Buried downspout

[MarkV]

JimBinMI-Sounds like you are getting great advice from people who know. I would only add that if you use perforated pipe get the kind with a silt sock covering. Could be called something else in other areas. Here it is a cloth cover that keeps silt from clogging your drain pipe. We use it for foundation drains as well as landscape situations here.

 

[duster]

JIM I USE 4" CORAGATED SOLID BLACK PIPE WITH EITHER A 90 DEGREE ELBOW TO A 4" GRATE WITH A SMALL WEEP HOLE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE ELBOW, OR I HAVE ALSO USED A DRAIN CATCH BASIN WITH MANY HOLES DRILLED IN THE BOTTOM OF THE BASIN WITH GRAVEL OR PEA STONE UNDER THE BASIN, BE SURE TO PITCH YOU PIPE PROPERLY THE WATER RUNNING OUT WILL RISE OUT OF THE GRATE UNDER PRESSURE AND THEN THE REMAINING WATER WILL SLOWLY WEEP OUT THE BOTTOM .ALL OF THESE PIECES CAN BE FOUND AT LOWES OR HOME DEPOT .I TO LIVE IN MICH. AND DEPENDING ON THE WINTER ,ROOF PITCH, AND AMOUNT OF RUNOFF THAT THIS GUTTER COLLECTS IT CAN FREEZE UNDER GROUND SO BE SURE TO DRAIN IT PROPERLY.

 

[JimBinMI]

Everyone,

Thanks for all of the responses, really came through for me!
I haven't decided which way to do it yet but from all of these responses I have a lot of ideas.

I think that I'll start by checking with my township office for and codes that I have to follow and go from there.

JimBinMI

We boys and our toys!

 

[Bird]

JimBinMI, that's one advantage of living out in the country; there are no codes, you just do whatever you want to./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Of course, that's one of the disadvantages, too, like my new next door neighbor who hasn't even mowed his yard this year; prior owner kept a beautiful lawn, but I didn't know that kind of grass could get waist high./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Bird

 

[JimBinMI]

Bird,

Aren't you in a township or something? How could you have no rules? There must be some rules, right?

Most people call where I live "in the country", I'm in an area zoned "Agricultural". I have a dairy farm on my block. Most parcels have 8-10 acres, across the road one has 50 acres, one 25 acres, obviously the dairy farm has more acres.

JimBinMI

We boys and our toys!

 

[Bird]

JimBinMI, there's no such thing as "townships" in Texas. And the nearest "city limits" are 10 miles away. Naturally, there are some state laws regulating septic systems or other sewage facilities, and if you have less than 10 acres, you have to get a permit, have an inspection, etc., but if you have 10 acres or more and do the work yourself, you don't even have to abide by those things if you stay far enough away from the property line, and don't run anything over onto someone else's property. When you get new water service, they tap the main and install the meter. From there on, you're on your own except for an inspection of new construction to check for cross connections and such. For new electric service, the electric company will tell you what kind of pole, weatherhead, ground rod, wire, conduit, etc. to the meter base and master panel. From there on, anything you want to do. And you wouldn't believe some of the things the prior owner did to this property. From a single 100 amp master panel, and a 100 amp breaker, he ran wiring to a 100 amp breaker panel in an old mobile home, ran another wire from that same 100 amp master breaker straight to a water heater in the mobile home, ran another wire off the same breaker to an outside security light, then put a 70 amp breaker in the master panel and ran wires overhead on a couple of 4 x 4 posts to a 200 amp breaker panel in the shop, and ran wires from that 200 amp panel underground (about 3" deep) to a 70 amp panel in the barn. I still haven't figured out why the whole place hadn't burned down before I bought it. I added a second meter, with master panel, for the shop and barn, and replaced everything below the meter base (including the pole it was on) on the original meter, upgrading it to 200 amp service (and replaced that ragged old mobile home with a new doublewide). As far as your residence is concerned, you can pitch a tent or build a castle or anything in between, modify it anyway you want, anytime you want. If you have insurance or a mortgage, those folks might put some restrictions on you, but that's the only folks who will.

Bird

 

[W5FL]

Or like the bumper sticker says,"Welcome to Texas, Now Go Home." Too many people moving in trying to make Texas like the state they came from. The Septic Tank rules are relatively recent. For years there were no rules there either. You can wire your own house, do your own plumbing, build your own house and roof it. The only rules that apply are covenents that have been placed on the land by a previous owner. I saw one once that said No Yankees could live there. Don't guess that held up too well in court.

 

[Bird]

Yep, Wen, it's sure different from living in the city. My brother's not a professional draftsman, but both brothers used to be home builders, so he just drew up some plans himself, took them to a local bank, which promptly approved interim financing and we built his house. He contracted the pouring and finishing of a concrete garage floor, installation of the heating and air-conditioning system, and an aerobic sewer plant. We did everything else ourselves from the water meter and electric meter on. No permits, no inspections, no delays. I think the bank did send someone out to look at it when they changed from interim financing to a regular mortgage. And of course, we built it in a manner that would meet or exceed any building codes we know of.

It was a little comical when the young fellow delivering a load of ready mix asked where we were from, since he's used to slab foundations, and we built on a pier and beam with a 4' "basement" or crawl space like my brothers used to build in Alaska.

Bird

 

[LBrown59]

Bird,

Aren't you in a township or something? How could you have no rules? There must be some rules, right?

Most people call where I live "in the country", I'm in an area zoned "Agricultural". I have a dairy farm on my block. Most parcels have 8-10 acres, across the road one has 50 acres, one 25 acres, obviously the dairy farm has more acres.

JimBinMI

We boys and our toys!

Nope:
It's a shame some folks don't know what freedom is.

 

[LBrown59]

I just done this on my garage this past summer. I ran 3'' and 4'' PVC solid pipe to a drainage ditch about 25 feet behind the garage. Installed a line along each end of the garage and tied the four down spouts into the 2 lines.
Since I have the drainage ditch no French drain, gravel or perforated pipe was required.
I did not use the corrugated flexible pipe as that stuff is notorious for getting leaves caught in the ridges and plugging up the pipe.
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