Wet Basement or Crawlspace? Fix the Downspouts First

Sources: gallons computed as roof sq ft x inches x 0.623; distances from the U.S. Department of Energy Building America Solution Center; leakage from HUD, American Housing Survey 2011, Atlanta.

Keep the soil next to the foundation dry

University of Georgia entomologist Brian Forschler, talking about the moisture that draws termites, put the whole goal in one line: “The goal is to keep the soil right-up-next-to the foundation dry.” Termites or not, that is the job your gutters and downspouts are there to do. Every gallon that lands within a few feet of the wall is a gallon the clay has to deal with.

Source: UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Field Report.

Check the gutter before the ground

A downspout can only move the water that reaches it. Gutters packed with pine straw and sweetgum balls spill over the front edge, and that water drops straight onto the foundation no matter how good the drainage is below. So we start at the roof edge: a gutter cleaning and flush test, repairs for runs that have lost their slope, and, under heavy trees, gutter guards built for pine needles so the buried lines downstream never clog.

Source for distances: U.S. Department of Energy Building America Solution Center, “Gutters and Downspouts”, which also calls for the ground to fall at least 0.5 inch per foot for the first 10 feet.

How we handle it

A Solutionist follows each downspout from the gutter to where it empties, marks the wet spots you show us and plans a route for each one in writing. Gutter and downspout work is ours. New buried lines and emitters go in with our drainage partners, and existing underground drains can be cleared as an add-on to a gutter cleaning where that service is available. Either way, Josh Bowie’s local team stays your contact from the first call to the last shovel.

Underground lines work best as part of what the Brothers call the trifecta: properly sized gutters, a mesh guard on top so needles and gumballs never reach the pipe, and buried drainage carrying the water well away from the house. Skip the guard and you risk a clog underground, which is the hardest kind to clear.

• Red clay splashed up the brick, siding or foundation beside a downspout.
• Erosion channels or bare, washed-out clay below a downspout or extension.
• Pine straw and mulch washed out of the beds along the house.
• Water sheeting over the front of a gutter instead of going down the downspout.
• Water still standing against the wall hours after the rain stops.
• A damp or musty crawlspace, or water sitting on the vapor barrier.
• Water lines or white mineral deposits low on basement walls.
• Rotted trim or fascia low on the house, a sign water has been sitting there for a while.

When it is more than a gutter problem

Not every wet basement or crawlspace is a gutter problem. Groundwater, a plumbing leak, a lot graded the wrong way or a failed foundation drain can all do it. If that is what we find, a Solutionist will say so plainly and point you in the right direction. You will not be sold pipe you do not need. What we can do is take the roof water off the table, which is usually the simplest piece to fix.

If rotted wood shows up along the roofline while we are there, fascia board replacement can be done with the gutter work, and if your gutters are too small for the roof above them, 6 inch gutters carry more water to each downspout.

Ordinary rain adds up. Atlanta averages about 15 days a year with an inch of rain or more, based on 1991 to 2020 records. Summer storms come harder: NOAA’s Atlas 14 puts the one-hour rain Suwanee should expect about once a year at 1.32 inches, which sends about 27 gallons a minute off a 2,000 square foot roof.

Then there are the big ones. During Helene in September 2024, Hartsfield-Jackson measured 11.2 inches in 48 hours, beating a record from 1886 by more than an inch and a half. Inside our service area the National Weather Service recorded 12.52 inches at Stone Mountain, 12.17 inches at Dunwoody and 11.65 inches at Tucker. On a 2,000 square foot roof, 11.2 inches is close to 14,000 gallons, all of it headed for your downspouts.

Flooding is not rare here either. NOAA’s Storm Events Database logged 42 flash flood reports on 21 separate days across our core counties from 2016 to 2025, from Gwinnett, Forsyth, Cherokee and Hall out to the Athens area.

Sources: NOAA ACIS station data, Atlanta, 1991 to 2020 (computed); NOAA Atlas 14, Suwanee; National Weather Service via WABE; NWS Peachtree City Helene event summary; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (computed).

Thinking about a French drain?

You are not the only one. Around Atlanta, searches for “french drain” draw about 42% as much interest as “gutter cleaning”, and they peak from March to May, right when spring storms show people where the water goes. A French drain can be the right call for groundwater or a soggy yard. But if the water in your basement or crawlspace starts at a downspout, fix the downspout first. It costs less, and it may be all you need.

Source: Google Trends, Atlanta DMA, past five years, pulled October 10, 2026.