Durable Downspouts

Hello,

It looks like I have to attempt a small metalworking project. I own an apartment complex out in Fresno, CA. Last year, I had all the rain gutters and downspouts replaced( ka-ching! ).

Unfortunately, the kids out at the complex have been less than gentle with some of the downspouts, and they're looking pretty mangled. I could get them replaced, but I know the new ones will be mangled in short order. And there are no really tough downspouts available.

I'm thinking of making up new downspouts out of galvanized steel pipe. Say, 2" nominal or so. I think it needs to be fairly large so it can flow enough water when the rain is heavy - there isn't much water pressure involved.

The "project" would be to make up an adaptor from the existing square downspout to the round pipe. I figure it would end up as a sort of square funnel, with an internal thread pipe flange welded to the bottom.

The rest of the system would be just off the shelf pipe and fittings, with a right angle fitting at the bottom to shoot the water away from the building.

Any thoughts on this?

- Jerry Kaidor ( snipped-for-privacy@tr2.com )

Reply to
jerry
Loading thread data ...

--One of the neatest "downspout" hacks I saw involved a much simpler approach. Replace the vertical tube runs with chains; the water will follow the links to the ground. Looks neat, too.

Reply to
steamer

Probably more trouble than it's worth. What I'm used to seeing are heavy steel guards around the normal flimsy down spout in high traffic areas. There may well be a commercial ready to go version available, otherwise you just split some large galv pipe in half to make a half round that fits over the down spout and weld a few mounting tabs along the back edge.

Pete C.

" snipped-for-privacy@tr2.com" wrote:

Reply to
Pete C.

Hi ya Jerry,

Are you *SURE* the connections to the gutters are square? Several years ago I had new seemless gutters put on my house with nice large rectangular down spouts. The first time I went up to clean the gutters before the rainy season I got a real shock... The damn adaptors to the downspouts were circular (and about half the size of the spout)! I got to talking with a guy 'in the trades' later and he said they all do it that way, It's eayser to use a bigassed round Greenley punch than a rectangular one... go figure..

Dave

Reply to
Dave August

I would consider Sched. 40 or Sched. 80 PVC pipe. Paint it to keep the sun from making it brittle. 2" seems small. Remember, you get twigs & leaves & other crap that falls on your roof, makes the ride down the gutter, and ends up in your downspout. You want that crap to flow right through without jamming up. I would go with 3" or 4" pipe.

Vaughn

Reply to
Vaughn

Contact any commercial roofing outfit. Tell them you are looking for some cast iron downspout boots. Similar to:

formatting link
These are pretty standard on schools and commercial buildings.

(top posted for your convenience) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) snipped-for-privacy@7cox.net

Reply to
DanG

And really, really climbable.

Hmm. California. Falling children. "Attractive nuisance". KA-CHING!!

Reply to
Tim Wescott

I assume that they're backing into the downspouts with their cars? If so, a nice 6"+ drill casing or other such heavy pipe buried 6' or so into the ground and filled with concrete will stop that nonsense. If they're doing the baseball bat trick on them, putting the casing up about

8' or so around the downspouts will make things a bit more difficult. You don't want to go to the roof or they will just climb them and that will mean roof repairs. You can also, with the casing around the downspout, stop the downspout just inside the pipe and provide some holes at the bottom of the casing to let the water out of the casing. Don't forget to fill with concrete to the level of the holes or water will sit and rot the pipe.

-- Why isn't there an Ozone Hole at the NORTH Pole?

Reply to
Bob May

Plastic would be lighter and cheaper. Plastic downspout/round pipe transitions are available at HD.

Kevin Gallimore

Reply to
axolotl

Not without having them custom built. $$$

It's not the pressure that will get you, it's the volume. You will need at least 4" pipe to carry any more than a slow drizzling rain.

The outlet is probably not square, and probably not round as suggested above either. The downspout is, more than likely, a 3" x 4" or a 2" x 3". You should be able to find adapters at Home Depot, Lowes or your favorite hardware store to fit onto/into a round pipe. If you are pinched for $$, I would venture to say the existing downspouts are Alum, a little patience and some work with a rubber hammer and a piece of round pipe for a dolly would yield a suitable adapter.

You would be better off with a 45 on the bottom rather than a 90, the falling water would be less likely to tear the pipe down.

You asked. :)

Regards, Jim C Roberts

Reply to
Jim C Roberts

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 15:21:31 -0500, the inscrutable axolotl spake:

Take it from a guy who made that mistake (plastic guttering) and RUN AWAY! Galv or powdercoated steel/al is the only way to go. Cheaper, too!

Reply to
Larry Jaques

We are discussing the pipe. Plastic pipe is available with fairly thick walls. My gutter downspouts connect to plasic pipes that run underground to carry the rain water away from the house. The same pipe could run up the side of the house. The connection fittings are common.

Kevin Gallimore

Reply to
axolotl

I think 2" isn't large enough.

How about trying the 4" corrugated black plastic pipe used in underground drainage?

The stuff is almost indestructible and there are several adapters made for it.

Mike Patterson Please remove the spamtrap to email me. "I always wanted to be somebody...I should have been more specific..." - Lily Tomlin

Reply to
Mike Patterson

*** Makes sense, especially the part about the sun making it brittle. Fresno is a tough environment, with LOTS of sun. Sun and sun and sun and sun. I was thinking maybe schedule 80 painted to match the trim.
Reply to
jerry

And the kids will be swinging on that chain all day....

- Jerry

Reply to
jerry

At least one of the downspouts is at the edge of a cantelevered second floor. It comes down, and then bends in about two and a half feet and then comes down along the wall. Damned if some kid didn't try to chin himself off the horizontal portion the week after we installed it. Insta-bend.

Reply to
jerry

Backing in with their cars, yes. The baseball bat trick, yes. Chinning off the horiz portions, yes. The worst one is flat as a pancake for about five feet of its length.

- Jerry

Reply to
jerry

Jerry - oops - just noticed = you wanted pipe not sheet metal. Maybe the converter is sheet and then it mates to the pipe. If converter is sheet then see below:

Seriously any sheet metal shop could do those in their sleep. They go from square to round to rectangular ... all of the time.

There is even CNC software for it but then they would have to be CNC types.

Best Regards, Martin

Reply to
Martin H. Eastburn

Those chain types are very, very common in Europe in Industrial buildings. I have considered them here as small redwood "pine cones" jamb up normal gutters. Alas, we need new gutters but we are moving.

Our new house needs them - so maybe just maybe plan and do it there.

There are fancy brass ones and fancier brass bells that hang over each over.

case in point :

formatting link
I have used this company before - nice people on the north coast.

Martin

Reply to
Martin H. Eastburn

For the climbing problem... Is it legal to use anti-vandal (non setting) paint in your part of the world?

Mark Rand RTFM

Reply to
Mark Rand

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.