Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Rain chains
As we all try to think of ways to beautify our homes, rain gutter downspouts probably don’t come up first. I mean, really, what are there? 3 choice colors in corrugated aluminum or plastic at the local big box store! Could there be another option? Oh yes, they’re called Rain Chains.
From the very simple to, well, Infinity and Beyond……
They look and SOUND wonderful as the rainwater follows the chain into a rain barrel or basin. They come in a myriad of designs but you could easily make your own from left over copper tubing, aluminum pieces, old cowbells or whatever you may have laying around! Terra cotta pots, old small metal colanders and the list goes on. Talk about a cheap water feature!
For a tutorial on how to make the above terra cotta pot rain chain click HERE. PS, use any color you want to paint them or none at all! It’s your chain after all!
Choose where you want to put your chain. Ideally it’s somewhere visible, maybe by your door or somewhere you can see from inside your home or near a garden. Then, take down the downspout that’s there. Measure the length from top to bottom so you know how long your chain needs to be. By the way, make sure your gutters are secured well as the rain chains can be heavy and you may need to add additional gutter support. You’ll need a gutter strap to attach inside the gutter opening at the roof line to secure the chain.
Check out this easy tutorial from Michelle Kaufman and her Green-it-Yourself project on the fundamentals:
You can make this as simple as using curtain rings or as intricate as welding old spoons and forks for a unique design. You’ll want to secure the chain at the bottom. You can use a stake to secure it and place decorative rock around it OR you can hang it right into a rain barrel.
Here’s a link from roofingcalc.com with more information.
