Weatherized

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Well its that time of year ago, the leaves are falling and the utility bills are rising. I see more and more about energy efficiency and how to beat the crunch of rising utility costs and wonder where this is all coming from. Is from the conscientious earth gaurdians that warn us of global warming and polar cap melting, or our own desire to save as much money possible during an economic downturn. Regardless of the cause, the effect is long overdue. But as an old building lover, I may have a somewhat different view from the typical HGTV ad.
You may have already read my rant about why you shouldn't replace your windows, but lets consider other energy alternatives. Now that you don't feel the need to get rid of the most character driving sources of your home, lets see what else we can do to help out the globe, and save a little cash at the same time.
Of course most ideas are best when fresh, but often times they do not come with the cash flow and timing to make it conducive to instant gratification. Not so if you think outside the box when it comes to this next project. You ready?... Water containment System. Whether its to obtain, contain, retain, or reuse, its all the same simple principle: find a water source, divert, and hold till desired.
We made our water system out of already available materials, and use it primarily for garden watering during the hot summer months. Our cost? Free, but that's because we were very frugal. But anyone can make one of these systems for very little by just looking around.
In the part of the country our little bungalow is in, "rainwater systems", otherwise known as gutters and downspouts, are not extremely popular. Due to raised foundations and the usual lack of very wet seasons, they are really not a necessity. Fortunately for us, our bungalow now has one, which is the base for our collection system. The other half of the equation is the holding tank(s). For this we obtained (2) 55 gallon drums from our local freecycle chapter. ( not familiar with freecycle?, Google it...very cool)
Building the system is as easy as could be, seeing how the collector( the downspout) is already in place. Next all we have to do is set up the holding tanks. We got a little creative and built a framing system so that we could lie 2 tanks on their side and hold up to 110 gallons on reserve, but 1 tank works just as easy, and in an area like central Mississippi, its hard to gather more than 55 gallons at a time any how. You will want to set the holding tank next to the downspout and cut a hole in the top for the downspout to go in to. You will also want to cut the downspout to a length of about 3 inches longer then where the top of the container will reach, so that the downspout goes completely in to the container.When connecting the holding tank to the downspout, an air tight system is obviously not mandatory, but a good seal with silicone around the connecting area of the downspout and the container will help keep away debris and most importantly mosquito's. Keep in mind that this will be a holding tank for water that will become stagnant, which is the perfect breeding ground for the little pests. Our system is equipped with a "hose bib" or spicket that we already had, but one can be purchased at any hardware store. Most recycled barrels will come with an attatched sealed lid, which is highly recommended, not only for the mosquito delema, but also because that type barrel will have a threaded spout hole already in place, which works very nicely when building your system with a horizontal orientation. Thread your hose bib into the barrel, either through the threaded spout hole or through a new hole you make with a standard spade bit. When making a new whole you will need to use a washer on the inside of the barrel to keep the bib in place and this is another great location for some of that silicone caulk we mentioned earlier.
Connect the hose up and you are done!! Most of the water will run through utilizing the pressure from the contained water, and though it is not a gusher by any stretch, it will make a good source for watering garden plants, filing up animal bowls, or even rinsing of your hands and tools after a fun day in the yard. All to save a little off the water bill, and most importantly, give you a reason to one up that pesky neighbor the next time he starts bragging about the new hybrid he bought to save mother earth.

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