Rain barrels can be placed inside screened-in areas for easy access.
Collecting rainwater runoff from a roof of a home or structure is one way those with green thumbs water their gardens. It's a cost-effective and environmentally efficient method, but rain barrels, large reservoirs that collect the water, are usually placed outside near a gutter spout. However, do-it-yourselfers can rig up a system that delivers water directly into an area such as a screened-in porch. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Measure the circumference of the guttering on your home. Jot the number down. Take down the guttering at the spout where the spout adjoins the rest of the gutter -- leave the actual guttering that channels water along the drip edge alone, as you need only the spout that runs vertically along one wall of the home.
2. Cut a hole in the screen at the top of the porch on the side that's facing the wall where the spout once was located. Positioning the hole in this manner aids in ensuring the flow of water is channeled between the shortest distances. Use a crafter's knife to make the cut so that mesh is cut cleanly and precisely. Measure about a quarter inch down from the hole in the mesh from inside the porch and mark the measurement on an adjacent wooden beam.
3. Screw in a small plank of wood, about a 1-by-1-inch plank or a similarly sized dowel rod, horizontally across the area you marked in step 2. This wood serves as a moderate support beam for the gutter spout. Slide the gutter spout through the hole, going from inside the porch to the outside, across the support beam you installed. Leave about a foot of gutter spout still inside the porch with the rest jutting out of the porch. Measure the distance from the free end of the spout to where it once connected to the drip edging.
4. Cut a section of guttering that measures this distance and connect the ends of the gutter piping together via the appropriate connectors. Seal the joint connectors between the spout, the guttering and the new section with waterproof sealant that prevents leakages. Slide the rain barrel or plastic tub underneath the open end of the spout inside the porch area. Monitor the barrel closely during heavy rains to guard against overspill.
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