Entryway rainwater management - gutter, rain chain, or?
Jen Hans
5 years ago
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miss lindsey (She/Her)
5 years agoBeverlyFLADeziner
5 years agoRelated Discussions
rain chains?
Comments (22)Laurie, thank you! We're enjoying being in a home again so much. As far as the rocks go, we tried that, but didn't help much. Bird baths are nice, but the West Nile Virus has everyone so cautious about any standing water, so that's out. Another gutter guy should be out this week sometime, so we'll see where his price tag lands! I am so sorry about your mom getting ripped off - those scumbags, and there were and are a lot of them here, since Katrina,should be sent off to prison. To take advantage of someone, especially someone who has already lost so much is more than a crime. I hope your mom was able to recover her money. nonacook, I'm hoping one of the bright sides of Katrina (if there is one!) is that we won't have many leaves in the gutter, since she blew all the trees down. Our lot was an empty canvas. We have planted one live oak in the front, a red maple, several crape myrtles, and Little Gem Magnolias - all away from the house. So, we shouldn't have a problem with leaves for a while....See MoreRainwater collection - best methods
Comments (34)Depends how you disperse your rain water after it is in the barrels, but if dipping buckets or watering cans into them, it is preferred to have one 55 gallon drum full rather than 3 of them one third full. There is the matter of getting the water OUT. It isn't just leaning over the side (and 55 gallons are tall) but lifting the water gets harder the further down you have to dip. We have 5 rain water plastic storage containers. All but one is a 55 gallon drum, we got them all free. One is under a downspout. It has a faucet and hose at the bottom. When it seems like it will rain or is raining heavily, we will run the water through the hose to another 55 gallon barrel. Those are both completely open on the top. Two others are backup storage. Water is run via hose from the first into those when the secondary one is full. They only have a small opening, so the water in them has to be siphoned back into their more open neighbor to use it. The fifth is a large sturdy wheeled garbage container, maybe 70 gallon size. Hubby carries water in 5 gallon buckets out to this container which is by my vegetable gardens. I dip into there to water plants. Slow but except for the faucet we attached to the bottom of the barrel under the downspout, it was all free. So this is our part to save the planet and not waste water, as we don't actually pay for our water supply per se. On the plus side, you get more exercise and you never worry that you have left the hose running. :-) Marcia...See MoreRainwater collection?
Comments (3)I'd be happy to buy rain barrels from the local water works, if they'd deliver them (S&H for rain barrels bought online can be steep.) If I cannot find a company to install a cistern, I plan to buy 10 - 12 rain barrels, 75 to 80 gallons each, and connect them to various downspouts to feed hoses and sprinklers. We'll just bypass the irrigation system. We used just two rain barrels at a previous house, during an earlier drought, and that helped to save quite a few new shrubs....See MoreRainwater Barrels
Comments (5)I also got mine at a Pinellas County workshop, years ago, but now it sits unused. It filled quickly, but then what? Scoop out by hand each pan-full for in-between rain storms? It was at the top part of my slanting yard, under the largest torrent from the roof, and I hooked a soaker hose to it to run dwnhill into the yard. I didn't see any difference in the volunteer grass, weeds, and wildflowers in the area of the hose. So, in this sandy soil, it seemed a "so-what?" If anyone has read this far and would like to have mine for free, let me know. You may have to reply online as I can't get the GardenWeb to change my computer address to my current one (and add "contact me"). Irma in St Petersburg...See MoreJen Hans
5 years agoBeverlyFLADeziner
5 years agoJen Hans
5 years agocat_ky
5 years agokudzu9
5 years agoFori
5 years agoDavidR
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoJen Hans
5 years agoJen Hans
5 years agochiflipper
5 years agomiss lindsey (She/Her)
5 years agoJen Hans
5 years agohemina
5 years agoJen Hans
5 years agoJen Hans
5 years agohoussaon
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoElizabeth B
5 years agoJen Hans
5 years agomiss lindsey (She/Her)
5 years agoJen Hans
5 years ago
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Jen HansOriginal Author