Down Pipes 101

John Whyte from True North Eavestroughing gives advice on downpipes and the common issues surrounding them.

Problem 1: Clogging

The main issue with the clogging of downpipes is that it can go up over top of the gutters, come down the walls and into the foundation of your home.

Problem 2: Silly Gizmos

Homeowners buy all sorts of products to try and get the water away from the house. They don’t necessarily work.

Types of problem gizmos:

Plastic sheet — this freezes in winter and never lets water out

 

Bendy tube — this is the worst for downpipes, it holds water and never drains properly.

 

Cement tray  — these are placed on lawns or on walkways to get water away from the house, but people often trip on them and get hurt.

 

A better solution…

The zip hinge. It fits any size downpipe, goes up and down and you can walk by it. This pipe doesn’t freeze in wintertime and homeowners can install it on their own.

 

Problem 3: Clay Weepers

Weepers AKA weeping tile is a pipe that comes up the side of your house and takes the water down below the frost line, away from your home, where it doesn’t freeze.

Old weepers are made of clay and often crack, this causes debris to fall down inside them and clogging happens.

 

Problem 4: Corrugated pipe underground

Many homeowners make the mistake of putting black corrugated pipe underground, it often clogs and gets crushed. The roots of trees also grow around these types of pipes, collapsing them. This stops the water from flowing down, out of the downpipe, and into the black corrugated pipe, which leads to it being plugged up.

 

A better alternative to corrugated and clay pipes is a 4 inch PVC pipe.

 

Be sure to check out our video on eavestroughs for more info on eavestroughing systems!