Gutters & Drainage Questions

Where roof water and yard water meet — downspouts, French drains, roof-water volume, and the shared drains that cause the most confusion.

There are 101 questions in this section. Every answer is written in plain language, from the way we actually do the work in Kingwood, Atascocita, Porter, Humble, and the Lake Houston area.

Back to all questions. Related services: Seamless Gutters Kingwood · Drainage Solutions Kingwood.

All gutters & drainage questions questions

• Should downspouts be connected to a French drain?
• How much water actually comes off my roof during a rainstorm?
• How do I calculate how much rainwater comes off my roof?
• Does a steeper roof collect more rainwater than a flatter roof?
• Why does roof pitch matter when sizing gutters if it doesn’t create more rain?
• Why do roof valleys dump so much water into one section of gutter?
• Can one roof valley overwhelm a 6-inch gutter?
• Why does my gutter overflow only during really hard rain?
• Why does my gutter overflow for only a few minutes during a storm?
• Can my gutters be perfectly clean and still overflow?
• Why does water jump completely over my gutter?
• Can gutters be installed too far under the roof?
• Can gutters stick out too far from the roof?
• Why does rainwater run behind my gutters instead of into them?
• Why is water staining the fascia behind my gutter?
• Why is the wood behind my gutter getting soft?
• Can bad gutters cause soffit damage?
• Why is water dripping from my soffit when it rains?
• Can a gutter problem look like a roof leak?
• Why does my gutter leak only during heavy rain?
• Can gutters overflow because the downspout is too far away?
• How far can a gutter run before it needs another downspout?
• Can I solve gutter overflow by adding another downspout?
• Where is the best place to add another downspout?
• Why does my gutter overflow even though the downspout isn’t clogged?
• Does downspout shape affect how much water it can carry?
• Why do downspout elbows clog before the straight pipe?
• Can too many elbows reduce downspout performance?
• Why does water spray out where two downspout pieces connect?
• Why does my downspout shake during heavy rain?
• Why does my downspout make a gurgling noise?
• Why does my underground downspout pipe gurgle?
• Should gutters and underground drainage be designed together?
• Can new gutters make my yard drainage problem worse?
• Why did my yard start flooding after I installed gutters?
• Can connecting multiple downspouts to one drain pipe overwhelm it?
• How many downspouts can connect to one underground drain?
• Should each downspout have its own underground pipe?
• Can I connect my gutter downspouts to a French drain?
• Why should downspout water usually travel through solid pipe?
• Can a French drain and downspout drainage system share the same outlet?
• Can catch basins and downspouts connect to the same drainage line?
• Why does my catch basin overflow when the gutters are draining?
• Why does water come out of my catch basin instead of going into it?
• Can a yard drain become a fountain during a storm?
• Why does my drainage system work during light rain but fail during a thunderstorm?
• Can you design a drainage system for absolutely any amount of rain?
• What does drainage-system capacity actually mean?
• Is bigger drainage pipe always better?
• Why can a large drainage pipe still drain poorly?
• Does a drainage pipe need to be completely empty after every rain?
• Why is there always a little water in my catch basin?
• Is standing water inside a catch basin normal?
• Why does my yard drain smell bad?
• Why are mosquitoes coming from my yard drain?
• Can I drill holes in the bottom of a catch basin so the water disappears?
• Why doesn’t water soak into Houston clay very quickly?
• Why does my yard drain worse after several days of rain?
• Why does the first storm drain fine but the next storm floods my yard?
• Why is my yard still wet when my neighbor’s yard is dry?
• Can my neighbor’s yard drain into mine?
• Why does water come under my fence from my neighbor’s yard?
• Should I block water coming from my neighbor’s property?
• Can a retaining wall cause drainage problems?
• Why is water coming through my retaining wall?
• What is hydrostatic pressure in yard drainage?
• Do retaining walls need drainage behind them?
• Can a new flower bed redirect water toward my house?
• Can landscape edging act like a tiny dam?
• Why does water stand between my flower bed and sidewalk?
• Can removing landscape edging improve drainage?
• Can artificial turf create drainage problems?
• Can a concrete patio make another part of my yard flood?
• Why did my drainage change after a patio extension?
• Can a new driveway cause standing water beside it?
• Why does water stand where my driveway meets the street?
• What is a trench drain?
• When is a trench drain better than a catch basin?
• Why put a channel drain in front of a garage?
• Can a channel drain stop all water from entering a garage?
• Why does my driveway slope toward my garage?
• What is a pop-up drainage emitter?
• How does a pop-up drain emitter work without electricity?
• Why is water always sitting underneath my pop-up emitter?
• Why won’t my pop-up drain open?
• Can grass grow over a pop-up drain?
• Can a lawn mower break a pop-up drain?
• Should a drainage outlet be visible?
• Why does my drainage outlet keep getting buried?
• Can animals clog a drainage pipe?
• Should a drainage outlet have a grate?
• Why is dirt coming out of my drainage pipe?
• Why is my drainage water muddy?
• Can erosion clog my drainage system?
• How do I keep dirt out of my yard drains?
• Why should catch basins be cleaned before they’re completely clogged?
• How do you know whether a drainage problem is a clog or a bad design?
• Should drainage be tested with a garden hose?
• Why is watching my yard during a storm so useful for drainage diagnosis?
• Should I take pictures or video of my yard flooding before calling a drainage contractor?
• What should a good residential drainage system actually accomplish?

Still not sure?

If your question is not here, or the answer sounds like your yard, call or text Orion’s Rain at (281) 504-9998 — 24 hours a day. We will test the system and tell you what is actually wrong, and what it will take to fix it the right way.

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Orion’s Rain Smartscapes and Exteriors — (281) 504-9998 — LI0029444