Any suggestions how I can collect rainwater off my house roof,
although I don't have a downpipe or a soakaway?
It seems insoluble to me, but maybe one of you clever people may have
an idea. I can't contemplate digging soakaways. Is there any
alternative?
Hopefully it will rain again one day!

Pam in Bristol

On 30/7/06 23:40, in article ,
"Pam Moore" wrote:

Any suggestions how I can collect rainwater off my house roof,
although I don't have a downpipe or a soakaway?
It seems insoluble to me, but maybe one of you clever people may have
an idea. I can't contemplate digging soakaways. Is there any
alternative?
Hopefully it will rain again one day!


Pam, I must be missing something here. Don't you have gutters and therefore
downpipes which could be put into a water butt? A soakaway wouldn't help
you *collect* rain water, it would just let it - well - soak away.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(email address on website)

"Pam Moore" wrote in message
...
Any suggestions how I can collect rainwater off my house roof,
although I don't have a downpipe or a soakaway?
It seems insoluble to me, but maybe one of you clever people may have
an idea. I can't contemplate digging soakaways. Is there any
alternative?
Hopefully it will rain again one day!

Pam in Bristol


Do u have a garage or a shed or any other roof around your garden?

"Pam Moore" wrote in message
...
Any suggestions how I can collect rainwater off my house roof,
although I don't have a downpipe or a soakaway?

Add a downpipe.
--
Brian

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 30/7/06 23:40, in article ,
"Pam Moore" wrote:

Any suggestions how I can collect rainwater off my house roof,
although I don't have a downpipe or a soakaway?
It seems insoluble to me, but maybe one of you clever people may have
an idea. I can't contemplate digging soakaways. Is there any
alternative?
Hopefully it will rain again one day!


Pam, I must be missing something here. Don't you have gutters and
therefore
downpipes which could be put into a water butt? A soakaway wouldn't help
you *collect* rain water, it would just let it - well - soak away.
--

I imagine the OP like me, lives in a terraced house. Both of my neighbours
have a downpipe, but I don't. We catch water off the garage roof into a
large tank scrounged (as ever) from a skip.

Steve

I imagine the OP like me, lives in a terraced house. Both of my neighbours
have a downpipe, but I don't. We catch water off the garage roof into a
large tank scrounged (as ever) from a skip.

Steve



Very easy to get up there, cut a chunk out of the gutter, insert the bit
with a spout under, and fit a down pipe into a water butt :-))

I did that a few years ago and have 3 water butts standing in the courtyard
:-))
(One will be going onto the new verandah guttering system when it is
finished)

Mike


--
------------------------------------------------
Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association
www.rnshipmates.co.uk

On Mon, 31 Jul 2006 08:16:08 +0100, "shazzbat"
wrote:


"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 30/7/06 23:40, in article ,
"Pam Moore" wrote:

Any suggestions how I can collect rainwater off my house roof,
although I don't have a downpipe or a soakaway?
It seems insoluble to me, but maybe one of you clever people may have
an idea. I can't contemplate digging soakaways. Is there any
alternative?

Pam, I must be missing something here. Don't you have gutters and
therefore
downpipes which could be put into a water butt? A soakaway wouldn't help
you *collect* rain water, it would just let it - well - soak away.
--

I imagine the OP like me, lives in a terraced house. Both of my neighbours
have a downpipe, but I don't. We catch water off the garage roof into a
large tank scrounged (as ever) from a skip.

I should have said I am in a terrace.
My worry is that in winter I will not need the rainwater, and once the
butt is full, the excess has to go somewhere, necessitating a
soakaway. I don't have room for more than one butt.
Short of going up a ladder and putting a bung in the downpipe once the
butt is full, is there any other option?



Pam in Bristol

"Pam Moore" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 31 Jul 2006 08:16:08 +0100, "shazzbat"
wrote:


"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 30/7/06 23:40, in article ,
"Pam Moore" wrote:

Any suggestions how I can collect rainwater off my house roof,
although I don't have a downpipe or a soakaway?
It seems insoluble to me, but maybe one of you clever people may have
an idea. I can't contemplate digging soakaways. Is there any
alternative?

Pam, I must be missing something here. Don't you have gutters and
therefore
downpipes which could be put into a water butt? A soakaway wouldn't
help
you *collect* rain water, it would just let it - well - soak away.
--

I imagine the OP like me, lives in a terraced house. Both of my neighbours
have a downpipe, but I don't. We catch water off the garage roof into a
large tank scrounged (as ever) from a skip.

I should have said I am in a terrace.
My worry is that in winter I will not need the rainwater, and once the
butt is full, the excess has to go somewhere, necessitating a
soakaway. I don't have room for more than one butt.
Short of going up a ladder and putting a bung in the downpipe once the
butt is full, is there any other option?



Pam in Bristol

A tap on the downpipe would solve the problem.You would need to make sure
that any joints on the downpipe were solvent welded (assuming plastic
downpipe) as the joints are not designed to withstand pressure.

"Pam Moore" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 31 Jul 2006 08:16:08 +0100, "shazzbat"
wrote:


"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 30/7/06 23:40, in article ,
"Pam Moore" wrote:

Any suggestions how I can collect rainwater off my house roof,
although I don't have a downpipe or a soakaway?
It seems insoluble to me, but maybe one of you clever people may have
an idea. I can't contemplate digging soakaways. Is there any
alternative?

Pam, I must be missing something here. Don't you have gutters and
therefore
downpipes which could be put into a water butt? A soakaway wouldn't
help
you *collect* rain water, it would just let it - well - soak away.
--

I imagine the OP like me, lives in a terraced house. Both of my neighbours
have a downpipe, but I don't. We catch water off the garage roof into a
large tank scrounged (as ever) from a skip.

I should have said I am in a terrace.
My worry is that in winter I will not need the rainwater, and once the
butt is full, the excess has to go somewhere, necessitating a
soakaway. I don't have room for more than one butt.
Short of going up a ladder and putting a bung in the downpipe once the
butt is full, is there any other option?


You don't say whether you have a garage, shed or greenhouse. If you have any
of these, your best option by far is to collect water from its roof. If you
haven't got one, but can acquire one, (Freecycle?)Your best opportunity is
before building it, laying a base or whatever, sort out the fall, ie one end
being slightly higher than the other, in order to have the water come off at
the point it suits you. Sorting it out later is much harder.

Steve.

On Mon, 31 Jul 2006 09:19:55 +0100, "shazzbat"
wrote:

You don't say whether you have a garage, shed or greenhouse. If you have any
of these, your best option by far is to collect water from its roof. If you
haven't got one, but can acquire one, (Freecycle?)Your best opportunity is
before building it, laying a base or whatever, sort out the fall, ie one end
being slightly higher than the other, in order to have the water come off at
the point it suits you. Sorting it out later is much harder.

Thanks, Steve, but my garden is so small that if I put up a shed I'd
lose half my garden! Garage is in a separate block, not on my own
property.
I think I'm stuck!

Pam in Bristol

"Pam Moore" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 31 Jul 2006 09:19:55 +0100, "shazzbat"
wrote:


Thanks, Steve, but my garden is so small that if I put up a shed I'd
lose half my garden! Garage is in a separate block, not on my own
property.
I think I'm stuck!

Pam in Bristol



No ! No ! There is a solution to every problem (almost ! )

Could you not ask one of your neighbours if you could fit a "rainsaver"
device in to their downspout and connect it via a hose to your barrel.
Assuming you get the height correct, the barrel will not overflow and there
would thus be no need for a drain or a soakaway on your property.

Regards
Pete
www.thecanalshop.com

"Pam Moore" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 31 Jul 2006 08:16:08 +0100, "shazzbat"
wrote:


"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 30/7/06 23:40, in article
,
"Pam Moore" wrote:

Any suggestions how I can collect rainwater off my house roof,
although I don't have a downpipe or a soakaway?
It seems insoluble to me, but maybe one of you clever people may have
an idea. I can't contemplate digging soakaways. Is there any
alternative?

Pam, I must be missing something here. Don't you have gutters and
therefore
downpipes which could be put into a water butt? A soakaway wouldn't
help
you *collect* rain water, it would just let it - well - soak away.
--

I imagine the OP like me, lives in a terraced house. Both of my
neighbours
have a downpipe, but I don't. We catch water off the garage roof into a
large tank scrounged (as ever) from a skip.

I should have said I am in a terrace.
My worry is that in winter I will not need the rainwater, and once the
butt is full, the excess has to go somewhere, necessitating a
soakaway. I don't have room for more than one butt.
Short of going up a ladder and putting a bung in the downpipe once the
butt is full, is there any other option?


How far away is the nearest downpipe to your property?

If it is close enough, a rainsaver inserted in the neighbours downpipe,
a length of
pipe vertically to your butt(s). Plastic weld/Plumbers Matte to seal the
pipework
and it will work.

How far away is the drainage pipework that the downpipes flow into?

Fit an extra downpipe on your property leading to this drainage. Fit a
rainsaver as usual.

Fit the extra downpipe directly into your water butt. Provided the
entire system is sealed
with plastic weld/plumbers matt/silicone sealant then once the butt is full,
the pipe will fill up to
the level of the guttering. Any excess will then flow past to the regular
downpipes.

HTH

Dave

Roly wrote:

Heaven knows what mangled my last message.

Translation follows :-

It sounds like there are loads of practical problems with
your circumstances, so instead of collecting rainwater, what about
collecting used bathwater instead ?

Pam Moore wrote:

Any suggestions how I can collect rainwater off my house roof,
although I don't have a downpipe or a soakaway?
It seems insoluble to me, but maybe one of you clever people may have
an idea. I can't contemplate digging soakaways. Is there any
alternative?
Hopefully it will rain again one day!


There might beIt sounds like there are loads of practical problems with
your circumstances, so instead of collecting rainwater, what about
collecting used bathwater instead ?

In article ,
(Roly) wrote:

Roly wrote:

Heaven knows what mangled my last message.

Translation follows :-

It sounds like there are loads of practical problems with
your circumstances, so instead of collecting rainwater, what about
collecting used bathwater instead ?

Take it from me: 'grey' water begins to smell badly even after short
storage. It needs to go on the garden right away.

I'll go further: even clean rain water (off the roof) smells: I had
this brilliant idea, a few months ago, of pumping rain barrel water into
our bath (for storage), so that I could use it to flush the bog. After a
day, I realised that this amount of clean rain water has a smell all its
own. It doesn't stink, but it's not that pleasant. Probably something
to do with what it picks up off the roof and the moss, etc., as it makes
its way to the barrel.

john