Project Rain Dance...Complete!

This project was a year in the making!   No joke.  We started the rain barrel project last May!  You can read up on the initial work here.  Basically the barrel was purchased on Craigslist {of course!} and we painted it to match the house and protect it from UV rays. {to prevent mold}

The purpose of a rain barrel is to collect rain water in a green effort to conserve water consumption.  The rain water is then used to water the lawn and garden.  It's easy, energy efficient and great for the environment.  Many commercial rain barrels can run from $50 into the $100s!  Check your local city programs to see if they offer rain barrel making workshops!  {Usually around $40 for everything!}

 

The original plan was to attach the barrel to the back of our house, but in the end we decided to put it on the back of our shed.  It made more sense because the veggie garden is back there, and it would be easier to water everything down there with the barrel, rather than drag the hose down.

So the first step was to attach a gutter to the back of the shed.  Matt actually got this step done by himself while I was at school one night.  {heart him!}  Next was getting the water spigot attached to the barrel.  The following tools were needed:

My freaking awesome new drill

Drill bit {large enough to bore the right sized hole}

Waterproof caulk {we used clear}

Caulk gun

Reducing washer

Gutter and downspout {we used plastic}

Detailed step by step directions can be found at YHL.
But this is how we did it... 

First, we drilled a hold into the barrel base.  

We had a barrel that didn't have a removable lid, so we didn't exactly follow directions from here on out.  Basically there was a lot of calking involved to prevent water from leaking out. lol.  The reducing washer was attached using caulk, then the spigot was coated in caulk as we threaded it into the barrel. 

 We coated the outside of the spigot and reducing washer with more caulk as well. Matt stacked the decorative bricks to have it raised enough so that we could get a bucket or watering can underneath the spigot. 

  The next few steps were dirty and happened so fast I didn't snap pics.  But we got some fiberglass window screen and cut a square to attach it to the opening of the barrel with a rubber band.  This is to keep any large debris out.  We then positioned the barrel underneath the down spout and cut it just right so that it sat on top. 

 We then topped the barrel with white rock and decorated with some flower pots I had laying around.

Underneath the barrel was filled with white rock as well to prevent anything from trying to grow or live in the empty space.

 View of the back of the shed now!  We absolutely love it!  Not long after this shot... it rained! yay! 

Total cost was approximately: $70-80 {Including the rock}
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I'm all linked up at these parties!