DIY Life

I recently offered up a DIY Life construction feature on building a rain barrel. I am very happy with mine; the (somewhat spotty) rainfall here in the north Georgia metro area, combined with my water saving techniques, puts ample water in the barrel to take care of my annual flowers and the newly installed plants in my yard.

When I built the barrel, I mentioned that I would temporarily use a hose for a discharge line but that, after some testing, I likely would make the change to hard pipe. My intent was to discard the hose laying on my deck and, more importantly, increase the discharge flow from the barrel. I am very pleased to report that my goals have been well satisfied. If you have a rain barrel, this upgrade just might be the thing for you.

Take a look at the gallery -- it'll be helpful.

After this past week here in New England, I can't imagine talk of a drought. The creek that runs through our backyard is a raging river and I don't remember what the sun looks like.

Yet the rain inspires me to write about some fun rain projects you can do around your yard and with your kids to pass the time on rainy days.

Since we have gotten so much rain, I thought it would be fun to measure the amount of rainfall that has graced us. It is so easy to make a rain gauge ruler, from an old olive or peanut butter jar and this printable rain ruler. You can graph the daily rainfall with your kids -- or your science-minded husband! -- and make it something to look forward to on rainy days.

I'm not from Bremerton, Washington, nor do I know anyone who is, but I'll be darned if their city website doesn't have one of the best, most in-depth rain barrel tutorials I've ever seen. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, a rain barrel is simply a barrel (or any large container) that's been set-up for the sole purpose of collecting and redistributing rain water. Typically rain barrels are attached to one of your gutter's down spouts, which essentially widens the water collection area to the size of your roof. A properly installed rain barrel can collect up to 55 gallons of run-off with just a few inches of precipitation (or less), which you can then use to water your lawn and/or garden.

Rain barrels are easy to make, inexpensive, good for the environment, and can save you quite a bit of money on your water bill during the Summer months, so why aren't you using one? What's that you say? You don't even know where to begin when it comes to making a rain barrel?! Well, you're in luck, my friend, because that's exactly what we're going to cover in this article.

Materials

1. 55 gallon barrel
2. Louvered screen or atrium grate
3. 3/4" brass faucet
4. 3/4" hose adapter
5. Teflon tape or all-purpose caulk
6. Two runs of garden hose
   

Tools

1. Drill
2. 6" hole saw bit
3. 29/32 drill bit
4. 3/4 pipe tap

Time
Minus cleaning time, about an hour.