shutters and perhaps a white door to make it stand out more. Thanks!

Add some budget friendly curb appeal to your front entry with these 4 tips! Tip #1 - Add urns to either side of your front door. See my post to learn how I decorated these urns on a budget and more of my budget proof tips and tricks here: http://www.settingforfour.com/2013/05/4-tips...

So my younger brother and a helper came and went to work on this. Had to move and replace the ingrown sprinklers, (got a visit from the city months later that someone turned me in for doing sprinklers without a permit but she agreed no problem if REPLACING old to new in same quantity) My other brother helped with the final work of placing the pipes.

So here is when we first dug up the yard...but there was family medical emergency keeping up from being able to finish for about 2 months so this wonderful crab grass kept taking root! even in 100 degree heat with zero water! Guess I should have watered that!

We bought Sod from a local company (not shipped in) cut up and put down in one day! Moved brick from 2 sides of the driveway to a single side to make a nice pathway to the door,

Then last pictures are of what it looks like now...still not complete...I have some more perenials to behind the newly planted Petunias...

paint! Preparing the surface of outdoor furniture is they key to make sure the paint finish is beautiful and lasts! http://www.thecreativityexchange.com/2013/04...

the middle of the night as trees crashed down around us. We had made no preparations. I heard the roar of a waterfall as it cascaded into my basement. First I hurriedly ran all our camping gear upstairs (cook stove, lantern, etc.), then valuables were cleared from the first floor. After just 20 minutes it became eerily quiet... the basement was full... no more roar of water. I was about out of time. Anything remaining on the first floor was stacked on countertops and tables. Next, I ran outside and tied up the boat, it was already floating away, and we might need it to escape later. I wore a rock climbing harness to do this safely in the waist deep moving water. After the flood there was mud everywhere. The remnants of an old deck was left in my yard by the flood. I salvaged the old decking and used it to make a temporary side walk to keep us out of the mud as we cleaned up. I got old fire hose the fire department had culled out for free and screwed it to the boards... so in my case we really could roll up the sidewalk at night. I later made several more of these walkways, using pallet grade white oak. This was published as a tip for staying clean at muddy construction sites, but it was inspired by disaster: http://www.finehomebuilding.com/how-to/tips/...

barn's metal roof, provides 100% of our annual watering needs. The best part, it was extremely easy to install, and can be inexpensively adapted to almost any home, shed or roof with a gutter.

We spent the past week hooking our tanks back up from winter storage - and within 24 hours - we had just over 150 gallons stored from a single rain. It's been over a year now since we first completed the rain collection system - and I honestly don't know how we survived without it.

It gives us access to free water, and with our two plastic tote tanks, can collect as much as 550 gallons from a single downpour. And that's only using rain from the back portion of the roof! This spring, we will add a third tank fed by the front gutter - increasing our storage to just shy of 900 total gallons - enough to handle our watering needs for nearly two months of complete drought.How it works:

The system collects rain water from a simple adapter made to fit our existing barn's gutter. The barn has a standard gabled metal roof measuring 13 wide' x 32' long on each side. A 32' section of guttering runs along the bottom of each side of the metal roof, slanted slightly to carry all of the water to the eastern side of the barn. From there, both sides empty into standard downspouts.The front downspout (not used currently), runs down and out to the field for normal drainage. On the back downspout however, we installed a simple 2-way in-line diverter (See Picture). When the metal lever is slid to the left, rain water is diverted into a 275 gallon storage tank located below the downspout. When all tanks are full, the switch can be slid back for normal drainage.From the main storage tank, we pump and fill a second 275 gallon tank installed above our garden. With that, we can water all of our plants quickly, using gravity and a standard garden hose connected to the tank.To increase capacity and mobility, we are adding a second diverter to the front gutter this year. That will fill a 3rd tank mounted on wheels - giving us the ability to pull water anywhere it's needed with our tractor. That will be a huge time saver when it comes time to water the newly planted grapevines and fruit trees on the hill this year.

Here is a look at the system's components and cost:

Totes: $40 each We found ours for $40 each after searching on Craigslist. You can also check with local food plants that may receive their raw materials in them. One word of caution - make sure you know what was originally in your tanks and that it is safe. Our tanks were used to hold maple syrup and molasses - simple food products that can be cleaned out and re-used. You will want to avoid using tanks that held harsh chemicals. Most tanks come with a 6" threaded cap on top, and a 2" threaded outlet valve at the bottom. You can convert the bottom 2" valve to accept a standard garden hose with a few adapters found at your local hardware store.

Diverter Switch : $15 You can find standard gutter diverters at your local home improvement store for about $15 - they install in minutes with rivets or screws.

Threaded Valve and Hose Adapter: $15 Your local plumbing or hardware store can hook you up with a simple threaded connection valve to convert the 2" drain at the bottom of your tank to handle a regular garden hose. We also installed a ball valve ($10) on our tank for an extra shut off point.

A couple of final notes on collecting and using rainwater:

Keep It Dark: You will want to keep the water from getting direct sunlight to keep algae from growing in the stagnant water. Algae can only grow if there is light. If your tank is translucent like ours, you will want to cover it. We use a black waterproof material (like grill cover material) to cover ours once the summer sun and heat become a problem. Not only does it dress it up, but it keeps the water and the flow line crystal clear.

Keep It Closed Off: No matter what system you use to store your water, you will want to keep it covered. Water that sits is an open invitation to mosquito larvae . Our totes came with 6" caps and lids on the top. We simply cut out the hole for the downspout, and then sealed the edge with some inexpensive foam.

Know What To Use The Water For: We only use our reclaimed water for watering plants or washing off equipment ,etc. Since we do not treat it in any way, we do not use it for drinking.Check to make sure your allowed to collect rain water. It sounds crazy, but in some states out west you are not allowed to collect rain water, as the water rights still belong to the state. So to be on the safe side, check with your local or state government to make sure it's legal where you live.

Happy Gardening!! - Jim and Mary.

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