Please help me suggest a solution for rainwater drain pipe noise

[Anonymous]

My neighbors built a second story onto their detached garage, and that is close to our bedroom patio (fortunately, facing away from us). So, on the backside, which faces us, they have a copper drainpipe and when it rains, the water makes a loud, tinny plunking sound.

I want to talk to the neighbor about it, but I'd like to be able to suggest a fix rather than just complain about the problem. But I can't access the pipe to take a look at it.

I figure it's one of two things: 1) The water just falls freeflow and then hits the bottom of the drain and either that makes the noise or it splashes and hits the copper sides and that makes the noise, or,
2) the pipe is bowed some so the water hits the side of the pipe as it goes down.

So assuming it's the first scenario, I think putting *something* at the base of the drain would fix the problem. But what? A sponge? Wouldn't that get all moldy?

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Honestly this is just something you have to deal with. Over time gunk will build up and the noise will probably be less, but it’s just rain noises. That’s not a nuisance they’re under any obligation to fix.

Besides, your ears are just noticing the change. In a few months you won’t notice it at all. Ask all of us who’ve lived and slept near a train. Your brain will tune it out.

[Anonymous]

Agree with PP. You'll get used to it.

How often are you outside when it's raining anyway?

[Anonymous]

I'm not outside at all, we can hear it in our bedroom all night.

[Anonymous]

OP again--just to be clear, if there is a fix, I'm willing to pay for it.

[Anonymous]

OP, we had this problem with one of our own downspouts near the bedroom window, following rain when it would just be the drip drip drip. And yes, I did go outside and put a dish sponge at the bottom bend of the spout. Once we routed our downspouts underground, we did not have this issue as the curved metal was swapped out for a straigth down PVC(?) pipe and then underground.

From what I see online:

Adjust the downspout angle.
Many times, the simplest fix for a noisy downspout is to reposition it. By using a spacer or a longer clip to move the bottom of the downspout further away from the house, the water will no longer fall straight down to the bottom of the elbow, but will instead hit the side and trickle down – in a much quieter fashion.

Swap out the bottom part of the downspout.
Removing the metal elbow where your runoff water empties out and replacing it with a similar piece made of vinyl or plastic will do a much better job of muffling sounds, so you’ll hear a faint murmur rather than an echoing metallic clang when the water hits the elbow.

Insulate the downspout.
One of the surest ways to dampen sound is to prevent surface vibrations. This can be accomplished by wrapping foam insulators around your downspout pipe (or using spray foam to do the same thing).

Absorb the water.
In many cases, noisy downspouts are the result of water directly hitting the bottom of the downspout elbow. The trick to quieting down this irritating noise is to attach something to the bottom of the downspout on the inside to absorb the water as it drips or trickles down. This can be achieved by putting a scrubber sponge, a square of artificial turf, a section of shingle or a foam downspout insert into the bottom of the downspout opening.

[Anonymous]

If it's straight up and down the water is probably spinning down and hitting the elbow. Lower flow will probably drip on the elbow and make a pinging sound. Two standard solutions: 1) run a nylon rope down the inside, which for lower flow the water will follow the rope (old downspouts used to literally be chains); 2) Google "gutter foam" or "downspout silencer" and insert in the bottom of the downspout above the elbow--it dissipates the flow before it impacts the elbow.

[Anonymous]

Let some crackheads know about this copper pipe and it will be gone in no time.