Downspouts prevent rainwater from flooding storm drains.
Downspouts channel rainwater runoff from roofs while providing utilitarian and ornamental functions. They prevent water from collecting around a home's foundation and leaking into basements, where it promote mold and mildew growth. Some downspouts are styled to fill water reservoirs, some provide irrigation directly to gardens and some downspout styles simulate waterfalls. Does this Spark an idea?
Traditional
Traditional roof drainage systems collect water in gutters and remove it through downspouts. Once water exits a downspout, it hits a splash guard that cushions its impact and reduces mud splatter onto walls and plants. Splash guards and flexible downspout extenders direct water away from a home's foundation, which keeps the foundation dry and prevents rot, mold and mildew. Downspout materials include aluminum, copper and galvanized steel. Traditional downspout shapes are round or rectangular and can be smooth-sided or corrugated.
Rain Chains
For centuries, Japanese have used rain chains on their houses and temples for functional and ornamental uses. Compared to traditional downspouts, which are closed water-transport systems, rain chains are open systems. Water falls off roofs onto linked chains, which divert water into collection vessels such as barrels and bowls. Modern rain chains hold a series of vessels along their lengths. As water flows down the chain, it collects into each vessel. As each vessel fills, it spills into the one below it, creating a waterfall effect of sight and sound.
Rain Barrels
Rain barrels use downspout drainage to collect rainwater for filling a reservoir. They are environmental and economical benefits of xeriscaping, or the practice of efficiently using water in the landscape. Rain barrels hold backup supplies of irrigation water for areas with little rainfall or areas experiencing temporary drought. Styles are limited only by the imagination. Utilitarian barrels made of wood or plastic are most commonly used, but other materials such as pottery, ceramic and metal offer more diversity.
Rain Gardens
An efficient use of downspout drainage is to provide irrigation for rain gardens. Downspouts channel water from rooftops into gardens that contain plants with high water-tolerant qualities. Flexible plastic extenders attach to ends of downspouts and allow water to travel away from structures for servicing specific garden areas. If a rain garden is large, two downspouts can work in tandem to irrigate the garden. Extenders can be buried underground from the house to the garden so they don't provide stumbling obstacles and they maintain aesthetics.
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