Eavestrough Draining into Ground -Walkway Ice Build Up

[jbarns]

I'm not sure how many homes have this issue but its been especially bad this year (at least in winnipeg). We have one down spout that goes into the ground due to the walkway being there. and then I guess it just take a trip underground to the middle of the lawn.

Every year this down spout freezes and the water overflows onto the pathway and freezes. Terrible design IMO, but I don't know of any better option. This year I have to De-Ice a 15ft by 5 patch often as it keeps melting/freezing. Since I never use the front door, I often forget to De-Ice and have been lucky so far that no one has hurt themselves.

The only potential winter solution that I thought of is to somehow plug that down spout making the water travel to the next one. Since it's winter melt, there shouldn't be that much water travelling at a time. I have no experience with eavestrough and down spouts.. so it was my simple solution.

Does anybody else know of any potential solutions for this annoying issue?

[airmail]

Let me guess where the mailbox is???

Make sure you have good liability insurance.

[TrevorK]

One temporary workaround would be to build a platform overtop of the icy patch for people to walk over. Ice would form underneath but no one would step on it. Then in the spring you can look at resloping your eaves so that you can place the drain spout in another spot.

[jbarns]

Let me guess where the mailbox is???

Make sure you have good liability insurance.

Of course

One temporary workaround would be to build a platform overtop of the icy patch for people to walk over. Ice would form underneath but no one would step on it. Then in the spring you can look at resloping your eaves so that you can place the drain spout in another spot.

That could work, I don't think there is a fix for resloping though, my house is a bungalow with a garage in the front. House is rectangle east to west and has the garage coming out to the north. The garage has a peak that drains east/west. So on the North/East side of the garage, is my downspout. The only option, IMO is to take out the downspout and make sure the eavestrough are levelled to the West side to drain, this may overload the west side eavestrough/downspout though.

Hope that made sense

Example (not my house)

[MacGyver]

In my area, we get many freeze/thaw cycles, so eventually the water drips down anyway from the snow melting off the roof because the eavestroughs are still full of ice.

I had the same problem, so I extended the eavestrough downspout over the walkway and into a hedge, then down inside the hedge.

After all that, it didn't solve the problem. I have the big skating rink outside my front door from the snow melting off the roof, and there isn't even a downspout there.

[jbarns]

In my area, we get many freeze/thaw cycles, so eventually the water drips down anyway from the snow melting off the roof because the eavestroughs are still full of ice.

I had the same problem, so I extended the eavestrough downspout over the walkway and into a hedge, then down inside the hedge.

After all that, it didn't solve the problem. I have the big skating rink outside my front door from the snow melting off the roof, and there isn't even a downspout there.

I have yet to have that issue, your eavestroughs are full of ice and they are overflowing with water? Doesn't sound right to me.

I could do something OVER the walkway like you say, but it would look really dumb. Very obvious cause its right in front of the house.