Underground Drains

[Michael 61]

I added a birdcage about a month or so to my house, and the contractor added a gutter as part of the project, with a downspout that empties just about an inch or so from the concrete pad my AC unit sits on. I guess I should have questioned this at the time. This week, I had gutters added to the rest of the house, and the gutter contractor showed me that a hole is already forming from the downspout that the birdcage contractor added, and told me it will just grow larger with time, encroaching on the concrete pad my AC unit sits on. The gutter contractor is coming back today to install an underground drain on downspout next to my AC unit, as well as one as another underground drain on the downspout at the front outside corner of my garage. Just curious, do most people have underground drains installed to manage the rain runoff from their rooftops?

[CoachKandSportsguy]

I added a birdcage about a month or so to my house, and the contractor added a gutter as part of the project, with a downspout that empties just about an inch or so from the concrete pad my AC unit sits on. I guess I should have questioned this at the time. This week, I had gutters added to the rest of the house, and the gutter contractor showed me that a hole is already forming from the downspout that the birdcage contractor added, and told me it will just grow larger with time, encroaching on the concrete pad my AC unit sits on. The gutter contractor is coming back today to install an underground drain on downspout next to my AC unit, as well as one as another underground drain on the downspout at the front outside corner of my garage. Just curious, do most people have underground drains installed to manage the rain runoff from their rooftops?

We do, answer is "yes"

Quickest way to get concrete to crack in future years. .

[dewilson58]

yes

[Dusty_Star]

Just curious, do most people have underground drains installed to manage the rain runoff from their rooftops?

Mine go underground.

[PoolBrews]

No. I had the gutters extended to run all the way out to edge of my birdcage and away from my house. Now all of the water empties far away from my home with no issues. I do have several stepping stone at the bottom to each downspout to break up the flow.

[Kenswing]

Our rear downspouts empty into rock beds. Our front downspouts go underground all the way to the curb.

[retiredguy123]

Have you considered relocating the downspout a few feet to avoid the HVAC unit?

[Bogie Shooter]

Another option, downspout extension.
Lowe’s & Home Depot.

[NoMo50]

We have whole-house guttering, and all downspouts connect to underground drains. The drain lines are perforated pipe that terminate at popups out in the yard. Most rainwater gets absorbed into the ground through the perforated pipe, but during very heavy rains the popups come into play, distributing the excess far away from the house and planters. This setup works very well.

[Toymeister]

I think most do not have these although we do. The reason I think so is people shop by price for additions/birdcages and few think about the small extras that make the installation 'complete'.

[Michael 61]

Good stuff, learning about all this as a first-year “newbie” to TV, thanks for your helpful replies.

[Maker]

Water next to a foundation is a recipe for disaster. Need to get the water discharge distance far away. A pile of rocks or "stepping stone at the bottom" does not get the water away from the foundation (slab).

[MrFlorida]

Yes, we have them.

[villagetinker]

We have both, drains on the lawn, and underground drains. The underground drains need to be cleaned out periodically, as the grass roots seem to be able to penetrate the joints, also, you need to make sure the grass does not over run the pop-up or other type of drain. All 3 of ours were clogged and overrun with grass, took a while to find them and clean them out.

[NoMo50]

We have both, drains on the lawn, and underground drains. The underground drains need to be cleaned out periodically, as the grass roots seem to be able to penetrate the joints, also, you need to make sure the grass does not over run the pop-up or other type of drain. All 3 of ours were clogged and overrun with grass, took a while to find them and clean them out.

Good point, and right on the money. Part of my regular maintenance schedule is cleaning around the sprinkler donuts and popup drains every 3 months. This is especially important with the St. Augustine grass used at homes south of SR-44. It doesn't take long for this type of grass to spread over the popups, especially during the rainy season.

[westernrider75]

I added a birdcage about a month or so to my house, and the contractor added a gutter as part of the project, with a downspout that empties just about an inch or so from the concrete pad my AC unit sits on. I guess I should have questioned this at the time. This week, I had gutters added to the rest of the house, and the gutter contractor showed me that a hole is already forming from the downspout that the birdcage contractor added, and told me it will just grow larger with time, encroaching on the concrete pad my AC unit sits on. The gutter contractor is coming back today to install an underground drain on downspout next to my AC unit, as well as one as another underground drain on the downspout at the front outside corner of my garage. Just curious, do most people have underground drains installed to manage the rain runoff from their rooftops?

We have a downspout on the front outside corner of the garage that runs down the driveway to the street which is the same set up that most of our villa neighbors have. In back we have a large drain in our yard, again each villa has one, and the downspout run towards that drain.

[Altavia]

Maintenance item, vlog up over time.

Popus can't handle a heavy rainfall so the gutters overflow for those events.

[Remembergoldenrule]

If your drain spot is on top of your concrete driveway or walkway, the water will eventually cause your concrete to spall. You will then have to replace the concrete. It is better to spend a little money on pop ups.

[retiredguy123]

If your drain spot is on top of your concrete driveway or walkway, the water will eventually cause your concrete to spall. You will then have to replace the concrete. It is better to spend a little money on pop ups.
I have never seen that happen. Currently, I have 3 downspouts that discharge onto concrete. No spalling.

[jiiiiimmmm]

Maintenance item, vlog up over time.

Popus can't handle a heavy rainfall so the gutters overflow for those events.

As a relatively new villager with a 20 year old house and not being very handy, who would one contact/hire to unclog the underground drains and make sure the flow correctly? Is this a job for a plumber?

[bncuhler@verizon.net]

We had them put in. Extremely happy with them.

[retiredguy123]

As a relatively new villager with a 20 year old house and not being very handy, who would one contact/hire to unclog the underground drains and make sure the flow correctly? Is this a job for a plumber?
It would more likely be a landscaper. Try Choice Maintenance, 352-502-2880.

[Zenmama18]

I added a birdcage about a month or so to my house, and the contractor added a gutter as part of the project, with a downspout that empties just about an inch or so from the concrete pad my AC unit sits on. I guess I should have questioned this at the time. This week, I had gutters added to the rest of the house, and the gutter contractor showed me that a hole is already forming from the downspout that the birdcage contractor added, and told me it will just grow larger with time, encroaching on the concrete pad my AC unit sits on. The gutter contractor is coming back today to install an underground drain on downspout next to my AC unit, as well as one as another underground drain on the downspout at the front outside corner of my garage. Just curious, do most people have underground drains installed to manage the rain runoff from their rooftops?

Yes, we had a French drain installed between our CYV and the neighbors because water would pool in the side yard for days. We later found out that the gutter downspout was running water into the neighbors' yard. We had a handyman move the downspout a few feet so water goes into the French drain. Sometimes solving one problem creates another!

[Sully2023]

I added a birdcage about a month or so to my house, and the contractor added a gutter as part of the project, with a downspout that empties just about an inch or so from the concrete pad my AC unit sits on. I guess I should have questioned this at the time. This week, I had gutters added to the rest of the house, and the gutter contractor showed me that a hole is already forming from the downspout that the birdcage contractor added, and told me it will just grow larger with time, encroaching on the concrete pad my AC unit sits on. The gutter contractor is coming back today to install an underground drain on downspout next to my AC unit, as well as one as another underground drain on the downspout at the front outside corner of my garage. Just curious, do most people have underground drains installed to manage the rain runoff from their rooftops?

I had all my downspouts with the drains. All they do is run a plastic pipe (with holes) from the gutter into the ground about 18 inches and extend it about two feet out from the house and then has a cap to allow the excess water to flow onto the yard.

[Sully2023]

As a relatively new villager with a 20 year old house and not being very handy, who would one contact/hire to unclog the underground drains and make sure the flow correctly? Is this a job for a plumber?

I bet you could get a shovel, dig the dirt from the downspout to the pop up cover. Take the rubber pipe out, clean it from debris, and replace it. Add soil back and cover with the grass you moved away.

You can find a handyman do this for you. A plumber would cost an arm and leg.

If you need a shovel, just ask. Be glad to loan you one.

[BostonRich]

We started to have a serious drain problem after installing a birdcage because the water from the supergutter would exit the downspout and run across the back yard and along the wall on the side of the house. The ground along the wall was seriously eroding away and undermining the wall to the point of us wondering if a sink hole was opening up. We had a French Drain installed that went from the downspout, under the ground and into a drain that is in the corner of our Courtyard Villa yard. I was skeptical but we don't even have water visible anymore in the area during heavy rain. It costs $1500 but that was cheaper and less problematic than letting the developers wall fall over.

[Kenswing]

The popup drains have a hard time passing the volume of water that a big storm can generate. I had my landscaper install 8” box drains instead. They move so much water at times that we’ll actually have a little geyser at the outlet.

[retiredguy123]

I bet you could get a shovel, dig the dirt from the downspout to the pop up cover. Take the rubber pipe out, clean it from debris, and replace it. Add soil back and cover with the grass you moved away.

You can find a handyman do this for you. A plumber would cost an arm and leg.

If you need a shovel, just ask. Be glad to loan you one.
That could be a lot of work if the downspout is 40 feet or more from the pop-up outlet. Some landscapers may have a snake tool.

[villagetinker]

That could be a lot of work if the downspout is 40 feet or more from the pop-up outlet. Some landscapers may have a snake tool.

I was able to find ours using a screw driver to probe the location of the pipe, and going about 3 inches and testing again. These pipes are usually just a few inches down in the ground. Once I found the end with the popup, it was easy to dig out the popup, ad a short extension, clean out and grass roots and weeds, and reinstall the popup.

[Calisport]

I installed a underground drain before the concrete was poured from air conditioner unit to the lower area in back

[jiiiiimmmm]

I bet you could get a shovel, dig the dirt from the downspout to the pop up cover. Take the rubber pipe out, clean it from debris, and replace it. Add soil back and cover with the grass you moved away.

You can find a handyman do this for you. A plumber would cost an arm and leg.

If you need a shovel, just ask. Be glad to loan you one.

Thank you