Rain Barrel Installation in Toronto & the GTA

A rain barrel connects to one of your downpipes and captures the water running off your roof. A diverter or cut-in on the downpipe sends water into the barrel until it's full, then lets the excess continue down the pipe or out through an overflow hose. A spigot near the bottom of the barrel lets you fill a watering can or connect a garden hose.

Because the water comes straight from the roof, it's free of the chlorine found in treated municipal water, which many gardeners prefer for plants, vegetable beds and lawns.

Watering the garden for free is the obvious benefit, but rain barrels also help your home and your neighbourhood. Every litre captured is a litre that isn't pouring onto the ground next to your foundation or rushing into overloaded storm sewers during a heavy rain.

Standard rain barrels hold around 50 to 60 gallons. During a moderate rain, a typical roof section can fill a barrel surprisingly quickly, so if you have a large garden you may want to connect two or more barrels in series to increase storage.

Placement matters. The barrel should sit near the garden you plan to water, on a downpipe that drains a good portion of the roof. It needs a solid, level base (a full 55-gallon barrel weighs several hundred pounds), and raising it on a stand gives better water pressure and makes it easier to fill a watering can.

Once a barrel is full, the water has to go somewhere. A poorly planned setup simply lets the barrel overflow at the base of the wall, exactly where you don't want water. A properly installed system either diverts excess water back into the downpipe or sends it through an overflow hose to a spot well away from the foundation.

This is one of the main reasons we recommend professional installation: the downpipe has to be modified correctly, and the overflow path needs to protect the house.

Rain barrels must be drained and disconnected before the first hard freeze, usually in late October or early November in the GTA. Water left inside will freeze, expand and can crack the barrel and damage the spigot. The downpipe should then be reconnected or the diverter closed so water flows normally through the winter.

In spring, once the risk of frost has passed, the barrel can be cleaned, reconnected and put back into service.

A sealed lid and a fine screen over the inlet keep out leaves, debris and mosquitoes. Clean eavestroughs make a big difference too: less debris on the roof means cleaner water in the barrel. Rainwater from a roof isn't intended for drinking, but it's ideal for gardens, lawns and outdoor cleaning.