Just as Art was ready to do the water barrel project, Inga at Tai-chi told us that her husband, Glenn was going to be doing a rain barrel demonstration at the Urban Garden Center in Pearl City.
Although Art was pretty confident about his plans, we decided it might be a good idea to get some face to face instruction.
We were glad we went. There were a lot of hand-outs and we got to meet Glenn who you can't see because he's behind all those folks. He's wearing a paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) type hat.
Glenn recommended this type of faucet because he said it was easier to turn than the others. He also said the brass faucets are better because plastic deteriorates in Hawaii. We KNOW that for a fact!
Water and sewer tax in Hawaii is so expensive now that the Board of Water Supply is recommending that people make rain barrels for their houses.
So now Art was ready to begin the project he'd always had in the back of his mind ever since we moved to Hawaii.
First there was a lot of measuring, drawing, measuring, redrawing. Then came the trip to City Mill.
We bought a bunch of downspouts, gutter, screws, elbows, roofing glue, big long nails.
He cut slits in the roof flashing.
He then drilled holes in the gutter and inserted these long nails (spikes).
Yes, I did help with this. I got to hold up the gutter while he pounded them in.
Then he had to saw the downspouts to the correct lengths.
The next step was to install the diverter that would send water from the downspout into the rain barrel.
We went out again to buy a splash plate for the bottom of the downspout and he added a shorter section to divert the water away from the house.
All done!
Now there was just the roof to work on.
For the last part of the project, Art diverted water from another part of the roof to flow into the gutter which would then flow into the barrel. When the barrel is full, water will flow down to the splash plate and toward the street.
Art is feeling mighty pleased with himself now.
Remember when the solar panels were installed and how he keeps wanting clear skies and lots of sun? Now he wants rain too! On the positive side... rain or shine, the man is happy.
Although Art was pretty confident about his plans, we decided it might be a good idea to get some face to face instruction.
We were glad we went. There were a lot of hand-outs and we got to meet Glenn who you can't see because he's behind all those folks. He's wearing a paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) type hat.
Glenn recommended this type of faucet because he said it was easier to turn than the others. He also said the brass faucets are better because plastic deteriorates in Hawaii. We KNOW that for a fact!
Water and sewer tax in Hawaii is so expensive now that the Board of Water Supply is recommending that people make rain barrels for their houses.
So now Art was ready to begin the project he'd always had in the back of his mind ever since we moved to Hawaii.
First there was a lot of measuring, drawing, measuring, redrawing. Then came the trip to City Mill.
We bought a bunch of downspouts, gutter, screws, elbows, roofing glue, big long nails.
He cut slits in the roof flashing.
He then drilled holes in the gutter and inserted these long nails (spikes).
Yes, I did help with this. I got to hold up the gutter while he pounded them in.
Then he had to saw the downspouts to the correct lengths.
The next step was to install the diverter that would send water from the downspout into the rain barrel.
We went out again to buy a splash plate for the bottom of the downspout and he added a shorter section to divert the water away from the house.
All done!
Now there was just the roof to work on.
For the last part of the project, Art diverted water from another part of the roof to flow into the gutter which would then flow into the barrel. When the barrel is full, water will flow down to the splash plate and toward the street.
Art is feeling mighty pleased with himself now.
Remember when the solar panels were installed and how he keeps wanting clear skies and lots of sun? Now he wants rain too! On the positive side... rain or shine, the man is happy.
What a great blessing to be or to have a happy man.
ReplyDeleteI can hardly wait for the first rain test.
What a good job. What will you use the water for? We have one raisin barrel which we use for watering in the greenhouse and the garden. But we have so much rain here that we keep talking about installing another.
ReplyDeletewhat a professional job! And so worthwhile!
ReplyDeleteVery nice job! I think a rain barrel here would be filled in no time, the way it's been pouring down lately. Can I borrow Art for a month or so? :-)
ReplyDeleteWait a minute, Kay, do I have to get on a long list? Actually, could I borrow Art for a few decades?
Deletewhat a great job! Looks wonderful, and so useful too!!
ReplyDeleteWow! Lots of details. If Art likes sun, and rain, he's now got to figure out to catch rainbows!
ReplyDeleteMy brother lives in central Texas in a house he built with "a basement for storing water." It's really funky, and he has protection screens in the house's foundation to protect the water from skeeters breeding.
DrumMajor
men need projects to be happy. my hubby is happily working on a new table for the garage to put together his boat finally! lol...
ReplyDeleteWhat a project! It looks like, as usual, that Art completed it very successfully.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't your rain usually come in heavy cloudbursts? You will have gushers for sure. Interesting that Art didn't install the gutter across the whole span. But you should be able to fill that barrel, no problem, when it does rain.
ReplyDeleteHe didn't have to install the gutter through the whole span because the roof has a slight incline there. The rain does not run off the top part of that roof.
DeleteGood job, Art! David would have hired a handy man to do the work. He charges $25 per hour. Not bad and worth it to us!
ReplyDeleteThat's quite an accomplishment!
ReplyDeleteGreat job! Let us know how happy it makes Art as it starts filling up.
ReplyDeleteAdd me to the list of people who want to borrow Art. Dick doesn't know D-I-Y from D-U-I. The only thing he's built since we moved here was a set of stairs for his hot tub. They were to be temporary (10 years ago) and I designed them, then walked him through the construction thereof. Store-bought steps will be a must next year because the old temporaries are getting rather shaky.
ReplyDeleteArt is a man in a million, Kay. Cherish him (I know you do, but I just had to say it anyway).
K
So funny, rain or shine....I wish we could benefit from a rain barrel too, but unfortunately it doesn't rain enough on this side of the island. When it does rain, it comes down so heavily that we installed underground drainage to prevent flooding at our front wall. But with water bill going up, it should really be saved and stored in rain barrels. Thanks for sharing the idea.
ReplyDeleteL. from W.
That is so awesome! What a lot of hard work... Had no idea all that goes into using a rain barrel!
ReplyDeleteArt is a superman who can do anything..
ReplyDelete