In this video, when a homeowner called for help controlling their stormwater runoff, landscape contractor Jenn Nawada knew what to do. The two install two runoff containment systems to keep the yard dry.
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Stormwater runoff can be hard to manage with gutters and downspouts alone. And a saturated, soggy yard that soaks the foundation is not a good time. When a homeowner called Ask This Old House for help, landscape contractor Jenn Nawada knew just what to do. Together, they install two gutter runoff control options that will easily control these water challenges and divert water from the foundation.
Note: In both cases here, we dug into the soil to control the runoff. Anytime you’re going to dig, call 8-1-1 to have underground utilities marked to ensure your safety.
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Materials:
Marking paint [https://homedepot.sjv.io/ZQP76k]
Downspout connector [https://homedepot.sjv.io/DKjNNd]
Ground drain [https://homedepot.sjv.io/LXzNkM]
Catch basin [https://homedepot.sjv.io/B0DMgy]
4-inch PVC pipe [https://homedepot.sjv.io/anBXXM]
4-inch elbows [https://homedepot.sjv.io/JzgNNE]
4-inch pop-up emitter [https://homedepot.sjv.io/EK5NB2]
Landscape fabric [https://homedepot.sjv.io/DKjNxd]
Crushed stone [https://homedepot.sjv.io/m5Dmd1]
Tools:
Tape measure [https://homedepot.sjv.io/rQEBXy]
Shovel [https://homedepot.sjv.io/rQPDPd]
Wheelbarrow [https://homedepot.sjv.io/0ZaWz3]
Level [https://homedepot.sjv.io/ZQ09Z1]
About Ask This Old House TV: 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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How to Control Gutter Runoff | Ask This Old House
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49 Comments
First in!
Love TOH, thanks for this video.
Jen is awesome! And her hard work proves it.
This would have been a good video for Roger. Rest easy Roger
There are so many wrongs with this video. There was a storm drain right there to run your down spout extensions to and yet you chose a pit for drainage. That's just wrong. TOH should have consulted with the French Drain Man or at least watched his videos to do this job better.
They dug that 40" hole rather quickly.
thats a big hole to dig with a shovel
🤩💧🌱
So what stops grass clipping from going down that drain opening?
Seems like a good idea… but I am not sure about the container that goes in the ground. I don't think that I would have very high sides and a top on it. Seems like it could eventually grow mold. I have been driving down streets near businesses but also residential areas and will smell mold and who knows why but this could even be one reason. Something to keep an eye out for, or a nose
Great job🎶
If you were ever stranded on a deserted island, the best thing you could have is the "This Old House" crew. They pretty much know everything.
I would have caught both downspouts with schedule 40 pipe and routed the water to the street, away from the foundation. The drainage pit and pop up emitter are way too close to the house.
bad idea, you need regrade and get all of the water away from the house. the shrubs can be replanted. watch Gate City Foundation Drainage for the correct solution.
Years ago my stepdad did this with pvc pipe. While I was helping him install it I asked “what if this gets clogged or if it freezes?” he quickly shut down my concerns and said that wouldn’t happen. Lo and behold when the weather got cold enough the pipes froze and ripped the downspouts off the house. I had a good laugh.
Great job guys
She’s no rogah
I guess all other options for mitigating the wet basement problem were ruled out. These include proper lot grading, adding a drainage tile, damp proofing the foundation walls, adding sump pump, or terminating the downspouts 6' from the foundation. I've read that connecting downspouts to underground pipes is not the best solution due to the possibility of blockage. Did the homeowner rule out the wet basement being due to a high water table?
My favorite part was when they cut scene to have the men come in to do the digging off camera and then started recording again after the holes were dug. Notice not a bit of sweat on either female. LOL
Nice work. (that looks like 4" outdoor drain pipe, though, not schedule 40 plumbing pipe, which would be overkill anyway)
Here come all the “pros” with their stories and suggestions. 😂
You can definitely see the outline of Jenn’s bra. 😍😛 Love it!!
That's not schedule 40 PVC pipe! I would of left it as it was. Big problems down the road with that half assed systems! Waste of time & money. Wait until winter!
No glue at the PVC joints???
Great job! I have a question to ask; Would it be better if you installed a clean-out at the base of the downspouts?
That drywell is pretty close to the foundation…
I’ve been watching ATOH since I was a kid on Saturday’s. I’ve seen them do this install minimum 3 times. The first one was a guy who used to run outside and unfold a gutter to get the water away from his house down a driveway when it rained.
The time watching i kept thinking of Roger 🙁
You would need a jackhammer to dig that in my yard and it would take a month.
Miss Roger Cook.
I have to ask: What's the longevity & maintenance of these systems? I would imagine the water collector would fill with debris/leaves that need to be cleaned out every so often. Also, the popup emitter only opens when there's a substantial amount of water already in the pipe. The rest of the time that water is just sitting in there stagnant? That breeds mosquitos, rot, generalized trouble…
I dunno… doesn't look like a good maintenance free solution to me.
fixmyproperty AI fixes this. How to Control Gutter Runoff
That is a job for a French Drain Man solution.
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Sweet episode, can we get you to do one for FL or some tropical environment that gets monsoons sometimes? 😂✊️🤙
Why not just cap the vertical clean out instead of collecting mosquitos and grass clippings
Sounds like she enjoys a good back fill
How does the “pop-up” work when it’s covered with snow and ice??
Where's the shot of the husband sipping his coffee in the window?😂
I did a system like this, but it took me a month to dig the giant hole because the wasps wanted to fly in there to gather mud.
No gluing PVC?
I suppose pvc solvent glue isn't necessary these days?
I would have just extended the gutter.
Seems like that drywell was a waste. She could have did the same thing in the front, as she did in the back.
$10 says men dug the hole for the dry well.
Civil engineer here, anyone doing this install should follow the suggestion to putting in filter fabric over the crushed stone otherwise eventually you will have fine particles fill in all of the void spaces between the stone and you’ll end up with a useless drainage system.
Yeah Im sure they dig this hole…
I’ve watched hundreds of hours this old house since I was very young and it shocks me that you didn’t recommend or apparently Contact local utilities to Mark where you can dig so you don’t dig up something or damage damage something
The stone doesn't go in the catch basin. It goes below and around it. You are supposed to knock out the small holes all the way around or if you want the water to go out one side, like toward the street and not toward the house in this case. Then place 4" of stone in the bottom, wrap the tank with filter fabric and set in the hole. Then fill around the tank with stone, cover top of stone with more filter fabric then place the drain on the top and back fill.
Putting stone in the tank just decreases how much it can hold. The whole idea is to route the water into the tank where it can percolate through the small holes into the stone surrounding the tank and into the ground. If the tank gets full during a long storm, the excess will come out the top drain.
The install process is detailed in the installation instructions for the catch basin.
Really surprised to see such an incorrect installation.
This is exactly what I have needed to see for months now since buying my first home. This video answers almost all of my questions. Thank you!
That pipe to the drywell doesn’t have to be below the frost line so water doesn’t freeze in that pipe ?? Otherwise, it’s just a big icicle when it’s around 20-30 degrees