"Digging in" down spouts

[Normwannabe]

I plan to dig in or bury my down spouts this spring in order to take the water further away from the house... no real water issues, just thought the farther away the water runs the better.

Anyone have any tips for proper installation? I figured I would use 4" White PVC and a 90 deg. elbow?

We have harsh winters so freeze/thaw are of a concern. Also, I don't have any trees (leaves), but will someday.

Thanks,

[suemarkp]

Where are you going to route the pipes to -- daylight, a drywell, the street?

Just running them away from the house and stopping without creating some kind of drainage path may not help -- the downspouts will just fill up. I'd suggest running 4 inch "coex" which is a rigid polyetheleyne pipe (usually black inside with a white covering). This is much less expensive than PVC and better than the black flexible drain pipe. You can also usually get it with holes poked along the bottom or solid.

If you have no daylight or dry well to drain it into, I'd suggest running at least 10' away from the house with the solid pipe and then running another 10 or 20 feet minimum with the perforated pipe. Backfill this perforated pipe with drain rock, cover the top of the rock with plastic or landscape fabric to keep dirt from clogging your drain rock. Then top off the covered rock with dirt. For the most benefit, the majority of the rock should be at or below the top of the pipe and the wider the trench the better drain you're making. If you run all the pipes together (with solid pipe) and then extend a single perforated drainage section, I'd make that section quite long (50') or dig a large pit full of drain rock to hold all this water and let it drain into the soil over time.

In Winconsin, I'd try to get the pipe at least 4 feet down and more if you can.

[Cracker]

I ran mine about 30' away from the house and emptied it in to a rock lined stream bed that dispersed at the back of the yard. Works great and looks good too.

[Normwannabe]

I'm hoping to end the run to open air. My thought is to cover the end in pea stone or other? to keep the critters out.

Do you think I still need to be 4' down (Wi winter) if it drains freely to the open air, or will ice still build up and cause a mess?

What is the best way to keep leaves out?

I like the dry riverbed idea, but I don't know if it will work for my application. I have about 100 yards to the small pond in the back yard.

Thanks