We got a second rain barrel Saturday morning at a special discounted sale for Hennepin County residents (got our first one two years ago at a similar event).  Eventually I would like to have about 8 of them, but with my budget, I’ll have to build up slowly.  Here’s how we installed it:

First of all, Adam built a little platform out of some scrap lumber.  It is not necessary to raise your barrel off the ground like this, but it sure makes it nicer to use.  You get much better water pressure.  If you want to use your rain barrel with soaker hoses, a platform is a must.

The platform from a different angle (it’s next to my tomato jungle).

Next, saw off your downspout approximately 9 inches above where the top of your rainbarrel will be.  Adam held a piece of plywood behind it so he wouldn’t damage our siding with his saw.  This is why I married him.  That never would have occurred to me.

If there is a bracket holding your downspout to the side of the house, remove it and move it up.

Attach the curved bottom piece to your downspout.  Adam had to drill out a couple of rivets in order to get it in there.

Assemble your barrel.  This will vary of course depending on what you get.  Here I’m adding the overflow thinger to the back of the barrel.

YAY!  Rain barrel installation complete.  Took less than 30 minutes.  OK, that doesn’t include the time it took Adam to build the platform, which he reports was about another 30 minutes.  He’s a skilled carpenter though.

I’m so jazzed about this.  Now I can use this to water my garden and get a two-for-one every time it rains.  I got super lucky too because it rained really hard last night and now we have two barrels full of water, all ready to go!