Downspout Laws for the Clueless

One prohibited downspout connection

When you read through the dreck published at the former eHow.com, it's sometimes hard to tell whether the freelancers who write there were simply clueless or were intentionally stupid. We mean, you have to wonder: some of the "answers" those people published were so far off-topic they belonged in another time zone! We're thinking, in case you were curious, of posts like "Gutter Downspout Laws," published at HomeSteady.com by Adam Yeomans.

When we saw the title, our first thought was something along the line of, "Are there restrictions on where you can direct the water draining off your roof?" After all, draining the water from your house onto the foundation of your neighbor is quite probably a no-no. Lots of places also don't allow directing water into the streets or storm sewers. Those restrictions seem like a good place to start your research, right?
Well, not according to Yeomans. This "builder and... energy efficiency consultant" went straight to how gutters are supposed to be installed and maintained. Yup: read through his post and you'll be regaled with semi-useful (but off-topic) information about,

• Gutter Material
• Downspouts
• Leaders
• Sealing Gutters

On the other hand, you will not learn One. Single. Word. about where you can and cannot discharge the water coming off your roof. Come to think of it, one of our staffers may have lived next to Yeomans once in a rental house: the next-door neighbor's sump pump outlet and downspouts always dumped water into his basement whenever it rained.

Guess that's just how a Dumbass of the Day like Adam rolls, eh? Just so you know, the LAWS regarding downspouts vary widely depending on where you live. Ask the locals about what their building code allows and doesn't allow; don't depend on clueless freelancers like Yeomans for information!

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