Straight down downspouts

[Stephen Tashiro]

Downspouts are traditinonally attached to the gutter with an angled section so the downspout is close to the wall. I find the angled section is the most frequent place the downspout clogs up. Does any place sell a bracket that would hold the downspout further from the wall so it would go straight down from the gutter? I suppose this would look unusual, but if there was some provision (or lack of the need for) mowing under the downspout, it would seem the most sensible way to mount them.

[Bruce Page]

You could add a wire strainer above the angled section. They make them in copper or stainless steel.

[David G Baker]

I have pulled the end caps off and let the water out that way when I think that I might have a frozen gutter on the way. There is a chain system that is a straight drop that I have seen work well on a commercial building. Do a search on line for images of the chain system.

[Mike Henderson]

I've seen a device that looked like upside down bells strung on a wire run from the spout to the ground. I think the bells just slowed down the flow of water and kept it from washing the dirt away at the bottom of the device. I don't know what they're called but they look really neat.

Of course, if your downspout runs into a drain pipe, this device won't work.

Mike

[I found the name - they're called "rain chains" or "rain chain downspouts"]

[Jamie Buxton]

I used to have those clogs, so I finally made my own downleaders. The part that angles back toward the house is about 45 degrees from horizontal, instead of the usual 10-20 degrees. That's fixed the problem completely.

[Harry Hagan]

Upgrading from 4” to 6” gutters eliminated our clogging problem which was primarily due to maple tree samaras—more commonly referred to as whirlybirds.

[Myk Rian]

I find many of the clogs happen because the screws were so darned long.
Installers used 1 1/2" screws on everything.
Shorter screws helped.

[phil harold]

Some rain chains can be very heavy and not so friendly with ice
but they are a nice solution
http://www.guttersupply.com/file_area/public/file/Rain%20Chain%20Illustraion.pdf

[Bruce Page]

I've seen a device that looked like upside down bells strung on a wire run from the spout to the ground. I think the bells just slowed down the flow of water and kept it from washing the dirt away at the bottom of the device. I don't know what they're called but they look really neat.

Of course, if your downspout runs into a drain pipe, this device won't work.

Mike

[I found the name - they're called "rain chains" or "rain chain downspouts"]

That's really cool. I've not seen them before.

[Myk Rian]

There's even a rainchain website.
http://www.rainchains.com/aboutrainchains.html
Who woulda thunk.

[Mac McQuinn]

I agree on using the larger, commercial sized downspouts. 20 years ago after becoming frustrated with the smaller version, I switched and ended my clogged downspout issues. I have (17) 60'-75' Black maples on 1/3 acre, residential corner lot. Leaf season is a full time job for 3 weeks in the fall.
Mac



Upgrading from 4” to 6” gutters eliminated our clogging problem which was primarily due to maple tree samaras—more commonly referred to as whirlybirds.

[Kevin Bourque]

Upgrading from 4” to 6” gutters eliminated our clogging problem which was primarily due to maple tree samaras—more commonly referred to as whirlybirds.

Ditto. The gutters are too small.

[Stephen Tashiro]

I like the rain chain idea. Another idea is to simply put a planter pot half full of gravel under the gutter and eliminate the downspout. I've tried putting the planter under the downspout and using the gravel to support the downspout, but eventually the downspout washes away some gravel and falls off. (I agree that screws in the downspout snag things and start clogs, so I didn't want to screw the downspout into the gutter.)

[Curt Harms]

Would gutter guards work? We installed some this summer so haven't been through a winter with them. If you can hear me cussin' in New Mexico in a few months, you can assume that ice was a problem :D.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202934176/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=gutter+guard&storeId=10051

[John alder]

I find many of the clogs happen because the screws were so darned long.
Installers used 1 1/2" screws on everything.
Shorter screws helped.
Better yet replace the screws with pop rivets

[Stephen Tashiro]

Better yet replace the screws with pop rivets

What kind of tool is used to install a pop rivet in a place where you can't use the pliers-like riveting tool?

[Mac McQuinn]

I have guards on I bought and while they do a great job in Spring, Summer and Fall, water draining off the roof in winter from melting snow tends to flow over the edge instead of through the holes in the guards. I get more water directly below the gutter than before installation. Perfect set-up would be to remove them for winter although my experience has been they get brittle after a while and won't pull off w/o damaging them.
Mac




Would gutter guards work? We installed some this summer so haven't been through a winter with them. If you can hear me cussin' in New Mexico in a few months, you can assume that ice was a problem :D.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202934176/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=gutter+guard&storeId=10051

[Larry Frank]

My experience with the larger gutters is the same as everyone that they clog less. One problem that I do have is that when it rains really hard like an 1-2", the water really comes out like a torrent. I have had to put large rocks in place at the end the gutters to keep from drilling a tunnel.

[Myk Rian]

I had installed the gutter guards several years ago. I did not use the ones with a screen on them, as they weren't available at the time.
They do what they're supposed to do for leaves and maple seeds. The guards without screens tend to catch the maple seeds, and are hard to clean out.
When it rains hard, some water will run over them.
In the winter, they provide a space for air flow under them that helps melt the snow/ice. I use a roof rake to get it off the first 2-3 feet of roof.

Gutter Helmet is bad during the winter. Icicles form off them.
Being in NM, Stephen, you won't have that problem.

[John Aspinall]

Some rain chains can be very heavy and not so friendly with ice
but they are a nice solution
http://www.guttersupply.com/file_area/public/file/Rain%20Chain%20Illustraion.pdf

I have rain chains on my house in the NorthEast. If the temperature drops from above freezing to below, and water was running, then we do get a giganto-icicle.
But we've had no problems with the icicle, or other aspects of the chains. They're not maintenance-free; the crap in the gutters does tend to paste itself to the
top few links, but that's visible and easily cured.