Broken downspout dumping water by foundation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a big nothing burger. Get a 4 inch downspout extension for $15 and screw, clamp, duct tape it to the downspout and wait for the contractor. Don't pay more than $250 for the fix. You're talking ~10 feet of aluminum and 15 minutes of labor. Be ware of cons.

Thanks! (Really.) just new to this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It should be fine, OP. Not ideal but your house has perimeter drains and if they’re working properly, they can handle it.

Utter nonsense.

If perimeter drains could handle it, why would the house have gutters and downspouts?

There was a time after perimeter drains were introduced, in the 50's and 60's, when people thought they were magic and could handle any amount of water. Houses were built without gutters and downspouts. Those that are still standing were retrofitted with gutters and downspouts.

All homes built after 90s have exterior French drains and sump , you should be able to not ever have water in the basement even if a downspout fails.

Again, utter nonsense.

A typical summer rainstorm might drop an inch of rain in an hour. If a house has one thousand square feet of roof, that's 83 cubic feet per hour, or 667 gallons per hour or 11 gallons per minute. The perimeter drains are a horizontal pipe, they're going to be completely overwhelmed by that level of flow.

They are meant as a backup for any water that gets past the gutters and downspouts, they're not meant to take the whole flow.

[Anonymous]

Irrelevant anyway since this house is 150 years old!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It should be fine, OP. Not ideal but your house has perimeter drains and if they’re working properly, they can handle it.

Utter nonsense.

If perimeter drains could handle it, why would the house have gutters and downspouts?

There was a time after perimeter drains were introduced, in the 50's and 60's, when people thought they were magic and could handle any amount of water. Houses were built without gutters and downspouts. Those that are still standing were retrofitted with gutters and downspouts.

All homes built after 90s have exterior French drains and sump , you should be able to not ever have water in the basement even if a downspout fails.

Again, utter nonsense.

A typical summer rainstorm might drop an inch of rain in an hour. If a house has one thousand square feet of roof, that's 83 cubic feet per hour, or 667 gallons per hour or 11 gallons per minute. The perimeter drains are a horizontal pipe, they're going to be completely overwhelmed by that level of flow.

They are meant as a backup for any water that gets past the gutters and downspouts, they're not meant to take the whole flow.

Okay but one storm? Wouldn’t the water just sit by the foundation for a few hours waiting to drain? I’m not saying it’s good but I would be shocked if that led to an immediate problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It should be fine, OP. Not ideal but your house has perimeter drains and if they’re working properly, they can handle it.

Utter nonsense.

If perimeter drains could handle it, why would the house have gutters and downspouts?

There was a time after perimeter drains were introduced, in the 50's and 60's, when people thought they were magic and could handle any amount of water. Houses were built without gutters and downspouts. Those that are still standing were retrofitted with gutters and downspouts.

All homes built after 90s have exterior French drains and sump , you should be able to not ever have water in the basement even if a downspout fails.

This is complete and utter bullsh*t. I put up 1200 homes last year for a major east coast builder and not a single one had an exterior french drain. Not one.

Wait, how is this possible?!?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It should be fine, OP. Not ideal but your house has perimeter drains and if they’re working properly, they can handle it.

Utter nonsense.

If perimeter drains could handle it, why would the house have gutters and downspouts?

There was a time after perimeter drains were introduced, in the 50's and 60's, when people thought they were magic and could handle any amount of water. Houses were built without gutters and downspouts. Those that are still standing were retrofitted with gutters and downspouts.

All homes built after 90s have exterior French drains and sump , you should be able to not ever have water in the basement even if a downspout fails.

Again, utter nonsense.

A typical summer rainstorm might drop an inch of rain in an hour. If a house has one thousand square feet of roof, that's 83 cubic feet per hour, or 667 gallons per hour or 11 gallons per minute. The perimeter drains are a horizontal pipe, they're going to be completely overwhelmed by that level of flow.

They are meant as a backup for any water that gets past the gutters and downspouts, they're not meant to take the whole flow.

Okay but one storm? Wouldn’t the water just sit by the foundation for a few hours waiting to drain? I’m not saying it’s good but I would be shocked if that led to an immediate problem.

It would sit by the foundation looking for every crack and crevice that wasn't perfectly waterproof and finding its way in.

Foundations aren't submarines, they aren't perfectly waterproof.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It should be fine, OP. Not ideal but your house has perimeter drains and if they’re working properly, they can handle it.

Utter nonsense.

If perimeter drains could handle it, why would the house have gutters and downspouts?

There was a time after perimeter drains were introduced, in the 50's and 60's, when people thought they were magic and could handle any amount of water. Houses were built without gutters and downspouts. Those that are still standing were retrofitted with gutters and downspouts.

All homes built after 90s have exterior French drains and sump , you should be able to not ever have water in the basement even if a downspout fails.

Again, utter nonsense.

A typical summer rainstorm might drop an inch of rain in an hour. If a house has one thousand square feet of roof, that's 83 cubic feet per hour, or 667 gallons per hour or 11 gallons per minute. The perimeter drains are a horizontal pipe, they're going to be completely overwhelmed by that level of flow.

They are meant as a backup for any water that gets past the gutters and downspouts, they're not meant to take the whole flow.

Okay but one storm? Wouldn’t the water just sit by the foundation for a few hours waiting to drain? I’m not saying it’s good but I would be shocked if that led to an immediate problem.

If 667 gallons fall on your house and one gallon of that gets into your finished basement, you have a mess. That's why gutters and downspouts are so important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It should be fine, OP. Not ideal but your house has perimeter drains and if they’re working properly, they can handle it.

Utter nonsense.

If perimeter drains could handle it, why would the house have gutters and downspouts?

There was a time after perimeter drains were introduced, in the 50's and 60's, when people thought they were magic and could handle any amount of water. Houses were built without gutters and downspouts. Those that are still standing were retrofitted with gutters and downspouts.

All homes built after 90s have exterior French drains and sump , you should be able to not ever have water in the basement even if a downspout fails.

This is complete and utter bullsh*t. I put up 1200 homes last year for a major east coast builder and not a single one had an exterior french drain. Not one.

Wait, how is this possible?!?

Sounds like they cut a lot of corners. Even code violations

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It should be fine, OP. Not ideal but your house has perimeter drains and if they’re working properly, they can handle it.

Utter nonsense.

If perimeter drains could handle it, why would the house have gutters and downspouts?

There was a time after perimeter drains were introduced, in the 50's and 60's, when people thought they were magic and could handle any amount of water. Houses were built without gutters and downspouts. Those that are still standing were retrofitted with gutters and downspouts.

All homes built after 90s have exterior French drains and sump , you should be able to not ever have water in the basement even if a downspout fails.

This is complete and utter bullsh*t. I put up 1200 homes last year for a major east coast builder and not a single one had an exterior french drain. Not one.

Wait, how is this possible?!?

Sounds like they cut a lot of corners. Even code violations

Code isn't strictly enforced everywhere.

It's also subject to interpretation. Is a walk-out basement "below grade"? Is an unfinished basement "usable space"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It should be fine, OP. Not ideal but your house has perimeter drains and if they’re working properly, they can handle it.

Utter nonsense.

If perimeter drains could handle it, why would the house have gutters and downspouts?

There was a time after perimeter drains were introduced, in the 50's and 60's, when people thought they were magic and could handle any amount of water. Houses were built without gutters and downspouts. Those that are still standing were retrofitted with gutters and downspouts.

All homes built after 90s have exterior French drains and sump , you should be able to not ever have water in the basement even if a downspout fails.

This is complete and utter bullsh*t. I put up 1200 homes last year for a major east coast builder and not a single one had an exterior french drain. Not one.

This is true. We don’t have them on our new home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It should be fine, OP. Not ideal but your house has perimeter drains and if they’re working properly, they can handle it.

Utter nonsense.

If perimeter drains could handle it, why would the house have gutters and downspouts?

There was a time after perimeter drains were introduced, in the 50's and 60's, when people thought they were magic and could handle any amount of water. Houses were built without gutters and downspouts. Those that are still standing were retrofitted with gutters and downspouts.

All homes built after 90s have exterior French drains and sump , you should be able to not ever have water in the basement even if a downspout fails.

This is complete and utter bullsh*t. I put up 1200 homes last year for a major east coast builder and not a single one had an exterior french drain. Not one.

This is true. We don’t have them on our new home.

That's wild, you should have gotten an inspection

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It should be fine, OP. Not ideal but your house has perimeter drains and if they’re working properly, they can handle it.

Utter nonsense.

If perimeter drains could handle it, why would the house have gutters and downspouts?

There was a time after perimeter drains were introduced, in the 50's and 60's, when people thought they were magic and could handle any amount of water. Houses were built without gutters and downspouts. Those that are still standing were retrofitted with gutters and downspouts.

All homes built after 90s have exterior French drains and sump , you should be able to not ever have water in the basement even if a downspout fails.

Again, utter nonsense.

A typical summer rainstorm might drop an inch of rain in an hour. If a house has one thousand square feet of roof, that's 83 cubic feet per hour, or 667 gallons per hour or 11 gallons per minute. The perimeter drains are a horizontal pipe, they're going to be completely overwhelmed by that level of flow.

They are meant as a backup for any water that gets past the gutters and downspouts, they're not meant to take the whole flow.

Okay but one storm? Wouldn’t the water just sit by the foundation for a few hours waiting to drain? I’m not saying it’s good but I would be shocked if that led to an immediate problem.

It would sit by the foundation looking for every crack and crevice that wasn't perfectly waterproof and finding its way in.

Foundations aren't submarines, they aren't perfectly waterproof.

Yeah, but that’s what the drain is for! And the plastic pimple stuff. Our sump pump got stuck once and water backed up in the pit and presumably the drains for several hours. It was fine! I don’t think the drains being temporarily overwhelmed will give OP a problem as long as it gets fixed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It should be fine, OP. Not ideal but your house has perimeter drains and if they’re working properly, they can handle it.

Utter nonsense.

If perimeter drains could handle it, why would the house have gutters and downspouts?

There was a time after perimeter drains were introduced, in the 50's and 60's, when people thought they were magic and could handle any amount of water. Houses were built without gutters and downspouts. Those that are still standing were retrofitted with gutters and downspouts.

All homes built after 90s have exterior French drains and sump , you should be able to not ever have water in the basement even if a downspout fails.

This is complete and utter bullsh*t. I put up 1200 homes last year for a major east coast builder and not a single one had an exterior french drain. Not one.

This is true. We don’t have them on our new home.

Wait so tell me more about this. Does the house have a basement? How does it handle the water?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It should be fine, OP. Not ideal but your house has perimeter drains and if they’re working properly, they can handle it.

Utter nonsense.

If perimeter drains could handle it, why would the house have gutters and downspouts?

There was a time after perimeter drains were introduced, in the 50's and 60's, when people thought they were magic and could handle any amount of water. Houses were built without gutters and downspouts. Those that are still standing were retrofitted with gutters and downspouts.

All homes built after 90s have exterior French drains and sump , you should be able to not ever have water in the basement even if a downspout fails.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

This is complete and utter bullsh*t. I put up 1200 homes last year for a major east coast builder and not a single one had an exterior french drain. Not one.

This is true. We don’t have them on our new home.

That's wild, you should have gotten an inspection

No. Code interpretation varies from locality to locality, and not all localities (or even states) have adopted the latest versions of the (conceptual) reference building code.

VA and MD have different interpretations in several areas of the code, for example. Some localities adopt selected parts of the newer conceptual building code but do not adopt all of it.

Purely as an example of local variation, MoCo requires an inspection after the Tyvek is on the exterior and before the siding, but Fairfax County does not even want to see that stage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It should be fine, OP. Not ideal but your house has perimeter drains and if they’re working properly, they can handle it.

Utter nonsense.

If perimeter drains could handle it, why would the house have gutters and downspouts?

There was a time after perimeter drains were introduced, in the 50's and 60's, when people thought they were magic and could handle any amount of water. Houses were built without gutters and downspouts. Those that are still standing were retrofitted with gutters and downspouts.

All homes built after 90s have exterior French drains and sump , you should be able to not ever have water in the basement even if a downspout fails.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

This is complete and utter bullsh*t. I put up 1200 homes last year for a major east coast builder and not a single one had an exterior french drain. Not one.

This is true. We don’t have them on our new home.

That's wild, you should have gotten an inspection

No. Code interpretation varies from locality to locality, and not all localities (or even states) have adopted the latest versions of the (conceptual) reference building code.

VA and MD have different interpretations in several areas of the code, for example. Some localities adopt selected parts of the newer conceptual building code but do not adopt all of it.

Purely as an example of local variation, MoCo requires an inspection after the Tyvek is on the exterior and before the siding, but Fairfax County does not even want to see that stage.

Okay but I’m not sure they can build a house without perimeter drains. Maybe there’s some confusion here about terminology, or people don’t know what they are because they can’t see them, and maybe they drain by gravity so there’s no sump pit.