Hi, we're Amanda and Tyler with Big Living Little Footprint. We're serial DIYers constantly doing projects for the house like installing solar panels to building furniture. We love to help others live sustainably through DIY projects and sustainable living tips and strive to live big while still leaving a little footprint on our environment.
Did I mention we have a passion for projects?! On this channel, we'll share woodworking projects (big and small!), DIY tips and tricks, and How-to video tutorials. Many of our DIY projects have coordinating DIY plans, so you can build it too. Make sure to check out our Site Shop or Etsy Shop.
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I think u can just stand those 3 barrel side to side and drill a holes add a short clear hose then when one barrel is full then it move to the second barrel. Save on pvc pipe And save on clear hose if u know what I mean
looks like a great setup, i would have probobly nade the stand out of 4x4's instead of 2x4's you have about 1500 lbs of water right there. never ever use that music again.
We originally designed it as 4x4s with notches cut into it but decided that doing two 2x4s put together would be more approachable for most people. It makes the project more like framing a house and less like fine woodworking. 😅
I'm curious if you needed both sets of cleats or just a spacer for the bottom. I'm looking at doing something similar, but taller. 10'wide by 6'high. Would I need more than 2x4 cleat material?
2x4 clear material should still be more than enough for those panels. We still highly recommend using a cleat at the bottom though to keep the panels tight against the wall.
Believe it or not, but the tower is actually plumb. You can even see where we shimmed under the legs to make up for the non level concrete. The pipes lean a little due to the weight of the water, but tower itself is perfect 👌
Each barrel is linked to the next so the water collected flows from one to the next. We use the water frequently, and the water isn’t stagnant for weeks in the barrel, so we've never had a mosquito problem.
The cost varies a lot depending on the wood species you buy and the bed size. A solid, quality hardwood bed frame you can find running upwards of $1200-2,000+ depending on size. The wood we bought was just under $800 for this King bed frame.
Bigger tanks are more expensive. But we really wanted to get the water level as high as possible in order to get the most water pressure out of the hose.
Yeah that endgrain wood is really thristy. I just ordered my Sheen plus last week. Super interested in seeing the results. A lot of people like a satin finish.
We measured up from the bottom of the board to the edge of the cleat and then marked that same line on the wall and aligned the other half of the cleat to it.
We use opaque barrels and pipe to cut down on algae growth, and the first section of pipe off the down spout captures most run off from the roof. So it's relatively clean water inside the barrels. That said, they are only used to water plants. We wouldn't recommend drinking from them.
I appreciate the hard plastic feel and protection of poly specifically whenever I finish a project, go to put away my tools and inevitability drop one of them on it. I am all for being more efficient though, so I will have to give this a try. Only problem I can see is if it requires 3 hands to stir 7:04 😆 Thank you for the video
Totally have dropped tools on finished projects 😅 We love being more efficient and from our personal experience Rubio has held up really well and durable. Hope you give it a try! Haha we also have a very active 4 year old who always wants to help (aka the third hand 😂)
We tried crying instead of smiling the first time we filmed this scene....turns out we're not that good of actors 😆 (BTW, there was basically no dust on the piece due to the awesome 3M sandpaper and our vacuum that had already sucked it all up 😜)
Rule breaker! 🤣 the SheenPlus is basically just another layer but it gives a lot more shine than just double-layer of the Oil Plus 2C. Glad you love Rubio too!
Yup! It's going on 2 years now and working great. It's a lot of weight, which is why we are so careful to level it when we installed it and designed the structure to carry the load straight down to the concrete.
Is it ok for the garden though? it runs off the roof- roof shingles contain chemicals along with the other products they use to seal around vents/chimneys etc...
We personally are comfortable using it to water the soil for our plants and garden. Always do your own research and figure out what's the best for you and/or your family.
Thanks for sharing these wonderful ideas. I love what you did with the tree branches. My dad used to take us on nature walks and we’d come back with all kinds of d of items. Then he’d help us turn the trash to treasure. I’m about at Witt’s end. I’m trying to declutter my house after being laid up getting over serious fractures I. Up and running but not near as fast as I used to. I’m really enjoying your videos. I wish you lived. Lose enough. I’d pay you to build me shelves everywhere. Janice IN TN
Thanks! Glad these were helpful for you and good luck decluttering! Love turning things from nature into useful but beautiful things like the tree branch. ~Amanda
