downspouts going into the ground?

[bhnumbers]

our house was originally designed to NOT have gutters. it's a craftsman style house with very deep overhangs. however, with the addition we put on and stricter stormwater management requirements now, one of the final phases of our renovation has been to add gutters and kind of a complicated drainage system. 

the house has gutters all around and about half of them run into these huge cement planter boxes we had to have built. The other half of the downspouts go underground into piping that flows into a drain field built into (under) our front yard. They just "finished' this up this week and there is what the "into the ground" downspouts look like around the house.


This one is right by our front steps (that still need to be finish)



This one is on the side of the house by the garage.

I'm not happy. The tops of the pvc pipes are rough cut and uneven. it's like they sort of tried to line up the white pipe with the white trim, but didn't quite get there. We emailed our contractor and he said that this is just how it's done. I fully reject that. I mean, at a minimum, they could have turned the pipe so that the red writing wasn't facing out. 

I'm so tired of these chucklekfucks who were supposed to have been done with all this 7 months ago now. Clearly, they don't care anymore, but these little details matter. We didn't pay them all this damn money to have our house look like shit still. (sorry, just venting now.)

But has anyone has downspouts like this? I don't know what to do here.

for reference, here is what the front of the house looks like--and no, I am NOT happy with the downspout they ran down the front column of my front porch 

[dottyblue]

I would make them at least change it to the side of the house and the colors match the siding. Idiots.

I have this as all white metal gutters and downspouts against a White House, and we need to redo it. I don’t know when ours were installed (1940s cape we bought 4 years ago) but the underground drains are plugged and my gutters overflow every time they drain. It’s making a mess of my gardens and yard. I would probably want to understand what the underground materials are and how long they are expected to last (as well where it is located underground)

[megstoo]

I would have them change the downspout to the side and make sure the color's match.

That said we have burried downspouts on our house and it's fine. We never used to but when we had it landscaped they recommended it so we did. It's actually really helped with drainage in the yard but you need to find out where the "pop up" is because every once in a while it will get clogged. When ours does we take off the cap and just grab out the muck of leaves and it's fine again.

[af1212]

We have this but its from the 40s so no PVC. Ours are regular gutters that fit into clay pipes right at ground level. So you don’t see the underground pipe at all - just looks like the gutter goes straight into the ground.

It runs underneath the yard and empties into the street.

[kittycatlove]

Oh that looks terrible, I'm sorry . I'd have them re-do them.

My DH did ours himself. Like af1212, the gutters run to the ground and the PVC is right at ground level.

I'd also make sure they move that gutter off the pillar.

I'll try to get picture when I get home later.

[dr.girlfriend]

I don't have any input beyond what people have already said, but your house is lovely!

[sakura]

I love your house!
This won’t fix all your problems, but the red lettering on the pvc can be removed with acetone nail polish remover.

[sunshinedaydreams]

I'm doing a new build in MoCo MD, and I'm guessing, from the sign in the pic, you're near by.  This area has some of the tightest and stupidest regulations ever, and we have had no luck fighting them at all.  Like, I seriously had an inspector try to tell me it's possible for water to flow naturally uphill.

Our brand new build has brown gutters and downspouts, to match the siding, and then stupid white PVC pipe with these hideous overflow spouts out the front of them.  We also have enormous vent pipes all over the backyard for the actual locations of the drywells.  We pushed back and basically the county said we could do it according to their plans and standards or not have a house.  So while it seems like your contractors are dicks, it's really may be the county regulations.

I've tried to calm myself a bit by trying to think of the last time I've noticed gutters and downspouts on another house.  And I can't come up with a single time.  So odds are likely no one is going to notice mine.

I feel your frustration.  I'm annoyed AF that every thing I've read about drywells says they're completely ineffective, but I had to pay $12k to have my entire yard trenched up for them.

[bhnumbers]

Apr 26, 2019 19:36:15 GMT -5 sakura said:

I love your house!
This won’t fix all your problems, but the red lettering on the pvc can be removed with acetone nail polish remover.

Thank you! The acetone worked perfectly to get the lettering off. Now I just need them to come back and cut the pipe correctly

[bhnumbers]

sunshinedaydreams, yep, I'm in Arlington, so not far at all!

We weren't thrilled with the cost of the gutters and all the drainage, but I definitely see the need for it. I don't know that what we have are called dry wells? No one has called them that, but maybe it's just a different term. We have two big planter boxes with layers of dirt, sand, and gravel in them and a drainage system that all leads to a drain field in the from yard. And that also has layers of gravel, sand, and dirt. But I don't have pipe vents anywhere but in the actual planter boxes.

[dr.girlfriend]

Apr 26, 2019 19:36:15 GMT -5 sakura said:

I love your house!
This won’t fix all your problems, but the red lettering on the pvc can be removed with acetone nail polish remover.

You guys are so smart!

[calico]

We have buried gutters on 3 sides of the house, but instead of our downspout ending in PVC, it enters the ground in black drainage tubing. I've figured out where 2 of the 3 end, and suspect the 3rd joins with the other to some kind of dry well, because we have a random grate in the middle of the front yard.

They need to come make that look more aesthetically pleasing. It can't be that hard. Can it be painted, so that the PVC sort of looks like the gutter?