How to find downspout exit?
Ray Manning
The house sits on a slope and several downspout exits are below the septic
tank so I'm fairly confident they don't go there. I suspect they exit down
the hill somewere or into the creek near our house but I can't seem to find
it. I've tried a couple ounces of food coloring poured into the gutter while
it was raining but didn't see where it came out. I was thinking smoke might
be a better solution but I'm not sure if I could get it to travel to the
exit (smoke bomb smoke forced down the spout using a hair dryer or
something). Any other ideas?
Thanks,
Ray
BTW: I'd like to know where they exit so I can keep them clean. I also want
to fill some dips in the yard but I was suspicious they drained into the
dips (and maybe they do).
Ray Manning
ground. The pipe is lower than the septic system.
Ray Manning <ram...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:dmQu4.882$PY4....@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
R Bishop
"Ray Manning" <ram...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>Just to clarify, the downspouts drain into a 4" pipe that runs under the
>ground. The pipe is lower than the septic system.
Well, when we built our downspout system, we just ran perforated pipe down
a trench, dug a dry well at the end of it and filled the whole thing with
gravel. Ours end only about ten feet from the house and deep enough so the
water soaks into the ground. No major wet spot at all.
I suspect yours are the same. You probably don't ahve an exit, they just
empty into a gravel filled dry well.
Sue
>
>Ray Manning <ram...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
>news:dmQu4.882$PY4....@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
>> I'm trying to find where my downspouts from the gutters exit on my
>property.
>> The house sits on a slope and several downspout exits are below the septic
>> tank so I'm fairly confident they don't go there. I suspect they exit down
>> the hill somewere or into the creek near our house but I can't seem to
>find
>> it. I've tried a couple ounces of food coloring poured into the gutter
>while
>> it was raining but didn't see where it came out. I was thinking smoke
>might
>> be a better solution but I'm not sure if I could get it to travel to the
>> exit (smoke bomb smoke forced down the spout using a hair dryer or
>> something). Any other ideas?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Ray
>>
>> BTW: I'd like to know where they exit so I can keep them clean. I also
>want
>> to fill some dips in the yard but I was suspicious they drained into the
>> dips (and maybe they do).
>>
>>
>>
>
>
"Never trust anything that thinks for itself,
if you can't see where it keeps its brain."
J K Rowlings
Ray Manning
rain here. That could be why I can't find it. I wonder how big the dry well
would have to be to drain a 44 square roof here in western Washington? Of
course our soil generally drains well so maybe it wouldn't have to be very
large. I wonder if I can safely drain the french drains I was planning on
installing into the same pipe?
Thanks
Ray
R Bishop <bis...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:89gra6$iqd$1...@nntp5.atl.mindspring.net...
C. Brunner
house was finished, and we just found them again in December. We had
run them to daylight waaaay out in the wooded area downhill from our
house. Finding them was like an Easter egg hunt. Hey, do you have
small kids that could help?
C. Brunner
Andy Hill
>I'm trying to find where my downspouts from the gutters exit on my property.
>The house sits on a slope and several downspout exits are below the septic
>tank so I'm fairly confident they don't go there. I suspect they exit down
>the hill somewere or into the creek near our house but I can't seem to find
>it. I've tried a couple ounces of food coloring poured into the gutter while
>it was raining but didn't see where it came out. I was thinking smoke might
>be a better solution but I'm not sure if I could get it to travel to the
>exit (smoke bomb smoke forced down the spout using a hair dryer or
>something). Any other ideas?
>
occasionally in the PNW), run a hose up into the gutter, then check around in
the likely spots? Unless you have a drywell (a drywell in the PNW? Doesn't
seem likely), you should be able to find the outlets.
Neil O'Hara
but bright green & persistent. You should be able to find it in a drug
store.
Neil
Ray Manning wrote:
>
> I'm trying to find where my downspouts from the gutters exit on my property.
> The house sits on a slope and several downspout exits are below the septic
> tank so I'm fairly confident they don't go there. I suspect they exit down
> the hill somewere or into the creek near our house but I can't seem to find
> it. I've tried a couple ounces of food coloring poured into the gutter while
> it was raining but didn't see where it came out. I was thinking smoke might
> be a better solution but I'm not sure if I could get it to travel to the
> exit (smoke bomb smoke forced down the spout using a hair dryer or
> something). Any other ideas?
>
John Wilson
"Ray Manning" <ram...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> I'm trying to find where my downspouts from the gutters exit on my
property.
Food coloring would be way too diluted to see. Use what plumbers use.
A pill that would turn a lake green or purple. Makes the water glow
eerily. The easiest way I've found, if the pipes aren't too long is to
wait until it's quiet outside, then make some noise in the pipe on the
house end. We figured this out because we could hear the noise from the
garden hose before we could ever find the dye spot. I think maybe
someone tapping the pipe where it enters the ground would be fairly
audible at the other end.
John
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
R Bishop
"Ray Manning" <ram...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>Hadn't thought about that. I'm not sure why, I guess because we get so much
>rain here. That could be why I can't find it. I wonder how big the dry well
>would have to be to drain a 44 square roof here in western Washington? Of
>course our soil generally drains well so maybe it wouldn't have to be very
>large. I wonder if I can safely drain the french drains I was planning on
>installing into the same pipe?
44 sq feet? Small roof! That's 4 by 11 feet, btw. As for dry wells, we
have a roof that covers about 1800 sq feet, two dry wells handle the largest
side which is at least 2/3 of the house. Our dry wells are about 2 feet
square and about 3 feet deep. Not big at all. Our soil drains very badly,
it's very heavy clay.
Sue
>
>Thanks
>Ray
>
>R Bishop <bis...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
>news:89gra6$iqd$1...@nntp5.atl.mindspring.net...
>> In article <CvQu4.909$PY4....@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net>,
>> "Ray Manning" <ram...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>>
>> >Just to clarify, the downspouts drain into a 4" pipe that runs under the
>> >ground. The pipe is lower than the septic system.
>>
>> Well, when we built our downspout system, we just ran perforated pipe down
>> a trench, dug a dry well at the end of it and filled the whole thing with
>> gravel. Ours end only about ten feet from the house and deep enough so
>the
>> water soaks into the ground. No major wet spot at all.
>> I suspect yours are the same. You probably don't ahve an exit, they just
>> empty into a gravel filled dry well.
>>
>>
>>
>> Sue
>>
>> >
>> >Ray Manning <ram...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
>> >news:dmQu4.882$PY4....@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
>> >> I'm trying to find where my downspouts from the gutters exit on my
>> >property.
>> >> The house sits on a slope and several downspout exits are below the
>septic
>> >> tank so I'm fairly confident they don't go there. I suspect they exit
>down
>> >> the hill somewere or into the creek near our house but I can't seem to
>> >find
>> >> it. I've tried a couple ounces of food coloring poured into the gutter
>> >while
>> >> it was raining but didn't see where it came out. I was thinking smoke
>> >might
>> >> be a better solution but I'm not sure if I could get it to travel to
>the
>> >> exit (smoke bomb smoke forced down the spout using a hair dryer or
>> >> something). Any other ideas?
>> >>
>> >> Thanks,
>> >> Ray
>> >>
>> >> BTW: I'd like to know where they exit so I can keep them clean. I also
>> >want
>> >> to fill some dips in the yard but I was suspicious they drained into
>the
>> >> dips (and maybe they do).
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
Jim C
live on the side of a mountain, not hill, and have French drains coming off
both sides of the house downhill. I've found one but the other is buried
under 20 yrs of dirt. I have tried for 2 yrs to find that @#!* thing. The
drain is not working and water is coming up inside my crawl space. Digging
with a jack hammer and putting in a sump (lots of rock), has helped some but
it sure would be nice to find that other end of the French drain and clean
it out. Suggestions.........?
Jim
John Wilson wrote in message <89h7t3$8m9$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>...
>In article <dmQu4.882$PY4....@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net>,
> "Ray Manning" <ram...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>> I'm trying to find where my downspouts from the gutters exit on my
>property.
>
>
Phill-az
entirely different measurement. Phill-az
R Bishop wrote:
> In article <0MSu4.1230$4c1....@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net>,
> "Ray Manning" <ram...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> >Hadn't thought about that. I'm not sure why, I guess because we get so much
> >rain here. That could be why I can't find it. I wonder how big the dry well
> >would have to be to drain a 44 square roof here in western Washington? Of
> >course our soil generally drains well so maybe it wouldn't have to be very
> >large. I wonder if I can safely drain the french drains I was planning on
> >installing into the same pipe?
>
> 44 sq feet? Small roof! That's 4 by 11 feet, btw. As for dry wells, we
> have a roof that covers about 1800 sq feet, two dry wells handle the largest
> side which is at least 2/3 of the house. Our dry wells are about 2 feet
> square and about 3 feet deep. Not big at all. Our soil drains very badly,
> it's very heavy clay.
>
> Sue
>
> >
> >Thanks
> >Ray
> >
> >R Bishop <bis...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
> >news:89gra6$iqd$1...@nntp5.atl.mindspring.net...
> >> In article <CvQu4.909$PY4....@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net>,
> >> "Ray Manning" <ram...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> >>
> >> >Just to clarify, the downspouts drain into a 4" pipe that runs under the
> >> >ground. The pipe is lower than the septic system.
> >>
> >> Well, when we built our downspout system, we just ran perforated pipe down
> >> a trench, dug a dry well at the end of it and filled the whole thing with
> >> gravel. Ours end only about ten feet from the house and deep enough so
> >the
> >> water soaks into the ground. No major wet spot at all.
> >> I suspect yours are the same. You probably don't ahve an exit, they just
> >> empty into a gravel filled dry well.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Sue
> >>
> >> >
> >> >Ray Manning <ram...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> >> >news:dmQu4.882$PY4....@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
> >> >> I'm trying to find where my downspouts from the gutters exit on my
> >> >property.
Grey Wolf
wisely refrained from saying more than...
> >Hadn't thought about that. I'm not sure why, I guess because we get so much
> >rain here. That could be why I can't find it. I wonder how big the dry well
> >would have to be to drain a 44 square roof here in western Washington? Of
> >course our soil generally drains well so maybe it wouldn't have to be very
> >large. I wonder if I can safely drain the french drains I was planning on
> >installing into the same pipe?
>
> 44 sq feet? Small roof! That's 4 by 11 feet, btw. As for dry wells, we
> have a roof that covers about 1800 sq feet, two dry wells handle the largest
> side which is at least 2/3 of the house. Our dry wells are about 2 feet
> square and about 3 feet deep. Not big at all. Our soil drains very badly,
> it's very heavy clay.
He said "44 square", not "44 sq feet". A "square" being a standard
roofer's measurement - 100 sq. ft. - his figures seem about right.
--
Grey "enter clever nickname here" Wolf
I get a perverse pleasure from watching vegetarians eat crow.
Grey Wolf
from saying more than...
> Food coloring would dilute too quickly. Try fluorscein dye -- harmless,
> but bright green & persistent. You should be able to find it in a drug
> store.
How about blood? Then you could check to see where the cougars gather,
get your hounds .... or wait, we've already covered that nonsense.
Back to you, Raul....
R Bishop
Phill-az <pbu...@ctaz.com> wrote:
>I did not see the feet. I thought he was talking about roof squares which is an
>entirely different measurement. Phill-az
Maybe he was, but I've never seen roofs measured that way in general terms.
Sue
>
>R Bishop wrote:
>
>> In article <0MSu4.1230$4c1....@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net>,
>> "Ray Manning" <ram...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>>
>> >Hadn't thought about that. I'm not sure why, I guess because we get so much
>> >rain here. That could be why I can't find it. I wonder how big the dry well
>> >would have to be to drain a 44 square roof here in western Washington? Of
>> >course our soil generally drains well so maybe it wouldn't have to be very
>> >large. I wonder if I can safely drain the french drains I was planning on
>> >installing into the same pipe?
>>
>> 44 sq feet? Small roof! That's 4 by 11 feet, btw. As for dry wells, we
>> have a roof that covers about 1800 sq feet, two dry wells handle the largest
>> side which is at least 2/3 of the house. Our dry wells are about 2 feet
>> square and about 3 feet deep. Not big at all. Our soil drains very badly,
>> it's very heavy clay.
>>
>> Sue
>>
>> >
>> >Thanks
>> >Ray
Phill-az
for any roof he sees or measures. Also when they talk about any roof it is squares
to tell the other person involved in the conversation the size of the roof. Such as
the roof of my home is 24 squares. 8-) Live and learn I would venture to
say. Phill-az
Ray Manning
Ray
C. Brunner <bru...@vetmed.auburn.edu> wrote in message
news:38bbf604...@news.duc.auburn.edu...
Ray Manning
square is 10'x10'.
Those wells do seem small. Do you worry about debris filling them up or
clogging the downspout?
Ray
Ray Manning
in squares. A 24 square roof would be 2400 sq ft. I guess for this
discussion, horizontal surface area would be better suited for the
measurements since were talking about the run off of the roof. I don't
recall the pitch of my roof but it's fairly steep so it's not really
draining 4400 sq ft of horizontal area.
Ray
Phill-az <pbu...@ctaz.com> wrote in message
news:38BD1600...@ctaz.com...
> > >> 44 sq feet? Small roof! That's 4 by 11 feet, btw. As for dry
wells, we
> > >> have a roof that covers about 1800 sq feet, two dry wells handle the
largest
> > >> side which is at least 2/3 of the house. Our dry wells are about 2
feet
> > >> square and about 3 feet deep. Not big at all. Our soil drains very
badly,
> > >> it's very heavy clay.
> > >>
> > >> Sue
> > >>
> > >> >
Ray Manning
Thanks,
Ray
Neil O'Hara <ne...@ohec.com> wrote in message
news:38BC1A16...@ohec.com...
> Food coloring would dilute too quickly. Try fluorscein dye -- harmless,
> but bright green & persistent. You should be able to find it in a drug
> store.
>
> Neil
>
Ray Manning
french drains and the downspouts are convienient to tap into to drain them.
If I know where the water goes, I wouldn't be hesitant about doing it but
I'm worried it might overwhelm the system. I'm also worried that the debris
coming of the roof will eventually clog the downspouts and then I'll have to
start digging.
Ray
Jim C <JCop...@email.msn.com> wrote in message
news:eg5qo7yg$GA.249@cpmsnbbsa05...
> Keep the suggestions coming. I have the same problem with a French drain.
I
> live on the side of a mountain, not hill, and have French drains coming
off
> both sides of the house downhill. I've found one but the other is buried
> under 20 yrs of dirt. I have tried for 2 yrs to find that @#!* thing. The
> drain is not working and water is coming up inside my crawl space. Digging
> with a jack hammer and putting in a sump (lots of rock), has helped some
but
> it sure would be nice to find that other end of the French drain and clean
> it out. Suggestions.........?
> Jim
>
> John Wilson wrote in message <89h7t3$8m9$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>...
> >In article <dmQu4.882$PY4....@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net>,
> > "Ray Manning" <ram...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> >> I'm trying to find where my downspouts from the gutters exit on my
> >property.
> >
> >
C. Brunner
roofing terms is 100 square feet (10 ft x 10 ft). So, a roof that is
"44 squares" would be 4,400 s.f.--not unusual, for a nice-sized house.
The term "square" is often used in discussing how many bundles of
shingles to order, etc.
C. Brunner
On Wed, 01 Mar 2000 03:44:55 GMT, R Bishop <bis...@ix.netcom.com>
wrote:
>In article <38BC7129...@ctaz.com>,
> Phill-az <pbu...@ctaz.com> wrote:
>>I did not see the feet. I thought he was talking about roof squares which is an
>>entirely different measurement. Phill-az
>
>Maybe he was, but I've never seen roofs measured that way in general terms.
>Sue
>>
>>R Bishop wrote:
>>
>>> In article <0MSu4.1230$4c1....@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net>,
>>> "Ray Manning" <ram...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>>> >Hadn't thought about that. I'm not sure why, I guess because we get so much
>>> >rain here. That could be why I can't find it. I wonder how big the dry well
>>> >would have to be to drain a 44 square roof here in western Washington?...
>>>
>>> 44 sq feet? Small roof! That's 4 by 11 feet, btw.....
>>> Sue
R Bishop
"Ray Manning" <ram...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>No, not 44 sq ft - 44 squares. In roofing terms that's 4400 sq ft, each
>square is 10'x10'.
>
>Those wells do seem small. Do you worry about debris filling them up or
>clogging the downspout?
What debris? No leaves because there are no trees next to the house. If they
do get clogged, we'll just dig 'em up and extend the hose further, dig another
dry well. No big deal, we put the current ones in, we can fix any problem
with them.
Sue
>
>Ray
>
>>
>> 44 sq feet? Small roof! That's 4 by 11 feet, btw. As for dry wells, we
>> have a roof that covers about 1800 sq feet, two dry wells handle the
>largest
>> side which is at least 2/3 of the house. Our dry wells are about 2 feet
>> square and about 3 feet deep. Not big at all. Our soil drains very
>badly,
>> it's very heavy clay.
>>
>>
>> Sue
>>
>>
>
>
>
"Never trust anything that thinks for itself,
Grey Wolf
ram...@earthlink.net wisely refrained from saying more than...
> No, not 44 sq ft - 44 squares. In roofing terms that's 4400 sq ft, each
> square is 10'x10'.
>
> Those wells do seem small. Do you worry about debris filling them up or
> clogging the downspout?
If you're worried about the drywells getting clogged, fill the dry well
with rocks and gravel.
> > 44 sq feet? Small roof! That's 4 by 11 feet, btw. As for dry wells, we
> > have a roof that covers about 1800 sq feet, two dry wells handle the
> largest
> > side which is at least 2/3 of the house. Our dry wells are about 2 feet
> > square and about 3 feet deep. Not big at all. Our soil drains very
> badly,
> > it's very heavy clay.
--
Neil O'Hara
Probably easiest to just ask, rather than search the shelves.
Neil
R Bishop
"George Willer" <gw...@toledolink.com> wrote:
>Pardon me, Sue...Your mis-reading of the post caused you to post in error
>what may be confusing to others. The message you responded to mentioned a
>44 square roof. That would be four thousand four hundred square feet, and
>would require 132 bundles of shingles @ 1/3 sq. ea. to cover. 1 square =
>100 square feet.
>
>George Willer
>gw...@toledolink.com
>http://www.toledolink.com/gwill
>
>"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." --Thomas Jefferson
Jeeze, George, you are about a week late on this. The thread has been dead for
ages.
Many many posters beat you to this.
Sue, who is now thoroughly bored with this thread.
<extraneous lengthy quoting removed to save band width)
George Willer
what may be confusing to others. The message you responded to mentioned a
44 square roof. That would be four thousand four hundred square feet, and
would require 132 bundles of shingles @ 1/3 sq. ea. to cover. 1 square =
100 square feet.
George Willer
gw...@toledolink.com
http://www.toledolink.com/gwill
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." --Thomas Jefferson
"R Bishop" <bis...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:89hddg$2dp$1...@nntp6.atl.mindspring.net...
> In article <0MSu4.1230$4c1....@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net>,
> "Ray Manning" <ram...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> >Hadn't thought about that. I'm not sure why, I guess because we get so
much
> >rain here. That could be why I can't find it. I wonder how big the dry
well
> >would have to be to drain a 44 square roof here in western Washington? Of
> >course our soil generally drains well so maybe it wouldn't have to be
very
> >large. I wonder if I can safely drain the french drains I was planning on
> >installing into the same pipe?
>
> 44 sq feet? Small roof! That's 4 by 11 feet, btw. As for dry wells, we
> have a roof that covers about 1800 sq feet, two dry wells handle the
largest
> side which is at least 2/3 of the house. Our dry wells are about 2 feet
> square and about 3 feet deep. Not big at all. Our soil drains very
badly,
> it's very heavy clay.
>
>
> Sue
>
>
> >
> >Thanks
> >Ray
> >
> >R Bishop <bis...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
> >news:89gra6$iqd$1...@nntp5.atl.mindspring.net...
> >> In article <CvQu4.909$PY4....@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net>,
> >> "Ray Manning" <ram...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> >>
> >> >Just to clarify, the downspouts drain into a 4" pipe that runs under
the
> >> >ground. The pipe is lower than the septic system.
> >>
> >> Well, when we built our downspout system, we just ran perforated pipe
down
> >> a trench, dug a dry well at the end of it and filled the whole thing
with
> >> gravel. Ours end only about ten feet from the house and deep enough so
> >the
> >> water soaks into the ground. No major wet spot at all.
> >> I suspect yours are the same. You probably don't ahve an exit, they
just
> >> empty into a gravel filled dry well.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Sue
> >>
> >> >
> >> >Ray Manning <ram...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> >> >news:dmQu4.882$PY4....@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
> >> >> I'm trying to find where my downspouts from the gutters exit on my
> >> >property.
George Willer
That wasn't the reply I would have expected to a message I posted nearly a
week ago. I replied as soon as your sanctimonious note showed up. You
spoke with assumed authority on a subject you know nothing about...I'm sorry
if you find an intelligent reply boring. If you read more carefully when
people respond, you might learn something.
--
George Willer
gw...@toledolink.com
http://www.toledolink.com/gwill
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." --Thomas Jefferson
"R Bishop" <bis...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:89rs5d$ji8$1...@nntp8.atl.mindspring.net...
> In article <89rpql$16mu$1...@paper.toledolink.com>,
> "George Willer" <gw...@toledolink.com> wrote:
>
> >Pardon me, Sue...Your mis-reading of the post caused you to post in error
> >what may be confusing to others. The message you responded to mentioned
a
> >44 square roof. That would be four thousand four hundred square feet,
and
> >would require 132 bundles of shingles @ 1/3 sq. ea. to cover. 1 square =
> >100 square feet.
> >
> >George Willer
> >gw...@toledolink.com
> >http://www.toledolink.com/gwill
> >
> >"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." --Thomas Jefferson
>
>
> Jeeze, George, you are about a week late on this. The thread has been
dead for
> ages.
>
> Many many posters beat you to this.
>
>
> Sue, who is now thoroughly bored with this thread.
>
> <extraneous lengthy quoting removed to save band width)
>
>
>
>
>