This post is very near and dear to my heart because if I had had this information two years ago my rain barrels would've been done-two years ago! I honestly had no idea just how easy it is to make a rain barrel until I finally got all the right equipment and used it! I've had the rain barrels for over three years now but was lacking the right drill bit and was not sure on the right fittings. Fear of failure kept me from attempting to put the rain barrels together. All the 'how to' lists I had seen on rain barrels would not give specifics on what type of fittings to use and how to drill the holes for the fittings. I don't know, maybe I am a bit behind and that info comes innate to some? If so, then I apologize to all of you but for me the learning curve was a bit steeper even with help from you all. Here is what I learned to finally make it happen for me.
I used a forstner bit to drill the hole into the rain barrel. I was so afraid the hole would not work out right and the forstner bit intimidated me a bit. Don't know why but it did. My rain barrels were the standard plastic ones and I knew the plastic had to be at least 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. I did not think a normal twisty bit would work and I knew a hole bit would not work because they are iffy at best when I've used them to drill holes in gourds so I kept wondering what kind of bit would drill a good hole in hard plastic. One day Mr. Fix-it and I were shopping at Harbor Freight and he pointed to a forstner bit and said that was what I needed to drill my good round perfect holes into the rain barrels. I immediately purchased a 3/4 inch forstner bit since I knew my hose bibbs were 3/4 inch.
Here are the hose bibbs with the 3/4 inch clearly marked on the outside of the brass fittings. Here is my problem. The 3/4" means the inside of the hose bibb and not the outside-the part that will have to fit into the hole. Uh oh. Okay, back to a hardware store with a tape measure and the hose bibb to ensure I got the right sized forstner bit. Turns out I needed a 1 inch forstner bit in order to fit the 3/4 inch hose bibb into the hole. Who the heck comes up with all these measurements and why can't they be straightforward? Like why isn't a 2 x 4 actually a 2 x 4?? Okay, that is another story but hardware and measurements are not strong points for me so I'm making sure to put this out there for other not so savvy measurement-hardware-drill bit shoppers who may also have some questions as I did. Bottomline: Whatever size hose bibb you buy make sure you buy the bit to fit the outside of the hose bibb and not the inside.
I stabilized my barrel between two saw horses then proceeded to drill a hole approximately 3 inches up from the bottom in the location of the barrel I needed my hose for easy access. The forstner bit made the hole perfect! It is important to have a good tight and perfectly round hose in order for the hose bibb to fit snug and not leak. Prior to screwing in the hose bibb I applied plumbers tape to my threaded end of the hose bibb so that all the threads were covered. The last and final step was to screw in the hose bibb. This was the easiest part indeed-righty tighty-lefty loosey and the bibb is all in nice and tight and waterproof! Not a leak in sight! Okay, confession, I did not screw my first hose bibb in tight enough so I had a slight leak. It was an easy enough fix in that I simply gave it another turn-while full of water! More on that rain barrel in a later post....
in the garden.... Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,
In the Garden
Rain barrels are a must for recyclers and avid gardeners who may want to conserve water, or maybe just use rain water instead of tap water to water their plants. Rain barrels are something I have wanted for a very long time. My grandmother used to have a rain barrel. It wasn't fancy. Just an old metal barrel placed in a location to receive rain water. She would dip her watering cans in the barrel to fill them with water. I remember her telling me rain water is so much better for the plants than tap water. I am not sure how true that is, but the benefits of reusing rain water rather than letting it all drain away is much better for all of us. On that note I have been planning to make some rain barrels for Tiger Gardens for nearly three years now (shhh-a bit of procrastination on my part but hey). Anyhow, we are nearing completion and I thought I'd share one part of making my rain barrels with you today. I am not finished making them but have all the parts and need only to drill the holes and figure out a way to tap into the gutters then I'm set. Sounds easy right? Not really. The easy part is the painting so let's look at how I painted mine.
The first thing I did was procure three 55 gallon black plastic food grade rain barrels from a local auto parts store (Frogue Auto Sales). The cost was $12 per but the Clarksville Re-Store has white ones for $10. There are other sources around as well if you are interested in other sources just email me. I prefer the black barrels so the water can soak up all the sun-what little my home gets here. Once I had the rain barrels my next step was to clean them well and to coat them with Fusion plastic paint. I wanted a subdued color and one that would blend with the surroundings. I settled on a brown textured paint as you can see in the picture above. I only painted two of the three barrels because one of the barrels will be my water source inside my greenhouse and I preferred for it to stay black and simple. I may add something to that barrel later but since it will be tucked into an already space starved greenhouse it need not be fancy because I doubt anyone but me will see it.
My first rain barrel with the words 'Tiger Gardens' on it and a beautiful sunset was pretty easy. I used good quality acrylics and patio paints. In my high school years I used to paint a LOT. My grandmother, who was an excellent artist, passed on her oils and acrylics to me. I treasure them and recently found them and decided to start painting with them again. I had stopped painting once I had my twins just out of high school but they are grown now and I have more time to spend outside of the garden so I might start painting again.
I spent a lot of time on this sunset trying to get it just right. You know how you have a picture of something in your mind and the reality doesn't always translate well? Painting is like that for me. I was not happy with my sunset until my teenaged son came and asked me, "Did you paint that sunset?" I replied, "Yes." He said, "All by yourself??" I said "Yyyeeesss." He then said, "You are a pretty good artist!" I know I've arrived to a great place when my teenager likes something his mother did! That doesn't happen too often.
The second rain barrel did not go as well. I had a clear picture in my mind of what my rain barrel would look like with an iris (Tennessee's State Flower) on it. Unfortunately, what that picture in my mind looked like was not translated to my hand all that well:( Sometimes that happens. Nonetheless, I'm happy with my newly painted rain barrels and have their spots picked out already. Now to drill those holes....
in the garden....more to come later.
I forgot to say I coated the final paintings with a clear coat of polyurethane spray paint and I'm hoping that makes the paintings last!
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,
In the Garden
