Catching Rain Without Gutters

The younghouselove rain barrel.

Catching rain without gutters.

Many householders set up rain barrels to catch the water as it drips from the roof reducing runoff and erosion while preserving water for garden use. Today houses are built with roof gardens that naturally absorb the rain and grow an insulating layer of grass. Roger cook evaluates a couple alternatives for moving rainwater effectively. The rain will collect in gutters that channel the water into downspouts and then into some sort of storage vessel.

It doesn t get much better than that folks. If you want to collect rainwater without a roof or downspout you can use a tarp instead. Rainwater collection systems can be as simple as collecting rain in a rain barrel or as elaborate as harvesting rainwater into large cisterns to supply your entire household demand. I have a big garden set back from the house that is hard to get a hose to.

Build this water catchment system. To collect rainwater you can attach a rain barrel to your home s downspout so when it rains the water flows directly into the barrel. 20 rainwater catchment system no gutters required. But even homes without gutters can use a.

But if you do not have a roof garden you can still collect and use rainwater. This just consists of digging a v shaped trench at the drip line i e the place where water falling from the roof overhang makes contact with the soil. Because it is mulched with woodchips it retains moisture after rains pretty well but i can still use some supplemental water during the dry periods of summer. And if that doesn t just send you over the moon in the end you get a rain barrel that will help you catch lots of rainwater to keep your property well maintained at no extra cost.

It is easiest with gutters around your roof but there are methods of rainwater collection even without gutters.