New Gutters Issue
 

Three weeks ago we had gutters installed by Stipes due to the positive reviews on Talk of The Villages. Everything is working well except for the French drains they installed. The two gutters that come down on either side of our entry way were buried and end in pop up drains in the yard. They buried one drain under the sidewalk and connected it with a T to the other drain. This hasn't worked well in that during these rains we have been having, the water gushes out where the down gutter meets the black rubber drain and results in huge pools of water all around both down spout areas. Stipes has been out three times each time explaining the problem and how they have fixed it. However, it overflowed again today with a not particularly heavy rain. My question is have any of you had a problem such as this? How was it solved? We will call Stipes again and I'm sure they will be very nice about it but we are beginning to question their expertise in solving this problem. Have any of you had experience with Stipes solving problems? We would appreciate any of your ideas/input. Thanks.

I am thinking that I heard on the news that we had three inches of rain today. That is a LOT.

Tell your contractor to swap out the "T" fitting with a "y" fitting.

I'll second the Y mentioned above.
I also will not dispute the amount of rain you got. Some areas here got less than an inch. We don't all get the same amount of rain that the weatherman does. I've gone from torrential downpours to sunshine in a matter of blocks.

Along with the "Y" connector suggested above.....

What has Stipes had to say?

Are the pop-up drains at least 10" - 12" lower than where the downspouts transition to the plastic drain pipes? (Water will only flow downhill :D)

Are the pop up drains "popping" up?...Are they "opening fully"?

Could there be something inside the drain lines (under the ground)?

This isn't rocket science...keep calling them until they fix it. Have them use a garden hose at full force to help you verify their "fix" before they leave.

Hope this helps....

Don

Ground Drain
 

A Y is better and would improve flow. WE did have a field rat get into our downspout and end up in the underground drain connection . Fortunately it was discovered by the noise in the pipe by the rat. Once we detached the connector the rat got out.

WE have a similar underground drain with a Y that has worked wonders during the heavy rains we have received and it has not backed up yet.

Gutters
 

Yes, you're right Betty. We didn't get any where near 3 inches today. More in the 1+ inch range. Today's rain here at our house was also not one of the torrential downpours that we have had before. It was a steady rain that lasted maybe an hour.

Thanks
 

Thank you so much for such good ideas that we will pursue with Stipes. They have been very nice and we are being very understanding. Each time they "fix" it they give an explanation of what the problem was and what they will do to fix it. We have taken videos on our phone of the water gushing over the top during a rain because we knew that would be more helpful to them to see what actually happens during a rain. They encourage us to call if it isn't fixed. We knew the helpful people on Talk of The Villages would have some good ideas so we thank you for that.

Almost 3 inches of rain here in Polo Ridge. It came down heavy...it came down sideways.