Downspout Repair: How to Tell When Yours Are Failing
Everybody looks at the gutters. Nobody looks at the downspouts. But the downspouts are the only part of the system that actually carries water away from the house. When one fails, your gutters can be perfectly clean and you'll still have water sitting against the foundation. Here's what to look for, what it costs you if you let it go, and when a repair is enough versus when it's time to replace.
Signs a downspout is failing
- Water pooling at the base of the house after it rains
- Gutter overflows at the downspout end but drains fine elsewhere
- Crushed, dented, or kinked sections (usually a mower or a ladder)
- Downspout pulled off the wall or hanging loose
- Dripping at the elbows or seams
- Splash block or extension missing or kicked out of place
- A trench or washed-out mulch where the water lands
- Stains or damp spots on the foundation wall
What it does to your foundation
One downspout on a normal-sized roof moves a lot of water in a single storm. If that water lands at the foundation instead of getting carried off, it soaks the ground against the wall. Around here that ground is usually clay sitting on rock, and clay holds water instead of letting it drain. Over time that puts pressure on basement and crawl space walls. You get seepage, settling, and eventually cracks. Fixing a downspout costs a small fraction of what fixing a foundation costs. Every time.
Repair or replace?
| What's wrong | Usually a repair | Usually a replacement |
|---|---|---|
| Loose or pulled off the wall | Strap it back on with new fasteners | |
| Crushed or kinked section | Replace that section if the rest is in good shape | Whole run if more than one section is damaged |
| Leaking elbows | Reseal or swap the elbow | |
| Always overflowing at the downspout | Clear the clog | Go to a bigger downspout. It's too small for the gutter. |
| Water at the foundation | Add or re-aim an extension or splash block | Add another downspout if one can't keep up with the run |
The sizing problem
Downspouts come in standard sizes, and the mistake I see most is a big gutter feeding a small downspout. A 6-inch gutter catching runoff off a metal roof needs a bigger downspout under it. Otherwise the gutter fills faster than the downspout can empty it and it overflows right at the outlet. Looks like a gutter problem. Isn't. Long runs are the other one. One downspout trying to drain a long stretch of gutter is always the first thing to overflow in an Ozarks downpour.
We size and form downspouts at the house. I carry the machine on the truck, so the downspout gets matched to the gutter and the roof instead of coming out of a box in one size. That's also how we add an outlet to a long run without tearing out the whole gutter.
Keeping them working
Most downspout trouble starts at the top elbow. A wad of leaves gets in there and turns into a plug. Keeping the gutters clear is most of the battle, which is why gutter covers protect the downspouts as much as the gutters. If you'd rather have it handled, our cleaning and maintenance visit includes flushing every downspout and checking every elbow. And if you need a downspout fixed anywhere around Seymour, Ava, Springfield, or nearby, the first step is a free look. I'll tell you straight whether it's a repair or a replacement.