Hi everyone, I am having interlocking work done and the workers added downspout extensions which they buried underground. There is no exit point visible, and the extension ends underground (hard to say where it ends exactly but they pointed to about the tree line). Is this normal practice or should I have concerns about there being to exit point? They are confident that there will be no issues and it won’t get clogged. Thoughts?
by DazzlingConcert7304
7 Comments
If there’s no pop up or drywell, it may clog. Can’t bury downspouts without it ending at some sort of catch basin or drywell, especially those corrugated pipes, they like to clog a lot
Tell those guys to stop what they are doing and show you exactly where that water exits. A pipe ending blindly in the dirt is not a drainage system because water always needs a destination. Roof runoff carries shingle grit and leaves that will pack a dead end pipe solid in a couple of seasons. When that water has nowhere to go it will back up right at your foundation and wash out the sub base under your brand new walkway.
They need to extend those pipes all the way out and daylight them to grade or install a pop up emitter so the system can actually empty itself. You also need a cleanout adapter installed where the metal downspout meets the plastic pipe so you can clear out the inevitable clogs. Make them dig up the end and finish the job right before you hand over the final payment.
Even if they don’t get clogged, they will be ineffective. If they really just dug a hole and put the end of the black pipe in the ground under the path (I don’t see any trenches dug for them to end at the tree line but that really wouldn’t change anything), the water will not soak into the ground as fast as it comes down the gutters during a heavy rain. The water will back up and leak out at a connection in the pipe near the house or spill out over the top of the black pipe next to the house. You also won’t be able to dig a dry well large enough to matter unless you have a low water table and very sandy soil. These need a pop-up to drain the excess water on to the grass.
Ugly buried pipe sticking up 12″ is pretty fugly!
It needs a pop up at the end at the very least. Also, I don’t like that they used corrugated pipe under the pavers. I always use solid (schedule 40) under the pavers..
Ask them where the drain daylights/exits. Have them show you. Also ask them why they didn’t install a proper downspout tie-in that costs $4.50 at Home Depot. A tie-in will last longer and look much cleaner. The drains need an exit point.
I offer buried downspouts for my clients. I however don’t use corrugated pipe. I recommend hard pipe, with a true downspout connection, clean out and a pop up emitter surrounding by a small dry well so pipe can drain out. To be fair I charge for this. PVC couplings and pipe adds up. If it’s not in your original scope and you want this then expect a change order. However you don’t want to spend all this money on nice pavers just to have to pull them to replace a clogged pipe.
I would ask them to show you or flag where these down spouts exit. At the very least you’ll need to know this for regular maintenance as even a proper setup needs some maintenance.
I would really hope that a professional wouldn’t just dump this into the paver base. If so I’m guessing there’s no warranty. Perhaps just a simple misunderstanding or miscommunication. But I’m guessing you don’t have a great sense of trust or confidence in them as you’re asking the internet.
Hope you are able to get this sorted out!