my lawn. I
hear this should be 6' from the house, but there is no practicle and
visibly pleasing way to accomplish this AFAIK?


Cut the downspout a foot shorter, scrape up the sod and topsoil, and then
get a load of fill top build the area up so that it slopes away from the
house (if work a large are, the slope won't be particularly obvious.
Cover with an inch of clay-heavy soil, then replace your topsoil and sod.


I was thinking to bury a pipe along the perimeter of my house to grab
the water from these 2 downspouts and pipe it to where the other 2 and
the sump pump are piped.


Is this acceptable? Anything I should be worried about like water
sitting in the pipe? Any special type of PVC should be used if its to
be buried in dirt?


Foundation drain pipe, and you'll want to make sure it's pitched well,
surrounded by gravel and, ideally surrounded by filter fabric: this will
prevent soil from filling up the pipe. Of coursse, if you do this, you'll
likely end up building up the soil around your home and creating the angle
that I was talking about above so that the water naturally runs away from
the foundation.

Don't just pipe your roof drins around the house: if they clog with sticks
or debris the water could well be forced directly into your basement.

Correcting the grade is IMO, the best way to go. For more info, see:
http://www.ci.redmond.wa.us/insideci...e/pdfs/pg2.pdf



John


I dont have a grade problem. Its graded quite nicely. Its just the
fact that all recommendations say I need to let the water hit the grass
no closer than ~6' from my foundation. And I don't want to run a long
gutter pipe over the grass like they always show in the diagrams, lol.

--
Respectfully,


CL Gilbert

RicodJour wrote:
CL (dnoyeB) Gilbert wrote:

I have 2 down spouts from the gutter system that drain into my lawn. I
hear this should be 6' from the house, but there is no practicle and
visibly pleasing way to accomplish this AFAIK?

I was thinking to bury a pipe along the perimeter of my house to grab
the water from these 2 downspouts and pipe it to where the other 2 and
the sump pump are piped.

Is this acceptable? Anything I should be worried about like water
sitting in the pipe? Any special type of PVC should be used if its to
be buried in dirt?


It's a fine way to do it. Make sure there's at least an 1/8" slope per
foot along the entire length. Don't use the perforated corrugated
plastic stuff - that just invites roots to block it...unless you use
filter fabric or a "sock".

http://tinyurl.com/9ldru


also The A/C fan is about 1 foot from my house. Is it ok to run the
pipe under ground between the a/c fan which is sitting on a block of
cement and the house?


Sure.

R


Thanks, sounds like something I can do. Also where my yard meets the
neighbors yard is at the bottom of the pitch and often the grass holds
the water right on the surface. Hopefully this will reduce that issue
as well.




--
Respectfully,


CL Gilbert

CL,

I have 2 down spouts from the gutter system that drain into my lawn. I
hear this should be 6' from the house, but there is no practicle and
visibly pleasing way to accomplish this AFAIK?

I've seen gizmos you attach to your gutter downspout, they supposedly
uncoil when the water is flowing to direct the water out to your yard. Then
they coil back up when it stops raining. They look like a cheap gimic to
me, and I doubt they would work very well anyway.

I was thinking to bury a pipe along the perimeter of my house to grab
the water from these 2 downspouts and pipe it to where the other 2 and
the sump pump are piped.

We just finished installing a similar system at our house. I used "solid"
PVC drainpipe (the thinner stuff is for landscape drainage, the thicker
stuff is for sewage systems. Either will work, but the thin stuff is
cheaper.) and plastic catch basins under the gutters. Mine are made by NDS
and were available at both Lowes and Home Depot. Other than hand digging
200' of trenches, they were very easy to install.

Our system takes the water from the gutters, and reroutes it about 80'
across the yard so it can drain out over the hill. So far, it has been
working great.

I used catch basins w/grates instead of tying the downspouts directly into
the piping system. I figured they would be easier to clean out when needed,
and will also help for any standing water that builds up in the yard during
heavy downpours.

I have a SEPARATE drainage system that uses perforated pipe that runs
around the perimeter of our house along the footings. It's covered with
landscape fabric and gravel for drainage. This is then connected to a drain
line that runs off over the hill too.

On the outlet ends of the pipes, I installed some small grates that are
actually meant as inlets in flower beds. But, they should work well for
keeping "critters" from crawling into the pipe.

We've had some really rainy weather lately and I've been real happy with
the way the system works.

Anthony

The majority of gutter leaders in homes in the US don't have the means
to directly carry the water 6' or more away from the house. This is a
nice recommendation and would be a good thing, but I wouldn't get
obsessed with it. Most home leaders end with a splash bloock that is
maybe 3 ft long. The most important thing is that the landscape is
graded away from the house so that water can flow away from it. If you
have splash blocks and good grading and don't have any problems in the
basement, I'd leave it alone.

Trying to pipe the rain water around the house and tieing the rain
water into the sump pump system should be a last resort, only if
absolutely necessary. As someone pointed out, you now have the
possibility of the pipe becoming clogged. You also have the
possibility of a sump pump failure, increased electric cost, and the
certainty that at some point there will be a severe storm that will
knock out power. Depending on where the water goes for it to be
collected before being pumped, that could be a disaster in a few
minutes of lost power.

The most important thing is that the landscape is graded away
from the house so that water can flow away from it.

In my case, our house and garage is backed up against a hill. I had sloped
the yard away from the house, but this just resulted in a small lake
between the house and the hillside when it rained. After installing our
drainage system, we haven't had any more lakes.

you now have the possibility of the pipe becoming clogged.

The 4" drainage pipe is much less likely to clog than the gutter downspout,
but it is something you have to check every once in a while to make sure
it's still flowing well.

You also have the possibility of a sump pump failure,
increased electric cost, and the certainty that at some point
there will be a severe storm that will knock out power.

Yep, if at all possible, try to route the drainage line by gravity so you
do not need a pump. In our case, we routed the water from the back of the
house and out over the edge of the hill.

Anthony

wrote:
The majority of gutter leaders in homes in the US don't have the means
to directly carry the water 6' or more away from the house. This is a
nice recommendation and would be a good thing, but I wouldn't get
obsessed with it. Most home leaders end with a splash bloock that is
maybe 3 ft long. The most important thing is that the landscape is
graded away from the house so that water can flow away from it. If you
have splash blocks and good grading and don't have any problems in the
basement, I'd leave it alone.

Trying to pipe the rain water around the house and tieing the rain
water into the sump pump system should be a last resort, only if
absolutely necessary. As someone pointed out, you now have the
possibility of the pipe becoming clogged. You also have the
possibility of a sump pump failure, increased electric cost, and the
certainty that at some point there will be a severe storm that will
knock out power. Depending on where the water goes for it to be
collected before being pumped, that could be a disaster in a few
minutes of lost power.



Only meant to tie it in with the sumps emptying pipe, not pipe the water
into the sump itself. Sump works hard enouogh already If I wanted
the water to get to the sump I basically could leave it like it is now
as I think thats where it eventually goes. Also the sump pipe is sort
of open. If it clogged, it would just spill out onto the lawn, and it
should still be able to empty the pit. Hard to explain.


But in truth my land is strongly graded away from my house. Its
probably not a problem, I just dont like the way it looks too much.

--
Respectfully,


CL Gilbert