rain rain.. (gutters and downspouts)
Mar. 11th, 2021 08:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cordjostlerI'm thinking about gutters and downspouts today. I think maybe this is the first real precipitation since the mega snow. and to be fair, it hasn't even started yet, but I can smell it. (and I saw it on the forecast) Supposed to go all day, and I guess that's what worries me - the reason the basement needed mold remediation and masonry work is because rain water isn't managed properly. I've been snoozing on it because bigger fish to fry, and also, I think it just seemed like rain was far away.. but here we are.
I think the fast solution will be to get those vinyl bag looking extensions that zip tie to the downspouts. Ultimately, I'm kicking around the idea of trenching and installing underground PVC extensions with a cleanout at the top. Not super pretty, but way functional. My front yard terminates in a 6" high retaining wall at the sidewalk, and I guess I'll have to knock out a chunk of that and have it re poured to facilitate the drains. I'll also, in some cases have to move the concrete tiles that are out there for this reason, but angled the wrong way. sounds like a few weekends of work.
The back yard is a little different, because I think the yard slopes toward the house, and the alley is pretty much "unimproved" as they say. So there's nowhere for water to go but back towards the house. I'm kicking around the idea of rain barrels. A barrel would definitely be good for the one on the back of the house, but there's another that's right in the middle of the house, but behind my midpoint fence, and on a very narrow walkway. hmm. But then there's also the sump pump drain, which is on my list. it sticks out from the foundation about 6 inches, so when it runs, it all just comes right back through the foundation. Need to send it somewhere, and I wouldn't want that stuff going into the rain barrel. Maybe I extend the underground drain from the front?
Another piece of all this is the gutters themselves. Mine seem to be ok, but there is exactly 1 tree in the entire neighborhood, and it's in my yard. It's a big one too.. so my gutters are full of leaves and sticks. Costco has some things you can put over the gutters and I'm thinking of doing that. I'm not super confident it will do the job, but worth a try.
Anyway, that's what I'm thinking about today.
I think the fast solution will be to get those vinyl bag looking extensions that zip tie to the downspouts. Ultimately, I'm kicking around the idea of trenching and installing underground PVC extensions with a cleanout at the top. Not super pretty, but way functional. My front yard terminates in a 6" high retaining wall at the sidewalk, and I guess I'll have to knock out a chunk of that and have it re poured to facilitate the drains. I'll also, in some cases have to move the concrete tiles that are out there for this reason, but angled the wrong way. sounds like a few weekends of work.
The back yard is a little different, because I think the yard slopes toward the house, and the alley is pretty much "unimproved" as they say. So there's nowhere for water to go but back towards the house. I'm kicking around the idea of rain barrels. A barrel would definitely be good for the one on the back of the house, but there's another that's right in the middle of the house, but behind my midpoint fence, and on a very narrow walkway. hmm. But then there's also the sump pump drain, which is on my list. it sticks out from the foundation about 6 inches, so when it runs, it all just comes right back through the foundation. Need to send it somewhere, and I wouldn't want that stuff going into the rain barrel. Maybe I extend the underground drain from the front?
Another piece of all this is the gutters themselves. Mine seem to be ok, but there is exactly 1 tree in the entire neighborhood, and it's in my yard. It's a big one too.. so my gutters are full of leaves and sticks. Costco has some things you can put over the gutters and I'm thinking of doing that. I'm not super confident it will do the job, but worth a try.
Anyway, that's what I'm thinking about today.