loud noisy downspouts

[Dan_Musicant]

Just had house reroofed and a negative is the noise when it's raining. The old roof had Dutch gutters and galvanized downspouts. I was unaware of a problem with noisy downspouts. Now, with the new gutter/downspout system the roofing company installed, I find that the harder it rains the more annoying are the sounds I'm getting.

There are sounds like a garbage disposal running when most of the debris has gone down the drain but not all, and there's a cavernous sound that I take to be resonance when gushing water hits bends in the downspout.

There are still some minor issues that the roofer is going to address and I'm contemplating asking him to move the downspout outside the bedroom window to another location adjacent to a storage room. The drainage wouldn't be as optimal, I suppose, as that would drain almost half the roof onto the cement patio rather than the garage driveway, but it would be quieter at night.

Are there any strategies to quiet downspout/gutter systems? Thanks.

Dan

[m Ransley]

maybe use galvanised, or vinyl downspouts.

[RicodJour]

Never heard the term Dutch gutters. What are they?

So are you going to ask him to make up a new section, or are you going to ask him to pull the existing, carefully, cut the new opening at the new leader location, patch the exisitng leader outlet hole and reinstall and repitch the gutter?

tried the product, but it should work.

R

[PipeDown]

Ever heard of Dynamat? It is a thick, adhesive backed matting that is usually used on car sheet metal panels to quiet vibration due to road noise or loud speakers. You could cut strips of this stuff and stick it on the back of the gutters (mostly out of view, can be painted). This will effectively make the metal of the downspouts thicker and less susceptable to the high frequency vibrations you are hearing.

You don't have to put too much on either. Probably a strip along the elbow where the water hits first and a few small patches along the length of the long downspouts. For the gutters themselves, just leave some leaves in them to slow the flow (just kidding but it would work).

Also have them fasten the downspouts to the wall with more straps or with padding to buffer the sound transmission.

You can buy it just about anywhere they sell car audio.

[Dan_Musicant]

:Dan_Musicant wrote: :> Just had house reroofed and a negative is the noise when it's raining. :> The old roof had Dutch gutters and galvanized downspouts. I was unaware :> of a problem with noisy downspouts. Now, with the new gutter/downspout :> system the roofing company installed, I find that the harder it rains :> the more annoying are the sounds I'm getting. : :Never heard the term Dutch gutters. What are they?

They are longitudinal humps which they somehow form from roofing material. They look like a long wave just before it breaks at the seashore! The rain water flows from this to a hole under which is a downspout. It's in lieu of wooden or metal gutters. In my experience they are not good and I doubt they still install them with the advent of galvanized and especially aluminum gutters. Mine eventually caused a lot of dry rot in the underlieing wood because their integrity was breached and they leaked water badly. That bad wood was replaced during the roof job. : :> There are sounds like a garbage disposal running when most of the debris :> has gone down the drain but not all, and there's a cavernous sound that :> I take to be resonance when gushing water hits bends in the downspout. :>

:> There are still some minor issues that the roofer is going to address :> and I'm contemplating asking him to move the downspout outside the :> bedroom window to another location adjacent to a storage room. The :> drainage wouldn't be as optimal, I suppose, as that would drain almost :> half the roof onto the cement patio rather than the garage driveway, but :> it would be quieter at night. : :So are you going to ask him to make up a new section, or are you going :to ask him to pull the existing, carefully, cut the new opening at the :new leader location, patch the exisitng leader outlet hole and :reinstall and repitch the gutter?

The roofer came by today and I didn't mention the problem. I think he would have consented to do the work free, and I think it would be pretty much as you describe. I think I could do this myself at some point, if I want to. I'm not sure it's a good idea because there would be a lot of water running out on my patio. The patio is all concrete but it just doesn't seem as elegant as where the water goes now. Of course, meantime, I have a noise problem, but there may be a way to mitigate that. I'm not talking about a drip drip drip problem, although I may get that too. It's kind of a deep throated resonance from volumes of water causing a resonant sound in the downspout, or so I imagine. : :> Are there any strategies to quiet downspout/gutter systems? Thanks. : :

tried the product, but it should work. : :R

That looks like a solution for drip drip drip. I wonder if I can attach something to the downspout to damp the sound.

[marks542004]

If the downspout is attached vertically you may be able to add a spacer at the bottom so it is an inch or two further out from the wall than the top. (a little out of vertical in any direction.)

This allows any water entering the downspout to flow along the pipe.

When mine was first installed the water in the gutter dripped the length of the pipe and hit the spout at the bottom. Made a huge noise.

Your other option is to remove the downpipe and replace it with a length of rope or chain. Installed correctly the water will flow along the chain.

[Dan_Musicant]

:> There are sounds like a garbage disposal running when most of the debris :> has gone down the drain but not all, and there's a cavernous sound that :> I take to be resonance when gushing water hits bends in the downspout. :>

:> There are still some minor issues that the roofer is going to address :> and I'm contemplating asking him to move the downspout outside the :> bedroom window to another location adjacent to a storage room. The :> drainage wouldn't be as optimal, I suppose, as that would drain almost :> half the roof onto the cement patio rather than the garage driveway, but :> it would be quieter at night. :>

:> Are there any strategies to quiet downspout/gutter systems? Thanks. :>

:> Dan : :Ever heard of Dynamat? It is a thick, adhesive backed matting that is :usually used on car sheet metal panels to quiet vibration due to road noise :or loud speakers. You could cut strips of this stuff and stick it on the :back of the gutters (mostly out of view, can be painted). This will :effectively make the metal of the downspouts thicker and less susceptable to :the high frequency vibrations you are hearing. : :You don't have to put too much on either. Probably a strip along the elbow :where the water hits first and a few small patches along the length of the :long downspouts. For the gutters themselves, just leave some leaves in them :to slow the flow (just kidding but it would work). : :Also have them fasten the downspouts to the wall with more straps or with :padding to buffer the sound transmission. : :

You can buy it just about anywhere they sell car :audio.

Yep, I think you are definitely on the right track. I was thinking today I could cobble together something of a solution like this. I was thinking of foam rubber - I have some discarded yellow foam rubber mattresses, or I could use something similar, a spongy solid of almost any type would work. Press it against the downspout at a strategic place and hold it there with something, something not susceptible to rot or that can be painted.

I can't find any pictures of Dynamat at the dynamat.com site.

[RicodJour]

What makes you believe that you're hearing the flow of water down a vertical surface? Unless there's a torrential downpour there'd hardly be any noise from the flow. And if it was a torrential downpour you probably wouldn't hear the vertical flow anyway as it would be drowned out by the noise of the rain on your windows and roof. The water is not circling the leader as it goes down. Water only does that when there's a circular drain.

You are hearing the water at the change in direction whether it's a drip drip drip or a gush gush gush. Lining the elbows will take care of 90% or more of the noise. Start simple. You can always reinvent the wheel later.

You should also search groups - many times questions such as this one have already been asked and answered.

R

[Dan_Musicant]

:Dan_Musicant wrote: :> On 22 Dec 2005 14:33:21 -0800, "RicodJour" wrote: :> : :> :

:Never tried the product, but it should work. :> : :> :R :>

:> That looks like a solution for drip drip drip. I wonder if I can attach :> something to the downspout to damp the sound. : :What makes you believe that you're hearing the flow of water down a :vertical surface? Unless there's a torrential downpour there'd hardly :be any noise from the flow. And if it was a torrential downpour you :probably wouldn't hear the vertical flow anyway as it would be drowned :out by the noise of the rain on your windows and roof. The water is :not circling the leader as it goes down. Water only does that when :there's a circular drain.

You may be right. I don't really know what I'm hearing. It was a guess is all. : :You are hearing the water at the change in direction whether it's a :drip drip drip or a gush gush gush. Lining the elbows will take care :of 90% or more of the noise. Start simple. You can always reinvent :the wheel later.

I agree. : :You should also search groups - many times questions such as this one :have already been asked and answered. :

:R Actually, I did. I have bookmarked 7 threads. Many of the ideas are in multiple threads, but each of these 7 threads has its own merits:

[Dan_Musicant]

:If the downspout is attached vertically you may be able to add a spacer :at the bottom so it is an inch or two further out from the wall than :the top. (a little out of vertical in any direction.) : :This allows any water entering the downspout to flow along the pipe. : :When mine was first installed the water in the gutter dripped the :length of the pipe and hit the spout at the bottom. Made a huge noise.

Seems like a good idea. : :Your other option is to remove the downpipe and replace it with a :length of rope or chain. Installed correctly the water will flow along :the chain.

This seems OK except that I want to divert the flow at the bottom away from the house and foundation. I suppose I could still put a diverter at the bottom below the bottom of the chain.

Dan

[The Real Tom Miller]

I've often wondered if a length of chain or even nylon line dangled down the interior of the downspout would work. Anybody know? It used to really bother me when the storm was over and the water would drip down the pipe and hit the curved part at the bottom. Now, however, at age 64, I am just deaf enough that I don't really notice the sound anymore.