Paint, imagination can transform basic rain barrel

So, how do you transform a bright blue 50-gallon drum into a rain barrel that looks attractive in your yard?

Some paint and a little imagination.

Paint leaves or flowers on your rain barrel. Make them look like stained glass art pieces. Or go for something more rustic, like a whiskey barrel.

The Alabama Clean Water Partnership offers instructions for constructing a rain barrel and a list of needed tools and parts on its website at www.cleanwaterpartnership.org (look under current projects). A basic rain barrel has three components: The inlet where water enters the barrel; the outlet where water exits the barrel; and the overflow so excess water can flow out of the barrel once it is full.

For this basic design, you’ll need a spigot, a sump pump hose, fiberglass screen and a bungee cord.

Something to keep in mind if you do your own rain barrel – your barrel must be food-grade quality. While harvested rainwater is not intended for drinking, you do not want chemical residue in the barrels that could contaminate plants and vegetables. Finding such a barrel might be your biggest challenge. The clean water partnership uses barrels donated by Coca-Cola and gives them to attendees of their make-and-take rain barrel workshops.

Painting your barrel will help protect it from sunlight. You can clean your barrel with a mixture of water and vinegar, dry it, give it a light sanding with a fine-grit paper and then rinse with water. Use outdoor primer and paint for your barrel, allowing each coat to dry completely. Finish off with two coats of polyurethane.

To get a whiskey barrel look, choose a brown and a black paint. Coat the barrel in brown and then free-hand the “wood” splits with the black paint, placing your vertical lines at equal distance from each other all around the barrel. Blend the paints to give the barrel a more authentic look.

To finish off your rain barrel, install a spigot at the bottom and the overflow hose at the top. Cover the top of your barrel with the fiberglass screen (which should prevent any mosquito problems) and secure with the bungee cord.

In deciding where to place your barrel, remember once the barrel is full of water, it won’t be so easy to move. A full barrel can weigh more than 400 pounds.

You can attach a hose to your barrel’s spigot or simply use it to fill watering cans. Placing your barrel on blocks improves the pressure of water as it exits the barrel (the higher the barrel, the better the pressure). You may also want to locate your barrel near where you plan to use it most so that you can direct the overflow hose toward a specific area for extra watering.