why is my gutter a trench of water

DIYGST

My gutter is a pool of dirty water, I looked at the gutter drain and it is a 2" round hole but it is positioned above the water level, not at the bottom of the gutter

When the level is high enough, the gutter drain into a in ground hose that goes under the driveway to the street.

I am puzzled why the gutter drain hole is not located lower, I know it is more clog resistant this way but I think it is causing mosquitoes.


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O <- drain
leaves, water
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AndyWRS

Sounds like the gutter down spout is not installed correctly. Got a pic of it ?

DIYGST

yes it seems like crappy install but I think it is done by builder, I will try to get a pic later.

why would they put the hole not at the very bottom?

Can hole be enlarged towards the bottom and a patch be glued in? I don't want to change the whole gutter run just because of this.

AndyWRS

Why, that s a good question.

Can it be moved, maybe...it all depends on what type of gutters you have and how much it needs to be move to make it functional.

To me, it does not sound like your down spout is located directly under the gutter, it sounds like the down spout intersects the gutter from the back...hence my request for a pic so we can determine the best course of action.

DIYGST

I climbed up and looked again, here are some pcitures.
it's not as bad as I thought, it is near the bottom, maybe the pitch is off and makes this worse. The bottom water is not really going to go away.

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joecaption

That has to be the sillyest gutter system I've ever seen. No wonder there's standing water.
Drain needed to be on the bottom not the side.

jklingel

No problem w/ the drain on the side. Mosquitos need a place for larvae to live... algae loves a little water.... ferns and trees can root in the crap that grows there (don't laugh; I once neglected to clean my gutters until I saw two birch trees growing up there; they were each about 8" tall. I only have about 25' of gutters, on the side of a porch, and I just don't go over there much. Ooops.)

AndyWRS

well your in Nor Cal by the looks of the gutters. We do not have those full fascia type gutters down south. The outlet does as i suspected, comes in from the back rather than below.

a patch could be riveted to cover that existing outlet then a new down spout installed and the outlet could be made in the bottom of the gutter. Put a lvl on it, if it doesnt pitch or pitches the wrong way, you may just want to replace that gutter and get one installed that is pitched + move the outlet to the bottom.

Fairview

I've never seen a gutter like that either but I don't believe all is lost for a solution. Consider going to your favorite home center or hardware where "Rockite" hydraulic cement is sold and purchase a small bag. When mixed to the correct consistency it will pour similar to Aunt Jemima pancake batter. Remove the water and fill the cavity to the desired level with the cement.

joecaption

Please do not even think about following that suggestion!

Mark Harvey

Wher we are the type of gutter that you have ... doesn't exist. Or, if it does, I haven't seen one. Regardless, the issue simply is as you can see, ... the hole is higher than the water level. I would suggest you make a hole in the bottom, re-work the down spout from the new hole and put a patch over the old hole. You can buy a piece of tin or something similar to your current gutter and screw or rivet the patch in place. Seal it with silicone or something similar. Then listen for the rain to drain away.

AndyWRS

No reason to make this harder than it needs to be by using "Rockite" hydraulic cement. Just patch the hole and move the down spout to the bottom of the gutter. You may need to buy a couple of down spout parts but they are avail at the big box stores. No reason to mickey mouse this, its a simple repair.

Oh for those who havent seen those, they are typical Full fascia style gutter seen in northern California.

Jim F

How much standing water do you have in your gutter? From those pictures it seems like you should not have a lot of water left behind. It is possible that your gutter dips in the middle. Can you post a pic or two of the rest of your gutter. You might even try standing at ground level out away fro the house and getting a wider agnle shot.

SPS-1

This is how the rest of the world connects a downspout. Any way you can do this on your house?

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