Rain barrels. Frankly, this past summer has been sooooooo rainless, I think my act of building them is a modern version of the rain dance, only instead of dancing, traditional singing and a celebration of the earth; there was instead lots of swearing. :)
So let's begin!
The barrels.
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These are food grade barrels that I got from a local salad dressing company that I found on craigslist. Just type in rainbarrels and you will surprised what will come up.
Before I get to modifying the barrels I had to first prepare the ground...
I dug out a plot 4 feet by 2 1/2 feet. 4 inches deep.
If you notice the pipe in the upper right corner, well, that's were this happened...
One must know where all water lines run in ones back yard before driving sharp shovels into the ground.
And here is a very handy tool to keep around...
This little gadget allows one to shut off the main water line so the geyser of water shooting from the ground will stop. ;)
It was a humbling moment.
After a while, the ground soaked up the water and I was able to continue.
I then filed it with 2 inches of sand, to allow for expansion and contraction during the hot hot hot Texas summers and the chilly and occasionally freezing winter months.
I also started placing my bricks. Keep a level handy. You want to try and keep them as level as possible, but be aware, some settling will occur during flight.
With all the brinks in place. I took the remaining sand and spread it out over the bricks to fill in the cracks...
My ground is now prepared for the barrels.
That is the end of part one.
FYI: I got the bricks at Home Desperate for 1.39 a piece, the sand was cheap. Each 50 lb bag was 99 cents.
Tomorrow: What are those blue things? Part 2. I modify the barrels and install all the piping. Weeeeeee!!
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