Are you considering Rain Barrels: DIY or Buy for your home?
We bought our rain barrels but you can DIY rain barrels relatively easy also. I’m sharing both options with you to help you decide.
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Option 1: Buy
We purchased our rain barrels a few years ago. We live in a rural area and have well water rather than city water so water conservation is an important factor to us. Our rain barrels are great for those hot dry days in summer when our shrubs and flowers are in need of watering.
The photo above is one of our rain barrels during a heavy rain. The barrel is already full so the rain splashes off the top. This would happen with any rain barrel without an overflow hose, and possibly with one in especially heavy rainfall. Notice the base which is actually made of concrete and wood. A good sturdy base is important.
We selected attractive rain barrels with a place on top for plants. It is a good idea in theory but when the barrel gets full and the rain doesn’t stop, the plants suffer from too much water as you can see from the look of these pansies. It’s not a deal breaker though. I just haven’t planted flowers on top of the rain barrel anymore.
We are very happy with the use and function of our rain barrels. We placed one in the front of the house and one in the back which so far has been sufficient for us. We do not use a pumping system for ours relying instead on the natural flow thus the need to create a tall sturdy base.
Option 2: DIY
Bonnie at Our Secondhand House has a very easy to follow DIY tutorial for the above rain barrel. She includes step by step photo’s and a full list of supplies needed. They added an overflow hose at the top of the rain barrel which is nice. Go HERE for the full tutorial.
Whether you Buy or DIY, here are a three important factors to consider before installing a rain barrel.
Three Important Factors
Location
Consider your location carefully. You will want your rain barrel located in a place which provides ease of harvest in relation to what you will be watering. Will you be filling containers and hauling the water to various locations across the yard?
Collection
How will you be collecting the rain into the barrel? Downspouts are the most ideal method but you could also use a rain chain.
Base
The base for your rain barrel needs to be very sturdy to support the weight of a full rain barrel. It also needs to be a good height to allow the rain water to flow out with ease if you are not using a pumping system. Do you want to fill a watering can from the spigot? If so, your rain barrel base will need to be high enough to sit the can under the spout.
Would you DIY or Buy?
We paid about $80 each for our rain barrels a few years ago. There are lots of rain barrels on Amazon with a wide price range. We see rain barrels at Sam’s Club this time of year as well. If you are a DIY’er, you could quite likely save about half the cost by making your own. Would you DIY or Buy?
Shirley Wood
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Lela says
I’ve been considering using rain barrels to recycle water for using in my garden. You have convinced me that I should do it. Thanks for sharing at Inspiration Thursday!
Jenn @ The Art of Better says
The one you purchased is gorgeous! This is something that we have been thinking of doing, thanks for the comparison and for linking up at the Monday Mash-Up!
Amanda Smith says
Thanks for this post and the link to the DIY article!
As for buy or DIY, I’d love to have both! DIY out back by the garden where they are not viable from the road. Then the prettier ones you can buy out front where they are visible to everyone who drives by.
PS. I featured this information on the Hearts for Home Blog Hop!
Sian says
What a fab idea! I’d definitely try DIYing though I love the style of the one you bought.
#BrilliantBlogPosts
Cara (@StylishGeek) says
Oh how very interesting! I have never seen a rain barrel before but that is very useful! If I were to install that in my home the pipe has to be cut for the rain barrel to fit. I would have to think about that since the water leads directly into the drainage system.
Shirley Wood says
We had to do the same thing with our downspouts. It was an easy task to cut them so that the water went into the rain barrel. Downspouts are made of a very thin metal. My hubby did it in just a few minutes.
Fi Ní Neachtáin says
I’ve never heard of rain barrels before, our rain just goes into a drain. I got the buy and DIY options wrong though, I thought they were the other way around. Your DIY one looks professional with all the tubes from it 🙂
Shirley Wood says
I know, right! Didn’t they do a fabulous job on their DIY Rain Barrel. If my hubby was more into making things, he may have tried it but alas, we went with the Buy option.
Addie says
i can’t wait to have my own home so that I can practice collectig rain water! I always figured I would DIY it, but your collectors are so beautiful, I would rather have something attractive like that!
Shirley Wood says
I love having rain water for my flowers and shrubs when it is so hot in the summer months. Rain Barrels hold a LOT of water. Ours are almost never empty. They both get the job done but we went with the Buy option.
Tammilee TIps says
The idea of a rain barrel with a hose like this! I never thought to make a rain barrel like that before. We get a ton of rain in Washington but the past couple of years the summers have been dry, so this would be great for water the flower brushes.
Shirley Wood says
I’ve always heard there is a lot of rain in Washington. Our summers tend to be hot and mostly dry which is why we wanted the rain barrels. I love being able to conserve and feed my plants rain water at the same time.
Miranda (Myrabev) says
I am not that familiar with rain barrels but I can definitely see the appeal for either making one or buying one to fit one’s needs. I think this would have been useful when we were in Zambia during drought times.
Shirley Wood says
I hope there is water conservation methods in place for countries and areas suffering from drought conditions. I have seen some interesting things to use including portable rain barrels made of a very lightweight material, fascinating. I saw a water ‘wheel’ in Readers Digest designed to help transport water for countries in drought.
Kim Propp says
Rain barrels become popular in my country, We are looking for this weekend and now you’ve shown what is really good, buy or diy? haha I think I’ll try the DIY, this can save money and if t’s not good I’ll buy.
Shirley Wood says
Yes, I’m certain the DIY is more than half the price of Buy. We purchased ours a few years ago so I know they cost more now. If you are handy with tools, DIY is definitely the way to go for frugality.
Mary says
We were just discussing this at our home. This definitely will assist in what route we will go
Stacey says
I’ve been wanting to get a rain barrel. I would love a DIY one, but i do prefer the visual of the bought one that you have. We have a summer garden, and a lot of plants in our yard, so we could definitely benefit from one.
Shirley Wood says
We really like the aesthetic appeal of the Buy option more as well. Plus my hubby is handy with tools but didn’t want to make a rain barrel. A local fine dining restaurant here has rain barrels installed and hid them with shrubbery which was clever.
Amanda says
Rain barrels are becoming more popular in my area and I see why. It sounds like such a great way to be eco friendly and to use whatever you already have in order to keep up your garden (our plants require so much watering). We have also thought about potentially making a compost pile!
Shirley Wood says
We do enjoy our rain barrels. I have had a compost pile for many years. This year I’m doing something a little different. I’m adding my fresh fruit and veggie scraps as well as coffee grounds straight into the ground in my flower beds. I just dig the ground and hoe it up. We shall see what kind of difference that makes.
Tyra says
This is interesting, especially living in CA where there is a major drought. If I had plants I would be all over this idea. But that would require it to rain here, which doesn’t really happen all that often. But in a state down south, this would be a perfect idea.
Shirley Wood says
I have heard much in the news about the drought conditions in California. We have gotten a lot of rain this spring here in Ga. so far. Our rain barrels are full right now.
Erlene says
This is a silly question, but I’m assuming your house has to have rain gutters? We don’t have those. I guess the majority of the homes in SoCal don’t have them because of the little rain here? I know homes in Hawaii had them because it rained all the time.
Shirley Wood says
We do have gutters but you can use a rain chain if you don’t have gutters. I added a link in the post to rain chains on Amazon.
Danielle Wells says
Hubby and I just bought a house with well water and I’ve been seeing rain barrels all over since today is Earth Day. So the rain that collects in the rain barrel, you reuse for watering plants? Is there anything else it can be used for? I really need to do some research! 🙂
Shirley Wood says
We only use ours for watering flowers and shrubs. I do fill a watering can and water my houseplants with it sometimes, they love it too. Our dogs would be happy to drink it if we were to fill their water bowls with it.
Kristen from The Road to Domestication says
We have already priced and found the rain barrels that we want, actually. We are NOT DIY people LOL I wish we were!
Alli says
We don’t have rain barrels, but I’m putting this on my to-do list. I probably would have gone with the pretty one like you did and would have never thought that the flowers would get too much water during a hard downpour. I like your solution – don’t plant flowers in them. It’s such a great way to conserve water and plants really love it, too.
Chubskulit Rose says
I love this idea. You can really save big time on water bill when you have rain barrels. I wish I have one right now because it has been raining here. I will ask my hubs to make me one like this.
Cindy (Vegetarian Mamma) says
I have always wanted a rain barrel to use to water my flowers. My husband was against it with some of the rain barrel designs. But you’ve shown a great one with flowers in your post and I think he’d go for that. I will be showing him tonight. I hope I get one!
Brook Devis says
such a usefull and intressting post. i love the options for diy you talk about. the 2 diy is really nice and intressting thanx for sharing.
Stephanie of The TipToe Fairy says
I noticed a neighbor down the street had put up rain barrels, and I love the idea. We have automatic sprinklers, so it’s easy to water, but I love the idea of conserving, especially to water our garden.
Paris (My Big Fat Happy Life) says
Thank you for the information! My parents have been wanting to add rain barrels to their house so i’ll be sure to share the information.
Shirley Wood says
It’s always good to do a little research prior to any new things. We didn’t do that so we were not aware of the need for the overflow drain. We are still happy with our rain barrels though. They have been getting a LOT of use here lately with all the rain we’ve had.
Heather @ Divas Run for BLing says
Haha…I love the DIY version 🙂 I have been considering getting a rain barrel for our house. Maybe I will try the DIY one out..
Shirley Wood says
Bonnie did a great job with that DIY version and her tutorial is so easy to follow. We do some DIY things but the rain barrels aren’t one of them.
Nancy (@spiffykerms) says
I’m all for rain barrels!! I feel like saying “I wish the California residents would take this on”. But truthfully, there hasn’t been a lick of water the entire time we’ve lived here (okay maybe a trickle of water here and there) but with the drough it’s gotten terribly dry.
Shirley Wood says
I feel like there are probably a lot of rain barrels in use in California but they just need some rain to go into them. We are in a rainy season here in Georgia but during the hot summer months those rain barrels will pay for themselves.