Quieting Gutters and Downspouts

Rope and caulk are all you need

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Figure A: Drip-no-more solution

Squirt a bead of gutter seaming caulk around the drain opening, leaving a 1/4-in. gap. Use the same caulk to glue a 3/8-in.-diameter nylon rope next to the gap and drop it down the gutter and out the opening. Then glue it to the bend in the elbow.

Gutter downspouts with elbows can sometimes amplify the sound of water dripping through them, and if the gutter is close to a bedroom window this can get annoying. Contractors have tried fixes like installing a lead plate in the elbow and then a magnetic cushioned plate, but those fixes usually just change the tone from a metallic drip, drip, drip to a thud, thud, thud sound.

Here’s a better way to solve the problem. Caulk around the gutter drain and install a length of nylon or poly rope (Figure A). The water will wick down the rope instead of free-falling and hitting the elbow.