water butt support
Stephen
I am about to install a water butt. The standard size of butt seems to
be 210 litres, so that would be 210kg when full. Are there any special
requirements for what to put underneath the butt to support that
weight? I was thinking of using a paving slab to give a smooth and
level surface. Is that necessary?
I have got clay soil so is there a likelihood of the butt sinking over
time? Would I be best to bed the slab on a few inches of gravel? If so
how deep: would four inches be enough?
Thanks
Donwill
insert watering can under tap, the bricks are placed on a paving slab.
Been in use for approx 4 yrs never had any probs, when it's emptied you
can reposition as neccesary. No big deal.
Cheers
Don
--
Bold is Brown with the People's Purse. (loosely translated from a Welsh couplet "Hael yw Hywel ar bwrs y wlad")
Donwill
> Stephen wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>> I am about to install a water butt. The standard size of butt seems to
>> be 210 litres, so that would be 210kg when full. Are there any special
>> requirements for what to put underneath the butt to support that
>> weight? I was thinking of using a paving slab to give a smooth and
>> level surface. Is that necessary?
>>
>> I have got clay soil so is there a likelihood of the butt sinking over
>> time? Would I be best to bed the slab on a few inches of gravel? If so
>> how deep: would four inches be enough?
>>
>> Thanks
>>
> I support mine on 4 sets of dry laid bricks to give sufficient space
> to insert watering can under tap, the bricks are placed on a paving slab.
> Been in use for approx 4 yrs never had any probs, when it's emptied
> you can reposition as neccesary. No big deal.
> Cheers
> Don
>
it over on themselves. We are in the lucky position of not having any. :-)
The Natural Philosopher
Mine stands on two single brick walls, over very shallow foundations on
a load of hardcore and MOT that forms the french drain around the house.
I would say that you should dig out teh clay and mash in hardcore, and
then mortar a slab or make a concrete cast base, and then use bricks or
blocks to get the height right, if permanency is the aim. It will be OK
just on a slab on soil but will move a bit as the weight settles in the
slab.
And end up safe, but probably cock-eyed.
Tim S
Paving slab bedded on a bit of sand (for ease of levelling) would be fine if
it's basically just sitting on the ground.
I wouldn't bother with the gravel, unless perhaps you were building high
(6"-12") stand, in which case I might dig the hole out to 4-6" down, lob
some hardcore (any rough crap) then build up with concrete or slabs or
bricks mortared together, which I have done before and was *more* than
solid enough.
Even a stacked pile of paving slabs on a bit of sand on the ground would be
probably be good enough, though I might be inclined to put a little mortar
between them to lessen the risk of cracking one.
But at the end, what's the worst case failure scenario? Probably a cracked
slab. It's hard to envisage a case where the butt will topple, not at least
without a long period of leaning first!
Cheers
Tim
Jules
>> I support mine on 4 sets of dry laid bricks to give sufficient space
>> to insert watering can under tap, the bricks are placed on a paving slab.
>> Been in use for approx 4 yrs never had any probs, when it's emptied
>> you can reposition as neccesary. No big deal.
>> Cheers
>> Don
>>
> Be careful if you have kiddies as they may try to climb up it and pull
> it over on themselves.
Cut drain holes in the bottom so that it isn't as heavy. ;)
I agree about the bricks or having something to raise the barrel up and
putting a tap* in; having to fill a bucket or whatever via the top is a
pain, and all sorts of crud will end up building up at the bottom.
* I've seen things sold as rain barrels which are just that - no tap.
The Natural Philosopher
halfway between two hole saw sizes.
"Rasp, my dear, this fucking penis shaped thing is called a RASP, and
this bloody stuff is VERY OLD BRANNDY SOAKED OK or a name-similar-to-a
part-of-your-anatomy thing dearest. And I hope to fuck this with that
till I can get your sodding
bought-online-with-no-idea-how-it-was-going-to-fit tap into the orifice
I am creating, and instead of standing there looking stupid, how about
putting the kettle on" Grrr.
Stephen
>I wouldn't bother with the gravel, unless perhaps you were building high
>(6"-12") stand, in which case I might dig the hole out to 4-6" down, lob
>some hardcore (any rough crap) then build up with concrete or slabs or
>bricks mortared together, which I have done before and was *more* than
>solid enough.
>
>Even a stacked pile of paving slabs on a bit of sand on the ground would be
>probably be good enough, though I might be inclined to put a little mortar
>between them to lessen the risk of cracking one.
>
>But at the end, what's the worst case failure scenario? Probably a cracked
>slab. It's hard to envisage a case where the butt will topple, not at least
>without a long period of leaning first!
Sorry, I should have added more detail at the beginning: the previous
owners built a small brick wall to make a raised flowerbed. The plan
is to put the waterbut on the end of this flowerbed, so that it will
be a foot or so off the patio, which will hopefully be sufficient to
get a watering can under.
I am a little nervous about the flowerbed because the end touches the
wall of the house. Am I right to be worried about that damp soil
touching my house 24 hours a day? There is another flowerbed against
the garage. the garage is a single brick wall and inside the bricks
have discoloured, which I am sure is from the wet soil.
I was thinking of some sort of pond liner against the wall to keep the
wet soil off the bricks and the gravel might help with drainage too.
The Natural Philosopher
> On Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:35:23 +0100, Tim S <t...@dionic.net> wrote:
>
>> I wouldn't bother with the gravel, unless perhaps you were building high
>> (6"-12") stand, in which case I might dig the hole out to 4-6" down, lob
>> some hardcore (any rough crap) then build up with concrete or slabs or
>> bricks mortared together, which I have done before and was *more* than
>> solid enough.
>>
>> Even a stacked pile of paving slabs on a bit of sand on the ground would be
>> probably be good enough, though I might be inclined to put a little mortar
>> between them to lessen the risk of cracking one.
>>
>> But at the end, what's the worst case failure scenario? Probably a cracked
>> slab. It's hard to envisage a case where the butt will topple, not at least
>> without a long period of leaning first!
>
> Sorry, I should have added more detail at the beginning: the previous
> owners built a small brick wall to make a raised flowerbed. The plan
> is to put the waterbut on the end of this flowerbed, so that it will
> be a foot or so off the patio, which will hopefully be sufficient to
> get a watering can under.
>
> I am a little nervous about the flowerbed because the end touches the
> wall of the house. Am I right to be worried about that damp soil
> touching my house 24 hours a day?
yes.
> There is another flowerbed against
> the garage. the garage is a single brick wall and inside the bricks
> have discoloured, which I am sure is from the wet soil.
>
almost certainly
> I was thinking of some sort of pond liner against the wall to keep the
> wet soil off the bricks and the gravel might help with drainage too.
Id be more aggressive than that, and use something like DPM set in
mortar with an extra course of brick to hold it all in place.
george (dicegeorge)
>> I am a little nervous about the flowerbed because the end touches the
>> wall of the house. Am I right to be worried about that damp soil
>> touching my house 24 hours a day?
>
> yes.
>
gardners and leaves had built up my flowerbeds
over a hundred years up up up...
Dampness wasnt seeping through the walls
but pouring in through the airbricks
and under the floor
which is why it rotted.
[g]
oldhe...@googlemail.com
Ours all came with a stand which was high enough to allow for a
watering can under the tap.
Mary
Andrew Gabriel
So did mine. After 10 years, it's quite badly crushed under the
weight, but hasn't actually collapsed.
--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]
Stephen
<t...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>Id be more aggressive than that, and use something like DPM set in
>mortar with an extra course of brick to hold it all in place.
Thanks. I will do exactly as you suggest. Thanks again.
george (dicegeorge)
I guess that in a autumn downpour it will clog and overflow
so I'd slope things so the overflowing water goes where you want it to.
[g]
Stephen
<diceg...@gmail.com> wrote:
>Dampness wasnt seeping through the walls
>but pouring in through the airbricks
>and under the floor
>which is why it rotted.
Fortunately (?) we have concrete floors, so they can't rot. I was
thinking of removing a foot or two of soil from against the wall and
filling it with gravel. Hoping that the gravel would act as a buffer
between the wet soil and the wall.
Stephen
(Andrew Gabriel) wrote:
>So did mine. After 10 years, it's quite badly crushed under the
>weight, but hasn't actually collapsed.
The shops are less generous a decade later and you have to pay for the
stand separately ;(
I'm not sure what to think about your stand collapsing. OTOH it has
lasted ten years but OTOH they are designed for one job only: to
support water butts. Shouldn't it do exactly that forever?