April 15, 2016

Progress on the House

It's been awhile since I've blogged about the dining room windows. They are installed except for interior trim (not a priority) and second coats exterior paint have been waiting on the weather. Dan did get the big tank in place, which was the whole reason for doing the windows and siding in the first place.

Dan was concerned about good drainage behind and under the
tank, so he put it on a bed of stone and added a drainage pipe.

He still needs to get the fittings and make a filter for it. In fact, we hoped it would be done by now but with garden preparation and planting season upon us, other projects got put on hold. Hopefully we can get this one wrapped up soon, so we'll be able to collect plenty of rainwater for the garden.

23 comments:

Lucía Moreno-Velo said...

This looks wonderful. Love the new windows. They are very elegant. Oh, and I envy your water tank, although, as we say in Spain, it is "healthy envy", meaning it won't give you the bad eye!!
Cheers,
Lucía

Dani said...

Leigh - We laid a layer of 80% shadecloth at the end of the downpipe where it enters the tank. Simple, and it works brilliantly.

Our tanks have to be laid on a concrete base. When it rains here the tank could subside in the sloshy wet clay :[

Leigh said...

Lucia, thanks! The new windows look good and they made a big difference this past winter to help keep warmth in and cold out. :)

Leigh said...

Dani, that is brilliantly simple! I will definitely pass that on to Dan to look in to. Thanks!

PioneerPreppy said...

Wish I could keep an above ground tank here. Couple of years ago we had an early freeze before I took my tank down for Winter. It never completely unfroze and then refroze splitting the tank in two.

House looks good!!!!

Kris said...

Gorgeous windows, Leigh. Tres chic! Like Lucia, I have healthy envy of your water tank. Excellent forethought regarding the under drainage. Would love a big tank, but winters up here are rough. Too much freezing for something like that. I have to drain all my waterbarrels before winter. With the windows overlooking the tank, you can enjoy watching it fill knowing you'll have lots to use for plants and critters.

Jason and Michelle said...

Love the windows.
Is want to get tanks, but I'm not sure how well they would last in the winter here.

Ed said...

Looks great! If only the seasons would halt until we were finished with our projects in progress!

Henny Penny said...

The windows are very pretty. There is always so much to do!

Sandy Livesay said...

Leigh,

Dan did a great job on the windows! Looking good!!!

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

That is one huge water barrel! Mine looks pretty dinky beside yours! Your windows are very pretty. Nancy

Kev Alviti said...

I'll have to show you my dads water collection. He bought a bunded tank and then seperated it, so now he's got two tanks!

Leigh said...

Thanks! We're fortunate to never seem to get sustained severe cold. We'd definitely have to insulate otherwise.

Leigh said...

Art Ludwig talks about how to insulate catchment tanks in his book, Water Storage, but I don't recall what it said. Draining is a good idea even so.

Leigh said...

You'd have to find someone in your part of the country who had one up and running, to tell you if it were possible.

Leigh said...

Ed, that is our sentiment too! :)

Leigh said...

So true!

Leigh said...

Thanks Sandy!

Leigh said...

Hey Nancy, every little bit helps!

Leigh said...

Sounds like an excellent idea, I would love to see it!

Ngo Family Farm said...

Looks like a brand new house! And such a pretty color.
-Jaime

Leigh said...

Thanks Jaime, it feels like a new house considering how it looked when we first bought it. The blue is curious. It looks pale in the sunlight, dark in the shade, and bright on a digital screen.

Renee Nefe said...

looks wonderful! I have rain barrel envy! I think that our state congress discussed lifting the ban on rain barrels here, but I'm pretty sure it didn't pass...too many farmers. :p