Water Butt

[Blackdogjnr]

Just planning ahead, want to preserve rain water for topping up the pond this summer (just incase we actually get a hot dry one that is!)

I'm thinking of getting a water butt.
I have no room near the house and no desire to tap into downpipes or anything though.

However, I have an outhouse and space nearby for a water butt.
I know very little about their design and workings, so, would I be able to somehow channel water from the flat roof of the outhouse into the butt?
Or do some simply sit there and collect rain water in the open?

I am als aware of birds in the garden and the drowning hazard too...

Any advice would be ace.

[Kayleigh]

If you put guttering round the roof you can get a down pipe for a greenhouse that fits into the butt..
You can get them from garden centres and DIY shops.
Not sure about a flat roof though..

[Hedge Witch]

Yes, that's a tricky one. I remember my dad had a flat garage roof and an old enamel bath for collecting water (people who lived through the "last" war really did know how to recycle, didn't they) . The roof never got water-logged and so I'm thinking he sloped the roof (he built it himself) and the guttering along the back edge collected the water.

Before we added our guttering to the "outhouse" I used to make do with the garden table - I just found the corner where the water naturally flowed from. It's surprising how easy it was to collect fairly large amounts from this alone.

The water on your roof must leave at one or more well-defined points. Find one of these and post a piccy if you can, Blackdogjnr, and I'm sure someone will advise on the correct fittings and brackets for the guttering.

[Ollie]

Don't know how you would get water off a flat roof into butts but it's certainly worth having a water butt.

We have a kitchen extension with a sloping roof and have a couple of water butts. The water feeds into the first butt via a down pipe and when the first butt is full it feeds into the second butt through a piece of plastic piping that I used to connect the two butts together. Just drilled a hole very near the top of each butt and put the piece of plastic pipe through each butt and sealed the joint holes with waterproof mastic..

We always keep lids on ours and use a pair of ladies tights as as a strainer or sieve over the down pipe end to stop any muck from the roof getting into the butts. It's cheap and easily replaceable when it gets to dirty.

We use the water for the greenhouse in summer and it's also great for swilling the car off after it's been washed as it doesn't leave streaks on it like tap water does.
Roger

[Blackdogjnr]

Excellent advice gang!

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts.
I'll have a proper look around at the weekend and think about my options.
I reckon I'll end up moving things around and getting a slimline butt to go up against the house after all....

Any excuse to buy ladies tights eh ollie?

[Lancashire Lad]

I've seen old wheelie bins useds as water butts on allotments, (useful recycling there ), with taps fitted near the bottom (easily obtained from DIY stores).

They mostly had small down pipes feeding into them from guttering on the roofs of sheds or greenhouses.

These wheeliebin butts were each positioned on top of a couple of concrete blocks, so that the taps could be at the very bottom, while still allowing space to get watering cans etc. underneath.

Regards
Mike.

[earthdragon64]

We've got a water-butt collecting from our guttering at the rear of the house, it's great for watering the garden, and for filling the bird baths. Only problem was it froze solid during the last cold snap.

[muddyfeet]

Water butt is always a good idea. If in summer there isn't enough rainfall, I just siphon the bathwater out into it. I'm on a water meter, so the savings are probably well worth it.

[ron1863]

If you have a plastic downpipe from the roof guttering on your house, then it is very simple to cut into it to connect a pipe to a water butt. DIY stores sell a kit along with water butts to do the job.