Roofing & Exterior
A Great Gutter Dumping at the Foundation Is Still a Problem
New and replacement downspouts sized to the volume, placed where the water concentrates, secured so they don't pull loose, and discharged well away from the foundation — because the trough only works if the drop pipe does.
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Signs to watch
Is this you?
The gutter overflows but the trough is clear
If the gutter is clean and still spills, the downspout is often the bottleneck — too few, too small, or restricted. The water gets caught fine; it just can't get out fast enough.
A downspout is crushed, disconnected, or missing
A dented, detached, or missing drop pipe leaves the water nowhere to go but over the edge or straight down the wall. It's one of the most common and most fixable causes of a wet foundation.
Water discharges right at the foundation
A downspout that dumps at the footing undoes everything the gutter above it did. That concentrated water is exactly what soaks crawlspaces and pushes against the foundation.
The downspout keeps pulling away or rattling loose
Straps and brackets that weren't secured to sound material work loose in PNW wind and freeze-thaw. A downspout that won't stay attached is a placement-and-attachment problem, not just a loose screw.
Your options
Sized, placed, secured, and discharged right
We install and replace downspouts as part of a working drainage path, not a bolt-on. That means sizing the pipe to the volume — oversized 3×4 where the water concentrates — and placing outlets where the roof actually sends water, with the right elbows and outlet drops to route it cleanly. We secure the runs to sound material so they hold up in wind and weather, and we handle the discharge: extensions, buried drains, or a tie-in to an underground system that carries water four to six feet or more off the foundation. Where a downspout connects to an underground line, we check that the connection actually flows instead of backing up at the first heavy rain.
The method
How we do it
- 01
Map where the water goes
We identify the concentration points and where water has to end up, so downspout size, placement, and discharge are planned to the roof — not just matched to where the old ones happened to be.
- 02
Install with the right parts and attachment
Correct pipe size, elbows, and outlets, secured to sound material so the run stays put through PNW wind and freeze-thaw.
- 03
Fix the discharge and test it
We route the bottom into extensions, buried drains, or an underground connection well off the foundation, then run water to confirm the whole path flows.
Straight numbers
What downspout work runs
Cost depends on how many downspouts, the pipe size, the height and access, and what happens at the bottom — a simple extension is a small job, while tying into or clearing an underground drain is more involved. Replacing a single crushed downspout is straightforward; reworking placement and discharge across a house is a larger scope. We price the actual work after seeing where the water needs to go, and we'll tell you when a cheap extension solves it versus when the underground connection is the real issue.
Where we do this work
Downspout Installation & Replacement: straight answers
How many downspouts do I need?
Enough to carry the peak volume off the roof — which depends on roof area, pitch, and where water concentrates, not a fixed spacing rule. Big planes and valleys need more drop points, and often larger 3×4 pipe, so one outlet isn't fighting all the water alone. We size the count and the pipe to your actual roof.
Where should a downspout discharge?
Well away from the foundation — at least four to six feet, into an extension, a buried drain, or a dry well, never straight down at the footing. Concentrated water dumped at the wall is a leading cause of wet crawlspaces here, so we treat the discharge as part of the job, not an afterthought.
My downspout ties into an underground pipe — can you work with that?
Yes, and we check that the underground connection actually flows. Buried drain lines clog with roots and silt over time, and a downspout feeding a blocked pipe backs up and overflows just like a surface clog. We confirm the underground path carries water before we call the install done.
Why does my downspout keep coming loose?
Almost always because the straps or brackets weren't fastened into sound material, so PNW wind and freeze-thaw work them loose. Sometimes the fascia or wall behind the attachment has softened too. We secure runs into solid backing — and if the material behind them has failed, we'll flag that, because re-strapping to bad wood just comes loose again.
Get the downspout installation & replacement conversation started.
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