FDM is making things easier for contractors and DIYers by offering a underground downspout kit with everything you need for your next drainage project.
Our downspout kits can be shipped small package, eliminating all shipping and freight costs.
Buried Downspout Kit for 1% Slope
Downspout Basin Combo Kit
(Connects to 4 in. Corrugated)
Downspout Basin Combo Kit
(Connects to 4 in. PVC SDR 35)
How to install FDM’s Underground Downspout Kit for DIYers.
All our downspout kits come complete so that all you need is a razor knife to cut the pipe. However, if you upgrade to the clean out, you’ll need a couple more tools from your toolbox so if you’re a DIYer and you’re really handy the clean out will give you some added advantages.
Install 90-Degree Fitting with your Underground Downspout Kit
The easiest way to connect at the downspout is to take the 90-degree fitting off for a simple and easy connection. Three parts make up the connection.
You have a 90-degree fitting, a riser, and then the adapter that brings your gutter to the downspout. You have to cut the riser to fit. The kits come complete to where all you need is a razor knife to cut the pipe.
Now, if you’re willing to do the upgrade to the cleanout, you’ll need a couple more tools from your toolbox. If you’re a really handy DIYer and don’t mind the extra time that goes into putting on one of these wide cleanouts, you can run a garden hose through your downspout.
Use Tile Tape to Connect Your Fittings
Always wrap tile tape around all your fittings. Wherever you’re connecting to the drainage pipe, make sure that you wrap it with our super sticky, stretchy 200-year tape. Tile tape prevents shrubbery and tree roots from entering your drainage system.
Always use Inline Catch Basin with Underground Downspout Kit
It’s important to install an inline catch basin with your underground downspout kit to trap any debris. Installation is quick and easy, making it DIY-friendly.
Snap the inline catch basin onto the drainage line and put stone around it. There’re already holes drilled into the inline catch basin that allows any water after rain to leach into the subsurface soil. We designed these catch basins with holes to prevent a frozen catch basin for those who live in the North. For those who live in the South, the holes prevent water from sitting in a basin and giving off a pungent odor or creating a petri dish of bacteria in it.
Use Risers as Needed to Elevate Catch Basin
When installing your underground downspout kit, you may run into the issue of your catch basin sitting too low. It’s a basic instinct to put more stones under the catch basin to raise it. However, that’s a bad option because that method creates a high point in your buried downspout system. High points aren’t going to catch the shingle gravel. If you need to elevate your catch basin, always use a riser to prevent any high points in your line.
If your catch basin is at an odd height where it either sits too high with the riser or below the surface of the natural grade without it, there’s an easy way to fix that. Just dig out a little deeper and add the riser. If your drain line dips down at the catch basin, your underground downspout is going to work that much better for catching shingle gravel. Your downspout will catch everything at that low point. The goal is to get the catch basin level on the drain line and using the riser does that.
The fabric for your catch basin is super easy to install. Just to cut a little hole to push the pipe through. Then wrap the pea stone up.
FDM Pop-Up Emitter V2.0 for Underground Downspout Kit
When choosing a pop-up emitter, pick one that you can easily maintain. We recommend the French Drain Man Pop-Up Emitter v2.0. This is the only pop-up that you can stick your hand inside and grab the leaves, pinecones, or anything that floats down the line. Here is FDM’s catch basin and pop-up hybrid. Look at the sweep on the pop-up.
There’s a top and bottom of this pop-up. At bottom of the pop-up is the sump part. The sump prevents the pop-up from holding water.
To install the FDM Pop-Up Emitter v2.0, burrito wrap it with a non-woven geotextile drainage fabric with pea stones inside. If your pop-up sits too low, you can easily put a riser on the pop-up to make it level. Make sure the pop-up is the right side up and put the top on it. Then, put the native soil back. Installation couldn’t be easier.
Keep in mind that this is a pop-up catch basin hybrid that’s installed like a dry well. That means that when the soil becomes saturated, you won’t see water come out of your pop-up. The FDM Pop-Up Emitter v.20 was specifically designed to be easy to install and low-maintenance.
DIY Friendly Drainage Options from the Professionals
French Drain Man provides DIY-friendly drainage options with our underground downspout kits. Our over 30 years of experience helped us design purpose-built parts that provide low-maintenance drainage solutions to homeowners.
In addition to underground downspout kits, we also provide professional drainage services in Michigan.
