How to Bury a Gutter Downspout

All of our gutters do not do a very good job at getting the water away from the house. And if you know my husband (he was an home insurance adjuster for 5 years and worries about lots of possible losses, mostly water, but this could be a whole story so we will stop there) we had to fix the problem because it could flood our basement (not covered, you have to have flood insurance). We have had the downspout extension + connector for months just sitting on our downspouts.

It was doing the job but who wants a big black thing across their yard, not us. After our grass did not come in as well as we wanted, we decided it was time to put the extension underground. 

MATERIALS:

-Downspout Extension (comes in 10ft)

-Downspout Connector 

-Sheet Metal Screws

-Drill

-Shovel

-Razor Blade (Optional)

- Tarp/Box/Bucket (for putting dirt but Optional)

TIP: Make sure your downspout extension and connector fit together and on your gutter.

First thing first, dig a trench. We researched how long and deep the trench should be. We found that the trench needs to be 10-12 inches deep with about a 2 inch slope. And length is how long you want it but far enough away from the building, we decided we did not want less then 5 feet. If you are using tarp/box/bucket you will need it here to put your dirt in, we did not use anything, this will just make filling easier. Now start digging... (You do not have to go strait out from the downspout, it could be better to go at an angle but depends on your house.) 

Time to take off the old angle off the gutter/downspout. Take a drill and remove the old screws.

Then remove the angle connector.

Have your downspout extension and connector together then place on your gutter.

Now time to screw them until place.

Take your sheet metal screws (I found them in the gutter section at our local hardware store) and drill them into the connector and the gutter. TIP: we found it was easier to drill a hole through just the plastic connector then screws on.

After you have attached the connector with screws, you will need to put screws in the connector and extension to hold them together. And because my husband likes to make sure it was not coming off we places 3 screws on each section but you would be fine with 2.

Next push the downspout into the hole and cut to the length of the hole using a razor blade.

Then its time to fill in the hole. Kids helped out with this one.

Now you should have a nice new downspout that will drain away from the house/building.

We finished both downspouts in our backyard but still have to do the front which will be more exciting.

Cost Breakdown for ONE:
Downspout Extension- $5.50
Downspout Connector- $4.40
Screws Box- $2.60
Everything else we had- FREE
TOTAL- $12.50

Worth the cost of water flooding our basement.