Rain barrell

[chrissum]

LOVE the leaf design! THat is very creative! I also like how your spigot is located on the bottom of the barrel! On a side note, we are having above average rain here in MO so far this year, same as last year!

 

[FarmerDenise]

GrowinVeggiesInSC, thanks for posting the pictures, now I can show SO, hopefully he'll make one or two or three for us.
The leaf design is a lot cooler than just leaving it white. I agree the color choice could have been better, but you make do with what you have.

 

[Rio_Lindo_AZ]

That sounds great!


Say goodbye to old Mr. Garden Hose!

 

[chrissum]

Well, so much for the rain barrell use this year, I took them down, we are 9 inches above normal in rainfall and the creeks and rivers are all out! THis time of year the grass should be browning and crunchy to walk on, but every morning heavy dew is present. Last year nearly the same, oh well, all my new trees planted are doing well so I cant complain to much!

 

[blue skys]

I just got a 250 gallon tank for free! It is sitting in my back yard waiting to be rinsed out and turned into another rain barrell! Al I have to do is put rain gutters on the 30x30 workshop, put it up on some cinder blocks and wait for the rain. I couldn't be any happier about this, now the garden will have it's very own rain barrell, no more carrying the water from the front of the house to the garden in buckets!!! And the shop has a metal roof, so the water will be much cleaner than the water from the house.
edited to add it already has a spicket (sp?) and everything... I'm very excited!

 

[Greensage45]

I am so glad someone bumped this post back up again. Remember my rainbarrel? (page 2), well it has been here all summer now and I still do not have a gutter, so I guess the SO was right about this being a premature purchase.

I can only blame myself. Besides we have only had two sprinkles and I doubt I would have captured that much rain anyways.

At any rate, I wanted to say that I finally started making my gutters. I decided that since I barely have a dime to add to this little venture that I had best be resourceful. So I took out two old pairs of jeans and cut the legs and began making my gutters from scratch.

I am just finishing the final stitching this afternoon and then I will install the gutter along the roof's edge. I have documented the entire process from cut to finish and I promise to post my pictures once I am done. I think it turned out really nicely. The worst of the procedure was treating the denim with linseed oil, or at least the wait time. I have been working on this since last week and I am so excited to have it completed soon. There is a tropical/hurricane coming up past us soon i hear.

be back later,

Ron

 

[lesa]

Okay- I can hardly wait to see how you have fashioned blue jeans into gutters!! Keep us posted!

 

[bluebird]

We finally have new guters and downspouts, so we need to move our rain barrel. Maybe out by the barn...it will be more convenient there.

 

[Greensage45]

OK, here we go, I did not want to make a new post for this since I think that anyone in the future that is interested in the rainbarrel post is likely going to be interested in jean gutters.

Sorry I keep saying gutters. I created a gutter, singular, although it was in parts to begin with the end result was one entire length (36 inch x 4 legs) so roughly over 10 ft.

Let's start with the jeans. Some will say "hey, these are not old jeans", but really they are because I busted out the rear on both of these. (I am a much healthier weight now LOL).

I cut a fringe onto one length. Sewed all my opened edges with sinew and then washed the two parts (I sewed two each side).

I cut the endcaps or end pieces

Here is the spout or water outlet from looking inside the gutter portion. The water will go through the pocket out into my barrel.

Next I took them onto the carport roof and nailed them down, stretching, and painted them my favorite garden project color, Ginger. It goes so well in gardens, it is sort of like terra cotta, but it is definitely called Ginger. Say goodbye to the pretty blue. Awww.

After drying I flipped my pieces over and nailed them again, this time on the inside of the gutter I applied several layers of linseed oil. I let this dry over several days in the sun stretched out. I also treated the end pieces, then sewed the ends together. The linseed oil dries nicely but it is a bit odoriferous to work with. You can see that it changes the jeans to a dark, almost black color.

Next is the preparation of my roof and the fitting process.

Ron

 

[Greensage45]

Next step: Making a support system for the gutter.

This was kept simple. I will just let the pictures talk.

Here you can see my rainbarrel patiently waiting

I hung the two pieces for a fitting

The final sewing and both pieces are one and are the proper length to fit. I hung the backside with a large U staple with a plastic backing. Then I have the front done with upholstery tacks.

here is the finished product, I tested it and the water flowed nicely!

and a view from the topside

Ahhh ... a job well done!

Ron