Subject: Re: [permaculture] Gutter options for water catchment from a barn
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:27:21 -0700
You don't say anything about the climate you're in or what you're
sending the water into, so it's a little more of a challenge to respond.
If you have snow or hail, catching on the ground works better than
gutters. A lined trench can send water to a pond, or underground
cistern, or even a sump basin with a pump (option of last resort.) Snow
and hail can slide right past the gutter or clog it.
If you have the downspouts spaced at intervals it makes it hard to
concentrate your water into a single tank or pond. We ended up using
double downspouts right next to each other to increase the flow rate out
of the gutters. The gutter installer had never done that before and
thought I was crazy, which to me is an indication I am probably doing it
right. He wanted downspouts every 20 feet if I recall. If two downspouts
next to each other is not enough, you can always add another.
We use seamless gutters. In my area the are only available in 5" width.
I have some 1500 sq ft areas draining into a 96' long gutter, and it
might overflow once a year during a huge thunderstorm. We don't get 1"
events, but maybe 1/2" events. Last time I checked, seamless gutters
were running US$6-7 a foot installed. I don't regret the expense, but it
is considerable! Catching everything except a fraction of one storm was
good enough for my application.