Rain Chain Round Up

Remember our crazy floods last year? Yea, the rains can get pretty heavy here.  And most the house didn't have rain gutters, so we've been adding some ourselves. And, we finished! But... just the gutters. Now we have to do the downspouts, and I've always wanted a rain chain. The problem though, is which one? Do we buy one or make one? Well due to the shape of our roof, it looks like in total we'll need about 5 downspouts anyway...  so we'll get to have an assortment.  I figured it's a great time for anyone considering a rain chain to get the ball rolling too. Rain is right around the corner (hopefully anyway, it's dry out here!). Today, I've rounded up some of my favorite ideas, a here we go!

My initial thoughts go towards DIY projects, just to see how easy or hard they may be, and how the cost compares.  I've seen people use just plain old chains, like this:

Source: This Old House

But I wonder about the weight against the gutter.  Usually the chains are lightweight and hang from the downspout, so for a chain like this we'd have to rig a bracket in there. Still, I bet they rust beautifully! I guess you could use lighter weight chain too....

Here's another DIY chain that uses simple metal rings:

Source: Blue Living Project & Michelle Kaufmann

There's a great video on that site too (click the source link below the photo).  I watched it, and they talk about connecting simple metal ring clasps or shower curtain rings. I instantly thought, "OK - shower curtain rings are like $8 for 12, no way is this affordable!" But alas, an amazon search revealed THESE, a pack of 100 for about $8.  You could easily double up at those prices, to create the same look as above. Plus they have larger 2 inch sizes! Mix & Match, riiiiight?

Then there's this beauty, which I spied forever ago on Design*Sponge... I love it:

Source: Design*Sponge

So colorful & fun! Though, I admit, I DO wonder about how well it will age, but maybe that will make it even cuter. Terra Cotta + that lightweight chain make this rain chain very inexpensive.

Here's one I found on Pinterest, that sadly, as Pins often go, doesn't have a link to the original tutorial, but it looks pretty straight forward:

Source

You can see they probably drilled holes in the bottoms of the buckets, ran the chain through each and most likely attached the buckets handle to the chain with an S-hook.  Pretty cute, and galvanized steel holds up to weather really well. So they'll  be shiny for YEARS...

Then there is also the buying it option. I love copper, I love how it turns green, and this one here is only $55 on Amazon so... one of our five may just get it:

Source: Amazon

Tulips! One thing to keep in mind, no matter which rain chain you choose, is where the water will go once it hits the ground.  A popular solution is to have the chain lead into a decorative pot or bowl, full of pebbles or decorative stones. It adds great sound to your yard, too.  Be sure there is a hole in the bottom of the pot to let the water out.

For added drainage & less erosion, dig a deep hole under the pot and fill it with gravel.  This will act as a French drain, dispersing the water back into the ground.  Or, if you're worried about water near the house, you could run a PVC pipe from the bottom of your pot, slightly underground, to an area far away from your home.

The possibilities are endless, any rain chain adds such a nice detail to your home, without very much effort. Which would you choose?  I'm leaning towards copper tulips & metal rings....

Have a great one!

-Jesse

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