MacGyveresque
Well, sometimes one just has to be creative at the spur of the moment. This is my solution to not running to the home improvement store during a continual downpour after I had gutters installed on my home but before I had any extensions or splash guards added to my downspouts. A shopping trip would have been anywhere from a 20 to 100 mile round trip and I had already ruled out the 20 mile trip so…
here is what I did, getting wet in the process. Remember it was raining. First I gathered 5 # cottage cheese containers, duct tape (a salute to Macgyver) and my garden hoses. Then I cut a circular hole in the bottom of the containers just a bit smaller than the male end of the hose and carefully inserted the hose into said hole. I say carefully because the first attempt ended in a busted bottom (not mine!) After I got the hose end into the container I used a judicious amount of duct tape to tape the hose into place, both inside (a lot) and outside (not so much) Now I was ready to try out my answer to the problem.
After stretching out the hose to a lower level away from the house I placed the container under the downspout, all the while trying not to displace the tape. It worked! After I created a siphon that is. So I was pleased and it definitely got me motivated to choose a conveyance for the rainwater being channeled from the gutters to the downspouts. Below you can see the steps I took, MacGyver style, and the results of my choices to replace the tubs and hose. Looks a little better. The only question I have now is if the flexible tubes are going to be breeding grounds for mosquitoes. I like the splash guards but they didn’t come in long enough sections to carry away the water so time will tell. I am hoping warm temperatures will evaporate the moisture but I have my doubts. Until next time, happy problem solving!
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- flexible downspout
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- downspout extension
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- MacGiver fix
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- garden hose as downspout
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- Red Green?
2 Responses to MacGyveresque
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I like your solution and skills! I used a flexible piece of plastic (used in notebooks) to direct the rain water in the gutters toward the house foundation. It was sleet melting after last year’s Super Bowl storm and melted slowly so could benefit the soil. A roll of duct tape and your genius works wonders, MacGuiver it is!
Ah, I see I misspelled MacGyver!