Wooden barrels can serve as natural looking water storage tanks for your home and yard.
Wooden water storage tanks are a convenient way to capture and store rain runoff for later use in the yard or garden. Sitting above ground, they are easy to access and maintain. Although plastic containers can be less expensive, wood offers a more natural look that many people prefer. Wooden storage tanks also allow you to avoid substances like BPA, a chemical found in many plastics. According to the the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some studies have found that BPA affects the reproductive system of animals. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Clean the wooden barrel thoroughly using non-toxic and non-synthetic chemicals. Attach the lid firmly. Put on your safety glasses and work gloves.
2. About 2 inches from the bottom of the barrel, drill a hole with the hole saw. Apply some epoxy glue to the inside wall of the hole itself, and fit the 3/4-inch spigot tightly within the hole with the spout facing the ground. This will be for draining the water in your rain barrel for use.
3. Drill a second hole with the hole saw, about 1-inch from the top of the barrel, making sure the lid will not cover the hole. This hole is for overflow should the barrel become too full.
4. Place the atrium drain on top of the barrel lid, and trace the circumference of its base with the marker. This circle can be anywhere on the lid. Cut out the circle with the saber saw, and fit the atrium drain within the hole in the lid.
5. Select a downspout or gutter on your house, under which you can position the wooden water storage barrel. If necessary, cut it off with the miter saw at a point high enough that the barrel can fit under it when sitting on the cinder blocks. Reattach the angled end of the cut-off spout section to the cut end of the spout attached to the house.
6. Place the cinder blocks under the cut downspout, wide enough apart that the wooden barrel can sit sturdily on them. Position the wooden water storage tank on top of the cinder blocks so that the downspout will pour into the atrium drain.
7. Use the water in the wooden water storage tank by turning the spigot and filling a hose or watering can.
Tags: water storage, atrium drain, cinder blocks, hole with, wooden water, hole with hole