Downspout Drainage Experts

BURIEDDOWNSPOUTSFound. Cleared.

Your downspouts don't stop at the ground. Most run into a buried pipe that slowly fills with roof sediment. Once clogged, water backs up at the house. We find those pipes, flush them clean, and ensure they're working.

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Water geyser erupting from yard drain during hydrojetting

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Many homes have these. Extensions in good condition should be cleaned once every 5 years.

How We Service Buried Downspout Lines

We are experts at finding, cleaning, and even repairing underground downspout extensions. This is how we ensure all your drains are cleared.

Locating a lost drain cap with radio equipment

Find

Find the Exit

If your downspouts continue underground, they exit somewhere, and that location should be known. When an exit has been lost under grass or landscaping, we trace the pipe with radio equipment, neatly uncover the cap, and flag it so you know where it is and so we're ready to clean the line.

Pulling a large root from a buried downspout drain

Clear

Clear whatever's in there

A first pass from the exit back to the downspout finds any blockages. Different clogs need different tools. Roots, packed grit, and collapsed sections each get their own approach. Most of the time it's shingle gravel, the sediment your roof sheds every day, settled into the ribs of the pipe.

The water exits dark and muddy at first, then lightens with every pass. We keep going until nothing but clear water flows from the exit.

Verification photo collage sent after service — We'll send a collage with photos of each drain and any significant debris removed, just like this sample.

Report

Flag & Report

You do not have to be home for service, just let us know which lines you'd like done. We'll email photos of the process and any notes or recommended repairs or upgrades. You can pay online after you've reviewed everything.

Purpose-built jetting nozzles for residential downspout extensions

Downspout drains are all we do.

We use an extensive, and expensive, array of specialized nozzles and bits chosen for residential downspout extensions. Everything is designed for the corrugated and PVC pipe these systems use.

Close-up of drain cap replacement — Cap upgrade installed after jetting service.

What about repairs?

Jetting can diagnose unknown issues. For lines we've jetted, we can often quote small repairs: cap upgrades, height adjustments, or spot section replacements.

We only quote repairs we've seen with our own eyes, which is why they're offered during a jetting visit, or during a replacement or new install.

4–8

downspouts on a typical home

Clean them all, or pick and choose.

This is a service best done before there's a real problem. Shingle gravel builds up in every one of these extensions, so if you've never had them cleaned, we do recommend doing them all. The count is always up to you though. If you'd rather pick and choose, start with any line whose exit point you can't find, plus anything you've watched overflow.

Why Buried Downspouts Fail

Buried downspouts are easy to forget about until a basement floods. These lines collect a little more debris every day, and here in Indiana most of them run too flat to clear themselves out. Flushing that sediment every 3 to 5 years keeps roots and packed grit from taking hold. We can usually restore a line that's already filled in, but it's a lot cheaper to never get there.

The vast majority of issues we see have one of three causes.

Shingle gravel 90%+ of jobs

Over 90% of homes have asphalt shingle roofs, and every one of them sheds coarse mineral granules with each rain. The granules wash through the gutters and settle into the ribs of the buried pipe.

After a few years there's enough of this sandy material that other debris starts getting trapped. We commonly remove several pounds of it per line.

Extension full of shingle gravel right under the downspout.

Massive shingle gravel buildup in drain — The cap here is buried under such thick sandy shingle gravel you can barely see it.

Lost caps

These lines should end in a clear exit point, usually a 4-inch cap in the yard. Caps get buried under grass, mulch, or landscaping. Once covered, they can't pop open or drain, and the pipe automatically backs up toward the foundation.

Most are only a couple of inches deep and simply need to be re-exposed and cleaned.

Clogged downspout cap lost under grass — Caps are often totally lost under the grass and thus automatically clogged.

Exposed drain exit with clogged cap — A buried cap can't pop up or drain. It's automatically clogged.

Root intrusion

Roots seek moisture, and these drains hold water while it slowly seeps away. Mix in sediment and it's a perfect place to grow. Often they simply come in through the exit.

Most of the outright failures we see started exactly this way: sediment sat in a damp line for years, and major roots grew unknowingly.

Massive root blockage pulled from buried downspout — Root intrusion at a drain exit, a common discovery during service.

Large root removed intact from drain — Most roots enter via the lost cap, and can often be removed intact.

A Small Job Next to the Ones It Prevents

The same five downspout extensions, at three points in their life.

Before there's a problem

Cleaning the drains you already own

$399

All five lines flushed clear as routine maintenance.

After the lines fail

Replacing ruined extensions

$3,000–$6,000

Excavating and re-laying those same five lines once roots and sediment have finished them off.

After the water gets in

Recovering from a flooded basement

$8,000–$12,000

Water removal, drying, and repairs for a finished basement after storms back up into the house.

Most of the lines we're called about don't need replacing. They need cleaning. It's also the only column here you get to schedule in advance.

Plumbing companies will sometimes take this on at $500+ per line. It isn't what they do. It's the only thing we do.

5.0 on Google

What Our Customers Say

"I have buried downspouts that had become clogged and causing water to sit on my porch. I found this company through recommendations from a local social media group. It was easy to get a quote and schedule online. Communication was excellent. Once the job was completed, I was sent a video of the process along with their findings and recommendations. Very satisfied."

Donna J. of Indianapolis

Google Review

"It was very easy to schedule and the price reasonable. They cleaned out a massive amount of debris that I was not able to come even close to. They marked my downspout extensions and they sent a nice video showing what they did. Excellent communication and work from the company. I will definitely be using them again."

Andrew S. of Zionsville

Google Review

"Amazing service that is fast, easy to book, and high quality work. The price was very affordable, especially for a two-story house surrounded by trees. And they proactively reduced the final bill because I chose an additional service that I ultimately did not need. The followup summary email was detailed and thorough (they took lots of before & after pictures!), and they also referred me to another service I needed. Will use again in future, highly recommend!"

Brad K. of Broad Ripple

Google Review

Get Your Price

Four steps. All online. No phone calls.

Count your downspouts

Best guess is fine.

Pick your date

You don't have to be home.

We clear each drain

Flushed until the water runs clear.

Photos, then pay

Proof lands in your email first.

Not sure how many drains need service? Pick a number to start and we'll do a visual check of the rest while we're there. You can describe your specific issues or upload photos as part of your request. We personally review and verify your pricing within one business day.

Before We Arrive

A few things that help everything go smoothly:

Decide which drains to service. We charge per downspout extension, even if several share an exit. Not doing all of them? Mark the ones you'd like cleaned with painter's tape, small flags, or just a note in your booking.
We'll need water access. A working exterior spigot is all it takes.
Keep about 20 feet clear around the work area. No people or pets nearby during jetting, just for safety.

Common Questions

Every three to five years for most homes, and more often with heavy tree coverage. Never had it done? Then it's due. Everything that's gone down there is still down there, and the longer shingle gravel sits, the harder it becomes to clear. Getting ahead of it is always cheaper than dealing with a full blockage.

Use our instant calculator: enter your drain count and see your price. The base starts at $299 for the first three drains, with a flat rate per additional drain. We'll confirm your exact rates before your appointment. The number of downspouts with extensions we service is up to you, but those rates never change at the door.

No, you choose the count. You're welcome to pick only a few. We do highly recommend taking the opportunity to get them all done, though, if you haven't had it done before, and definitely at least servicing any where you're unsure of the cap location. We'll let you know what we'd recommend, but the decision is always yours.

No. We just need access to your outdoor faucet and yard. You'll get a heads-up before we arrive. When we're done, your invoice arrives by email with verification photos and video of each drain cleared, plus a summary of what we found. Review everything, then pay online when you're ready.

A healthy buried downspout system has a solid connection at the base of the downspout with no washout or backflow, a known exit point or cap somewhere in the yard, and that area gets wet or soggy during rain. If you can't find your exits, see erosion at the base of a downspout, or the ground never gets wet where it should, those are signs the system needs attention.

Yes. All our equipment is designed specifically for the corrugated and PVC pipe used in residential downspout extensions. Our entire system is dialed into this single niche.

Yes. Downspout Doctor is run by Done Gutter, and gutter cleaning is our core service. Since gutter debris feeds directly into these buried lines, many customers have both handled in the same visit. See our gutter cleaning service for details.

We stop, document it, and explain what we found before doing anything extra. These pipes don't need to be in pristine condition, but we'll note any significant damage we find and can often quote repairs or upgrades for issues worth fixing. You approve before any additional work happens.

When a line is found to be truly crushed or in need of replacement, we'll try to mark where before stopping. We generally do not charge for lines we cannot clear beyond the minimum, as long as we can diagnose it relatively quickly and don't spend time attempting to salvage it. We can usually tell early.

Somehow we ended up knowing a lot about downspout extensions. We're a big hit at parties. The deeper dives live on our Learn page.

Browse the Learn articles

Your gutters drain into these pipes.

If your gutters are clogged, debris feeds directly into the underground system.

Gutter Cleaning

Straightforward Pricing

Starting at $299 for up to 3 drains · $50 each additional

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We confirm your exact pricing after a look at online imagery. We never change the rates we quote. The count of downspouts we service is up to you.

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