With day’s till we install the gutters, we got the last of the water catchment preparations completed!
With my uncle coming in just a few days to install the gutters, I realized just how much work was left to be done.
We had gotten a lot already done, but there was still a lot to do.
So, I took a day off work, and got busy.
The whole point of this project is for water catchment, not really rain water direction. Last year, our one IBC tote didn’t cut it with the chickens and the garden. This year, we want to do that.
We also hope that before long, we’ll be able to look into our drinking water, not just water for livestock and gardens.
Mistakes were made
There are few things I hate more than having to re-do work. But I had to today. The work I had done in cutting and ripping the 1×4’s so I could glue them and use for the hangers… didn’t work. Part of it was the glue, part was the board, part was just a bad design.
Once I realized that I was going to have to rip all those 1×4’s, I should have stopped, thought a moment, and just went ahead and used 2×4’s. Because that’s what ended up happening.
Cleanup and preparations
While the plan was to put guttering on the chicken coop and the splitter cover, I realized just how many leaves were around, and below the leaves? Who knows. Also, on top of the chicken run, which is fully enclosed with hardware cloth because of predators, was also covered with leaves, and we’ll be on top of that. So, I took to the leaf blower to clean up the work areas some.
Because we’re not just installing gutters, but the whole point of this is for water collections, I wanted to get barrels in place so we’d know where downspouts would go and how long to make them. Cinder blocks, bricks, barrels were moved all over the place, but things were starting to take shape.
Behind the living room cabin, I also needed to finish getting the IBC Tote in place. As we worked on the gutters in that area, I didn’t want to run into a problem of the gutters going where the totes should be. I had an idea, but it’s easier to do, if the tote was already in place.
Once all of that was in place, I was able to finally get back to the blocking for the cabin. I got the 2×4 my wife painted, cut it down to size. Then ripped the blocks to the correct thickness, and painted the ends to help with looks and rotting.
By the end of the day, the water catchment preparations were complete. It’s just a matter of waiting for Saturday to get here so we can get the guttering installed!