In this video, This Old House general contractor Tom Silva teaches host Kevin O’Connor what he needs to know about gutter downspouts, including how they work and the different types of downspouts on the market.
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Kevin O’Connor learns about gutter downspouts from general contractor Tom Silva. Tom teaches Kevin what he needs to know, from the different types of elbows and outlets and a few tips on how to get that water away from the home.
Gutters collect the water from our roofing systems, and they shuttle it away from the house to protect our foundations. But, to get that water from the gutter to the ground requires a downspout. There are a lot of different downspouts and fittings to consider to move that rainwater far enough away from the home.
Where to find it?
Tom Silva explains the options available for gutter downspouts to divert water away from a home’s foundation.
Tom recommends sealing any drilled holes with butyl caulking because it seals well to aluminum.
Tom explains that gutter elbows are the best way to divert gutters and they come in a variety of options to accommodate the needs of any homeowner. A few examples of gutter elbows include:
A-style elbows [https://homedepot.sjv.io/75aLEy]: bend front to back. Typically a good choice for getting the downspout to connect smoothly from the gutter outlet to the side of the house.
B-style elbows [https://homedepot.sjv.io/DKyAYn]: bend side to side. Typically a good choice to divert water away from the house towards the side yard instead of either the front or the back.
Flexible elbows [https://homedepot.sjv.io/5g5mWL]: bend in any direction and can help in unique situations. However, because of all the ridges in them, they’re more likely to get clogged than fixed elbows.
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From the makers of This Old House, America’s first and most trusted home improvement show, Ask This Old House answers the steady stream of home improvement questions asked by viewers across the United States. Covering topics from landscaping to electrical to HVAC and plumbing to painting and more. Ask This Old House features the experts from This Old House, including general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, landscape contractor Jenn Nawada, master carpenter Norm Abram, and host Kevin O’Connor. ASK This Old House helps you protect and preserve your greatest investment—your home.
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Understanding Gutter Downspouts | Ask This Old House
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29 Comments
That's right, "Water is the enemy."
Perfect timing on this episode considering it’s been raining here in New England for a week straight with basically another week to go 🤦♂️
Funny coincidence, 2 days ago I added a downspout extension in the front of my house to do just this.
I appreciate learning about the different styles of attachments to the gutter and disbursement attachments for the downspout. I wish you had also talked about the different sizes since I’ve see 2 in the big box stores near me. Also how and where to attach one piece to another with the very tiny screws that are supposed to be used. 🤷🏼♀️ I finally have 3 of the 4 corners fixed so water doesn’t come in but there’s one that always has water in the basement when there’s heavy rain for a day or more. I can’t get the darn screws to work! 😖🤦🏼♀️
So smaahht 1:56
Where can you buy the diverter that moves up?
Avoid the accordion style as any sun hitting it will eventually cause it to crack in a few years.
I love how kevin acts like he knows nothing despite having been on the show for years and obvi knows all of it 😀
yes, there are adaptors to connect a different size pipe than you already have.
What about the different sizes gutters and downspouts ? What about the many capabilities to block leaves and catkins from clogging gutters?
My question is what is the name of the flexible downspout capital A spout elephant trunk extension 😆😆😆 no I couldn't help it but all jokes aside thanks for the tips and advises.
the only men left. thank god for this old house and men who use powertools.
GOOD MAN TOMMY
Another great video guys
Thank you!
Do any of the leaf covers for gutters really work?
I am in my second home now. It was built very well. I understand the importance of directing water off of the foundation. I have bought a couple of plastic flexible downspouts. They keep falling off. Any ideas? Riveting did not work.
I thought you might mention that downspouts are often 2”x3” which has an opening area of 6 sq inches and how downspouts that are 3”x4” are twice as big with 12 sq inches. Always important to get water out of the gutters and away from the roof asap.
I can’t believe they allow this sort of gutter talk on TV. 😂
My landlord got new gutters installed and they put all the down spouts on the uphill side of the building….
Of course I told the landlord about it, but she claimed their experts and they know what their doing.
l am super excited my financial life has totally changed ever since I ventured into crypto market. Ive been earning over $12,000 every single week. Lol
The issue with my gutters is they always clog at the gutter outlet to the downspout, thus backing up the remainder of the gutter. How is this issue best solved?
Maybe us a Gutter Saddle – – has 45-Degeree sloped portion before going vertical & into downspout ? ?
What about rain chains?
Those expandable plastic pipes are absolute trash. They will break after one winter or really sunny summer. Dont ever use those. Your best option is to bury the downspouts and run them at least 10 ft from the house using a strong corrugated pipe (not the crap they sell at the big box stores).
Awesome sound! 3:06
3:05, Your Welcome.
I have water going away from my house but here in Texas it gets hot, and my dad always told me to water my foundation. How much water is too much for that.
Hey everyone.. I have one side of my house that is a consistent issue.. I have a pine tree that has clogged my down spout consistently.. I put gutter guards to protect .. this recent massive rain storm we got in New Jersey there was pooling on that side of the house, and it led to water getting in my basement.. my question is: I’ve taken steps to clearing out the gutters, but do I have to worried of clogging in the pvc underneath my lawn leading the water away from my house?? And do I have to be worried of any cracks in my foundation that’s letting the water in? I was thinking of digging up the dirt on that side of the house and pouring some concrete to protect my foundation in case the polling happens again.. any thoughts would be helpful, I know we got smart people on this channel.. thanks a lot !