hi folks –



Don’t think you can tell from this picture but that downspout is really crooked as it runs down the wall. That is, at a distance you would see the downspout running to the right as it comes down the wall. It connects into an underground drainage system, thus the bottom of the downspout has to go to a fixed position- into a pipe. I guess whoever put the gutters up measured wrong and the downspout drop (is it called a drop?) should have been more to the right. Guess it’s a little bit more complicated because of the fixed position required for the bottom of the downspout. Would that be why there seems to be several sections seamed together?

How would I fix this if possible? (I have two more that are like this – drives me crazy.)

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

 

The correct fix would be to rework the end section of gutter to move the downspout connector to the correct position so that the top of the downspout would be plumb with the bottom.

 

Since the photo I saw does not show the lowere portion or the connection to the "underground drainage system", what ever that means, it is difficult to so what the connection problem is. The downspout appears to be plumb in comparison the the brick corner.

If it is a gutter downspout connected is to a drain tile system if some sort, I would be concerned because a gutter downspout should not be connected to drain tile system around or inside a basement for water control.

If the gutter system is not connected to a basement water control system, but instead to a separate drain tile system (perforated and solid wall combined) for general drainage that may not be a problem.

If you do connect and re-install a new downspout see if a larger downspout will fit.

Dick

 

You got 2 choices...move the top to the right or the bottom drain to the left. If you have plants near the bottom it might be better to do the top. As the picture shows the gutter is pieced together there now, so all you need do is take it apart and move it over. Then fill the gap with a new section of gutter. The part with the end-plate on it now might work or you may have to use new stuff. I can't tell how much it needs to go over cause the photo does not show the bottom.
In other words rework the gutter from the joint there near the downspout to the outside to achieve the proper results.

 

Thanks a lot for your time and the fast response. Sorry I really was not very precise at all was I (happens when you’re 65+. Yes …I now use that as an excuse for everything. Some success with it). But I really did think these underground systems were very common and widely known? Probably I should really call it the “underground downspout drain line” ? Looks like that’s the more widely used term? But anyway here is a picture of what I’m talking about. The downspout in this picture is at the corner of the garage, but it’s just like all the others, except the pipe going underground in this one passes through concrete. The one I showed you in the other picture was behind a bush.

The system drains out to daylight on a hill about 70 feet from the house. The house is a 1960’s.

I know I can’t move the bottom on these so what I was really trying to ask was how do I move the top over to the right. In other words I know so little I was wondering …can I buy a new gutter section with the downspout outlet, then hacksaw some off of it on the right, or something like that. In other words I’m such a newbie I was looking for spoon feeding.

badeyeben I just re-read your thoughts. Wow! Guess I was making this way too complicated. A Rube Goldberg. My face is red. Of course, as you say ...just take the stuff apart that’s already pieced together and move the stuff over then fill the gap with a new piece. Guess it was too easy for my really high level of intelligence (hehe).

Thanks guys for your help!

 

No problem Zoesdad. Sometimes a fresh look is all it takes to solve a problem. I know sometimes we all over think a problem especially when it keeps nagging at you. Good luck with your project.

 

I must be blind and over 65 since I am missing the problem.

Judging from the first photo the top of the downspout it is hard to discern a problem without a micrometer since the bottom is not shown. No straps to the brick are shown either.

The second photo (finally provided) only shows the existing connection/joint to the buried portion. This was posted after an acceptable answer.

What happened in between?

Am I really getting old and stale after a lot of selective posts?

Dick

 

J
Looking at the top photo, the downspout appears to be about 8 in. from the corner. Looking at the bottom photo and assuming a 4 in. drain pipe, the bottom of the downspout appears to be about 4 in. from the corner.

 

Wirepuller -

The second photo that was posted much later than the first certainly shows the offset.

I assume there is no corbeling or projecting of the brick between the top and bottom. Somewhere between the top and bottom, there much have been a splice in the downspout because there appears to be seam on the front in the lower picture and no seam on the front in the upper picture.

Somewhere between the upper photo and the lower photo there was apparently a 4" shift in the downspout since the upper picture shows a vertical orientation when compared to the brick corner and/or the corner location.

Very puzzling where the alignment changed unless it is a 3 story home. The upper portion, where the brick pattern is in more visible regarding the alignment will look much different and appear to be off if the top downspout is kicked out 4".

Dick

 

If I'm reading this right the second picture is from a different downspout, bottom of the first picture is behind a bush.....

"The one I showed you in the other picture was behind a bush."

I think???

 

hi guys –

Sorry to cause so much confusion here. Here’s where I was coming from:

1) I have no idea how pieces of a gutter system are put together. I see pieces covering the seams? A separate segment with a downspout outlet,? end caps, etc. Do some pieces just snap on and then you caulk? Can you buy filler sections, and then use seams, and caulk and that kind of thing? How do you do the seams? Do you ever use a hacksaw? In other words I’m a blank slate.

2) I have several downspouts that are off from the vertical. You can easily see it from a distance. They look very sloppy and I was in fact even told that by others. But I wasn’t trying to convince anyone that they are in fact crooked? I didn’t see anything wrong with just submitting the statement as “a given” that they are crooked? (They really are crooked). So that’s why I didn’t post a picture from a distance. Instead, I wanted a close-up so you could see the section up top and you could thus see the multiple components at the end of the gutter.

3) In my first post I did not include a separate picture of the bottom of the downspout, because I knew that there is no way that you can move the bottom anywhere - and thus I thought it was sufficient to say in my first post “It connects into an underground drainage system, thus the bottom of the downspout has to go to a fixed position- into a pipe.“, and leave it at that. In other words, I thought the reader would infer that the task in hand I was getting at was “ how can I move the top of this downspout to the right several inches.” But clearly I should have just asked that question directly. Why make the reader have to infer? Don’t know why I did? (Mental lapse? Like to overcomplicate?)

4) In my second post I decided to include a picture of what these downspout connections look like at the bottom, where it connects to the underground pipe, only because it seemed from responses that not everyone was accepting “as a given” that the bottom could not be changed and a change at the bottom could not be part of an answer. That is, since there seemed to be some doubt about that, in all fairness to the good people who have the expertise and take the time and trouble to make responses, I figured I would go ahead and post a picture of what a bottom connection at the house looks like.

However, I did not really think that second picture was at all necessary when I made the first post because of the statement I made in that first post “… the bottom of the downspout has to go to a fixed position- into a pipe....” . But responses to that first post made me question “ am I missing something here and a picture of the bottom is somehow relevant?”

But be that as it may, you must admit however that I did say in that second post, “…The one I showed you in the other picture was behind a bush…” which would certainly indicate that picture 1 and picture 2 are of two different downspouts. (Guess I could have stated that right up front. That would surely have been clearer.) However, picture 2 is in fact representative of all the downspout connections and was only meant to show that the bottom of each downspout is in fact fixed to a location. Sorry if you spent any time trying to match picture 2 to picture 1.

Again I wasn’t trying to convince anyone that the downspouts are crooked? And I wasn’t initially trying to convince anyone that the bottom of the downspouts are locked to a fixed position and could not be part of an answer? (You can tell I’m a long-winded guy. I’m almost done.)

Bottom line, I should have just asked the question directly “ how can I move the top of the downspout to the right several inches?” I added truly irrelevant background information,poorly done, that understandably confused the issue. My bad!

But thanks guys! With your help I now know how to fix the problem.

 

Thanx for the explanation of the different photos.

From what I saw, the first photo looked acceptable and I would question the people that said it was crooked. Usually light and shadows may have some effect, but usually the ppeople have a different view or "thing" to use as a point of reference. I spend too much of my time looking at construction and details so I get anal about those things!

Since I am masonry oriented, I used the corner and the location relative to joints as a references since the structure is already there and will not be changed or moved.

Nice looking masonry with a good application of a classic masonry joint.

Dick

 

In the first picture, if you look at the shutter, you will see how out of wack the downspout is.

If it were me, I might just cut the bottom of the downspout and use elbows to get it over to the drain.

 

The shutter on the left is probably not crooked since the mortar joint line up decently. To the eye, the shutter probably appears plumb and in agreement with the fixed references.

The shutter could have been attached improperly, but more than likely it is due to parallax or distortion by the camera while that occurs frequently when shooting building and looking at something near the edge. This sis common with the semi-wide angle lenses on most "point and shoot" digital camera on the market where everything on the edge converges toward the center. - Ever seen a tall building photo that was shot looking up and it looked like a pyramid?

Dick

 

The first photo shows a joint on each side of the downspout. This is because the installer used an off-the-shelf item consisting of a short section of gutter fitted with an outlet for the downspout.

To reposition the downspout outlet, disconnect the off-the-shelf section and discard. Replace with a section of guttering long enough to reach to the end. Install an end cap. Cut a hole for a gutter outlet in the bottom of the new gutter section at the correct position to make the downspout plumb. This will eliminate the joint on the right side of the downspout.

Hope this helps.

 

Wow! Thanks Dick. That makes me feel good. I'm going to pass that on to our family.


I was wondering if that was an option or would just be crazy. Not so crazy. Thanks!


Oh yes. That really helps. Thanks a lot!



Thanks again for all your time folks!