The Most Ignored Part of the Gutter System
Everyone thinks about gutters. Almost nobody thinks about downspouts — until water starts doing damage. Here is the math that matters: a 1,000-square-foot roof sheds over 600 gallons of water in a one-inch rainstorm. Every gallon of that comes down a downspout. If a downspout is clogged, disconnected, crushed, or dumping water two feet from your foundation, your gutters can be perfect and your basement can still flood. In Baltimore, where clay soil holds water against foundation walls, downspout placement is not a detail — it is the whole game.
Problems We Fix All the Time
Clogged downspouts. The number-one downspout problem. Leaves mat at the elbows and the top outlet, and the whole thing packs solid. From the outside it looks fine. We disconnect, clear, and flush every downspout — it is part of every cleaning we do.
Disconnected or missing sections. Storms, ladders, and time pull elbows apart. A downspout dumping a roof's worth of water straight down at the foundation is worse than no downspout at all, because it concentrates the water in one spot. We reconnect and re-secure the run.
Water too close to the house. The classic Baltimore setup: downspout ends a foot from the foundation, water pools, basement gets damp. The fix is extensions — rigid or hinged — that carry water four to six feet out, past the foundation backfill. Simple, cheap, and it solves an astonishing number of wet-basement complaints.
Too few downspouts. A long gutter run with one downspout at the far end will overflow in heavy rain no matter how clean it is. We add downspouts where the water actually needs to exit, based on your roof's drainage pattern.
Crushed or rusted sections. Downspouts get hit by mowers, ladders, and cars in tight driveways. We replace damaged sections and match the color.
How It Works: Our Process
Step 1 — Free visit. We trace every downspout from gutter to ground, check flow with water, and look at where water ends up around your foundation.
Step 2 — Written estimate. Repairs, replacements, new downspouts, extensions — itemized. Every project is different — contact us for a free written estimate.
Step 3 — The work. Most downspout jobs take a few hours. We secure everything to the house properly — no wobbly straps.
Step 4 — Flow test. We run water from the gutter through each downspout and watch where it goes. If it is not landing well away from the house, we adjust on the spot.
Extensions and Drainage: The Foundation Connection
If your basement gets damp after heavy rain, look at your downspouts before you look at anything else. Baltimore's older homes — especially the brick rowhomes — often have downspouts that end right at the foundation line. Our guide on keeping basements dry explains the full picture, but the short version is: water that lands six feet from the house is water that never touches your basement wall. Extensions are the highest-value gutter work we do, dollar for dollar.
Underground Drains: A Word of Caution
Some companies push buried drain pipe for every downspout. Sometimes it is the right answer — a downspout that has nowhere to daylight above ground, for example. But buried drains clog, freeze, and are expensive to dig up and fix. We recommend them only when surface extensions genuinely will not work, and we will tell you why if that is your situation. Most homes do fine with well-placed above-ground extensions.
Rain Barrels and Diverters
Want to catch roof water for the garden? We can set a downspout diverter that feeds a rain barrel and overflows back to the downspout when the barrel is full — so you never have to think about it during a storm. Just say the word during the free visit.
Call (301) 679-9193 or send the form below for your free on-site estimate.