Why Extending Your Downspouts Can Save Your Foundation
Great news! The temperature might rise above freezing in the nearish future! Please do yourself a favor and go make sure your gutter downspouts extend at least four feet away from your foundation.
All this snow is about to melt and one inch of snow on an average sized roof will melt into almost one hundred gallons of water! Coupled with the snow melting on your lawn there is going to be a lot of water wanting to find a path to the lowest point around your home. This is true of melting snow in the winter or during heavy rainfall in the Spring. Extending your downspouts will help keep that water away from your home, protecting your foundation and keeping your basement dry.
It’s pretty easy to understand how massive amounts of water pouring onto the ground around your foundation will lead to water in your basement. This can create mold and damage your carpet, furniture etc. However, even if you don’t initially see water inside your basement, having downspouts terminate too close to your foundation can still cause major damage. Water will eventually make its way down into the soil around your foundation and can lead to expansive soil conditions. Soil that contains too much moisture will expand, creating “hydrostatic” pressure against your foundation walls. This pressure will push against your foundation with incredible force, causing structural damage. This is the major concern of improper downspout termination (and also why it’s so important to keep your gutters clean).
There are several products that can effectively extend downspouts to at least four feet from your foundation. Many options are very simple and can be an inexpensive (around $10) DIY project that may save you thousands. If you aren’t comfortable doing it yourself call a roofing or siding professional. Hopefully by this time next week you’ll be outside in your jorts, sipping a Capri Sun while admiring the simple gutter project that may have just prevented future costly foundation repairs. Cheers!
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Flex-A-Spout-White-Downspout-Extension-85010/100057879