The number of down spouts for a rain gutter

[nestsman]

My mobile home is 66 feet long on sloped land. If possible, I would like to avoid having 4 down spouts (two in the front of the house and two in the back). Otherwise the two down spouts on the east end will create a little river of water in my yard as the water flows to the lower ground. Of the bids I have received so far, one of the companies even said they would require four downspouts.

For those of you with rain gutter experience, should I be fine with two down spouts? Or is it highly recommended that I go with four?

Thanks!

[Greg]

Personally, I think I would go with 4. You can always add some underground drainage tube to move the water away.

Greg

[mh_doni49]

Greg:

Would you slope the gutters from middle towards then ends then?

Nest:

If you want to avoid having to bury an underground pipe, you could run a 4" pipe right behind the skirting on one side (and across the end to the other side). Run the pipe so that it come through the skirt in 3 places:

1. Where the water exits the drain pipe.
2. Where it enters the drain pipe on the opposite side.
3. Where it enters the drain pipe on the near side.

Make sure the the pipe is sloped so that it will always drain properly. Run the downspouts to this drain pipe.

[Greg]

I don't think I would run the pipe under the home due to the potential of water leakage, you want to keep the area under your home as dry as possible. Possibly just in front of the skirting.

Greg

[ponch37300]

What size gutters and down spouts are you using? 66 feet is a long run for a down spout on only one end. If this was mine I would put a down spout at each end. At the "high" end I would bury the down spout. Dig a trench and slope it down and run it all the way to the other end and then let it exit the ground to day light just past the trailer since the ground is sloped.

Mh_doni if you have a down spout on each end then yes you slope it from the middle towards each end. You always want the gutter sloped to the down spout.

[nestsman]

Why does a gutter have to be sloped at all? Shouldn't it be mounted level? After all, water will always find its way out through the downspout.

[mh_doni49]

Nest,

Yes you're correct - - water will find its own level. But if the gutter is level, there will still be some water pooling in it.

Even a slight slope will prevent that.

[UmpJJ]

You might also check the size of the guttering itself - they make a couple of different sized that you can use depending on the length of the run. Bigger gutters can move more water efficiently. I'm in the process of getting a gutter installed on one side of my garage - water coming off the roof last winter led to cracked asphalt. I've got a 57' run and they will use large diameter gutters with two downspouts. Estimated installed cost is $308.

UmpJJ