Do You Need Gutters To Use A Rain Barrel

Rain barrels collect rainwater from your roof by rerouting a section of your gutter s downpipe into a nearby reservoir.

Do you need gutters to use a rain barrel.

If rain flows off your roof because you have no gutters the water causes massive erosion washing away more and more soil each time it rains. Shorten the gutter if you can easily place the rain barrel underneath where a gutter drains you may need to just place a barrel underneath a short downspout talk to a gutter installation expert about how to shorten a downspout and fit it into a barrel. Erosion also causes the foundation to settle. You can even feed it into another trashcan or rain barrel and double triple quadruple whatever your storage.

Since roof slopes will vary from home to home so will the trajectory of the water that streams from a roof through a crevice or crease during a storm. Rain barrels provide an alternative to using municipal water or well water for irrigation. They are generally not required by law on a sloping roof and many modern homes omit them even in instances where they are beneficial. This causes your carefully sloped landscape to wear down allowing runoff to flow toward your home instead of away from it.

When it gets near the top the water will drain out of the tube and go where you direct it. Many times you can simply direct your gutter downspout into a top opening in the rain barrel. Most homes direct water into the barrel with gutters and downspouts but even homes without gutters can use a rain barrel. Choose a location for the rain barrel ideally beneath your gutters downspout that s closest to your garden or where you ll need the water.

Make sure that your rain barrel will be on a flat surface that can support the weight of a full barrel which can be up to 300 lbs. They are fairly simple to install and once you have one set up the environmental protection agency estimates a single 55 gallon rain barrel can save you up to 1 300 gallons of water during the hot summer months. Rain gutters are the most controversial type of gutter. I find i don t need much more than 30gal at a time and we have relatively frequent rains in our area.

A rain barrel is a container that collects runoff from your home s gutter system connecting to the downspout with a rain diverter or fitting under a modified downspout. A spigot or hose connector lets you drain the water for use around your landscape. In order to decide for yourself whether rain gutters are necessary for your home it is best to first weigh the facts. You may not need any additional parts or accessories and your project is done.

1 walk around your house during the next rain and observe the water. Most sloping roofs can accommodate a rain chain even without a gutter.