Rain barrels store rain water, stretching your water resources and saving money on your water bill. You can purchase rain barrel kits and supplies online or from your local hardware store. The challenging part will be finding a 55-gallon plastic drum. Your rain barrel takes only a few hours to assemble. Rain barrel water can be used to water plants in the garden. While you can't drink rain barrel water, you can use it for cleaning, car washing or to replace the water in your toilet tank. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Determine where you will put the rain barrel. You'll want to place it under a gutterspout or eaves of the house. If you're concerned about its appearance, you can paint the barrel so it blends in with the color of your house, or you can build a small shed to hide the rain barrel.
2. Using the drill, make a small hole 2 to 4 inches up from the bottom of the rain barrel. Take your plastic faucet and begin to thread it through the hole.
3. Apply silicone sealant to the faucet threads once the threads have begun to catch. Continue turning the faucet until you are certain it's secure. The silicone sealant will need to dry overnight, but you can continue rain barrel construction in the meantime.
4. Tape the mesh screen to the top of the rain barrel using the electrical tape. Having a mesh screen prevents bugs, leaves and other debris from falling in your rain barrel and contaminating your water harvest. Once you've fitted the mesh screen on the barrel, fit the lid on top. If your lid has no hole, you'll need to drill one.
5. Make a small cinderblock platform to support your rain barrel if you want to raise it off the ground. This makes it easier for you to harvest the rainwater and also prevents the full barrel from making an impression in your yard. Simply lay six cinderblocks on their side and hoist the rain barrel on top.
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