Your gutter installation and roofing company will likely tell you that gutters are used to collect rainwater and direct it away from your home. This helps keep your exterior dry and prevent ground erosion. However, gutters can’t always be installed on every part of the house. An alternative is a rain diverter, which keeps areas like your doorway dry so you can come and go as you please without getting wet.
Apart from rain diverters, there’s also another way to defend your home against rain: downspout or rain barrel diverters. In this post, Hinkle Roofing discusses what they are and what makes them different from rain diverters.
What Are Downspout/Rain Barrel Diverters?
As your roofing contractor and gutter experts will tell you, the purpose of the gutters is to collect rainwater that falls on your roof. Once that’s accomplished, the gutters will direct the water to the downspout so it can be moved away from your home. Downspout diverters do pretty much the same thing but they deposit the water accumulated into a rain barrel for collection. Since the water is collected into the rain barrel, your downspout won’t just be depositing that water anywhere, protecting your home and your landscaping from too much water.
There are two types of downspout/rain barrel diverters. The first is the downspout with a hose. This type allows water to flow through your downspout, channels it to the diverter, then empties it into the barrel through a hose that’s attached to the lid, allowing automatic outflow. However, it does come with its drawbacks as the water can back up through the hose and into the downspout once the barrel is filled and hasn’t been replaced. It can also only be used if your downspout fully extends from the roof to the ground.
The second variant is a downspout diverter with an arm. The process is similar to the first downspout diverter variant but this time it flows out the arm attached to the downspout and directs water into the barrel. The arm automatically flips up when the barrel isn’t in use during the winter. However, it does not automatically handle outflow and must be used with a rain barrel that has the appropriate outflow to make it work.
Turn to Hinkle Roofing for your home improvement needs. We are your leading provider of roofing and siding installation services. Give us a call at (205) 352-1940 or fill out our contact form to request a free estimate. We serve homeowners in Tuscaloosa, Hoover and other nearby areas in AL.
