Why downspout extensions & drainage works differently in Cambridge
What makes downspout extensions & drainage in Cambridge unusual is not the technique, it is the age spread of the housing: a single route can cover 1910 brick and 2019 factory-built venting.
Older Cambridge stock was built when soft lime mortar and clay liners were the standard; modern high-efficiency appliances vent very differently, and the mismatch causes condensation the original builder never planned for.
The swing between a January cold snap and a February thaw can move a masonry assembly enough to open joints that looked sound in the fall.
Across Franklin, Christopher Champlain, Cambridge Centre, Lang and Doon, the housing stock changes street by street, and the correct method changes with it. A century home with a soft-brick stack does not get the same treatment as a 2010 build with a factory-built vent — using one method on both is how systems get damaged.
If you live anywhere near the Grand River, the practical takeaway is that a downspout extensions & drainage visit should start with an assessment, not a tool. Any crew that begins work before telling you what they found is guessing on your behalf.