A garden is for pottering and working. Creative DIY enthusiasts can let off steam here and create the most beautiful works of art. Do you make a lot of the things in your garden yourself? Why not the rain barrel too? With the help of the instructions on this page, you will soon have a useful specimen decorating your property that will certainly look nicer than the conventional models from specialist retailers.
How do I build a rain barrel myself?
To build a rain barrel yourself, you need wooden panels, screws, metal rings, fleece and pond liner. Attach the wooden panels close together vertically, screw them together, install metal rings for stability, line the interior with fleece and pond liner and fix the liner at the top edge.
Construction instructions for a normal rain barrel
Material
It's best to use wood for your own rain barrel. The material is easy to process, is weather-resistant and also looks beautiful and natural. For sealing you will also need some pond liner (€10.00 on Amazon) and fleece. How to proceed:
- Place wooden boards close together in a vertical position so that there are no gaps between the individual boards.
- Screw the boards together at both the top and bottom.
- Additional metal rings ensure even more stability.
- You screw these together once around the barrel with every other board.
- Now line the inside of the rain barrel with fleece.
- This is used to protect the pond liner.
- Also consider the soil.
- Place the pond liner over it.
- Push the foil to the inner edge of the bin.
- Fix the film at the top with a metal ring or environmentally friendly adhesive.
- Be careful not to damage the film.
You may realize that you have underestimated your water consumption and that your self-made rain barrel simply has too little volume. In this case, building a water collection system is a good idea:
Construction instructions for a water collection system
Material
To build a water collection system, you need several barrels with a minimum volume of 200 l. Alternatively, you can also use garbage cans, as long as no environmentally harmful substances have been stored in them before. In any case, you should clean the containers thoroughly.
Instructions
- Choose a location in close proximity to a downspout.
- Level the ground at the desired location.
- Create a gravel bed at this point to promote water drainage.
- This should be 2 cm thick in total.
- Make a concrete podium.
- Drill a hole in the rain barrel and install the outlet tap.
- Install the overflow valve in a second hole in the upper area.
- Connect the barrels with more holes at the bottom.
- The last step is to direct the downpipe into one of the barrels.
