You cannot stop the rain, and with water shortages these days, you certainly would not want to, but sometimes it would be nice if you could control at least the part that runs off your roof. If your downspout is dumping a lake right at the base of your foundation, try making this downspout diverter that uses a garden hose to take the water to areas that need it more than your house does,
Measure your downspout and purchase a downspout adapter sized to fit. For example, if your downspout is rectangular and 3 inches by 4 inches (the most common size), purchase a 3-inch by 4-inch adapter. (The other end will be round and measure 4 inches in diameter.) Connect the downspout adapter to the downspout.
Connect the 4-inch round end to a reducing hub designed to reduce the opening to 3 inches.
Further reduce the size of the opening using a 3-inch reducer that cuts the opening down to a 1-1/2 inch (outside diameter) opening.
Attach a 1.5 x 3/4 reducing bell to the 1-1/2-inch end of the reducer.
Attach a ¾-inch male fitting adapter (slips into small end of the reducing bell and provides male threads for attaching the female end of the garden hose. (As an alternative, use a ¾-inch slip socket to ¾-inch female threaded coupling, followed by a ¾-inch male threaded coupling with a hose bib on the other end—attach the garden hose to the hose bib for easy flow control.)
Things You Will Need
- Downspout adapter (sized to fit, for example: 3-inch x 4-inch downspout)
- Reducing hub (4-inch to 3-inch)
- Reducing hub (3-inch to 1-1/2-inch outside diameter)
- Reducing bell (1-1/2-inch inside diameter to ¾-inch inside diameter)
- Male fitting adapter (¾-inch)
- (Alternative: ¾-inch slip socket to ¾-inch female threaded coupling
- Hose bib)
Tips
- There are many ways to attach a garden hose to the downspout of your gutter, but the thing to keep in mind is to first change the shape from rectangular to round and then reduce the opening in stages until you are able to attach a ½-inch or r¾ inch garden hose.
- Attach a garden hose "Y" or a full four-way flow control to the end of the male fitting adapter in the final step to use up to four hoses at once. Direct them to different areas of your yard and garden for automatic extra watering to large trees or ponds.
- As an alternative, consider building a rain barrel that fills from your downspout. Attach a garden hose to that.
Resources
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