set up a rainwater collection system off my shed roof?

[Carolinamandolina]

Hello - I've got one of those 250 litre water tanks and a shed - would like to set up a simple guttering system to catch the rain off the roof and direct it into the tank, but have no experience of this and could do with some help. All I can find on the internet is systems with pipes coming off the existing guttering of people's houses - but how do you do it when you just have a shed with no guttering on it?

I'd find it really helpful if people could post photos of their shed/tank set up?

Thanks!

[Green Aura]

I don't know if it'd work but you can buy smaller guttering systems for greenhouses. Something like that might be useful.

[TheGoodEarth]

You will need to put guttering on your shed to collect the rainwater and funnel it into the water tank, just like you would with a house. Very simple DIY job.

[pumpy]

don't forget to fit a tap to the tank (if doesn't have one), and stand the tank on a sturdy base (bricks?), so you can get a bucket/watering can under. If the tank hasn't got a lid, it will pay to cobble one together to keep the sun/leaves off. Good luck

[dave45]

How do you do it when you have a large overhang/eaves?
I have that problem on my self-built greenhouse. Left the guttering till later... still can't think of an elegant way to do it.

[KathyLauren]

It depends on the structure of your roof. If you have fascia boards on the ends of the rafters, you attach the gutters to them. If you just have bare rafter ends, you attach the gutters to them. If the rafter ends don't reach the edge of the roof, then you will have to improvise some construction to provide a support for the gutters.

[Big Al]

How do you do it when you have a large overhang/eaves?
I have that problem on my self-built greenhouse. Left the guttering till later... still can't think of an elegant way to do it.

This link is to my recycled greenhouse and you can see the runner boards that are fixed to the top of the frame [ on the long side ]. This has the gutter brackets screwed to it and the black plastic is under the roof glass so that the rain all runs into the gutter.
http://www.selfsufficientish.com/forum/ ... greenhouse

HTH

Ba

[dave45]

My greenhouse is a bodged / partially recycled affair too !
16 beautifully-engineered aluminium frames chucked out from a school where my dad worked in the 80's, left at the bottom of his garden for 20-odd years... plus bits of a freecycled knackered greenhouse, plus a recycled patio door, plus some new stuff !

My overhang is about 12 "... which is a bit of a challenge ! I'll have to use some of these scrap pallets to make a support frame I think !

[KathyLauren]

Okay, I see the problem. If it were my project, I'd make a bunch of 2-foot-long pieces to extend your rafters. One foot of each piece would be sistered to an existing rafter, leaving the other foot to make up the distance to the edge of the roof. Be sure to cut the ends of the rafter extensions at an angle so that they are vertical once installed.

[pumpy]

Just a thought...... if the overhanging roof is of a sturdy enough material, could you drill/pierce holes in the ends, then fashion some brackets using wire coat-hangers (these are surprisingly tensile), for the guttering to lay in?