Southern California Wizard

To start, you need to get some good wooden barrels that are not too old. If you get them young enough then they will still hold water and not leak. If they leak, or if you just want to play it safe then you can get some of those plastic barrel liners. In my water garden the first two barrels are all natural, while the last one I had to put a liner in it. Before you do anything with them, it's best that you fill them with water to the top and let them sit for a few days. At first, they will leak from every seam, but after the wood swells, take a look at them to see if they hold water. Most will settle down to about an inch or two from the top and not leak.

Another good idea, is to put wheels on the bottom of your barrels. I don't know how many times I just wanted to move a barrel slightly to re-position after it's filled with water. There is about 30 gallons of water in a half-barrel so it gets heavy. I bought some inexpensive plant caddys from my local nursery and just attached them to the bottom. Be careful to use screws long enough to go through the plant caddy and about halfway through the barrel bottom. As you can see from this picture, I went through another set of wheels before. There were inexpensive casters, but after a while they broke off. Keeping the platform that came with the caddy gave me extra height for the barrel to roll around in since the bottom was about an inch in.

I wanted a more natural look for the water spouts so I purchased some bamboo from a craft store. I was fortunate to get some about the right diameter after going to two different stores. To make the hole in your barrel, find the widest stave and mark around the bamboo with a pencil. You want to place the bamboo in the center of the stave so that you can cut the hole inside a board. Do not split a seam. Try to get the middle of the bamboo around where the water level was when you tested for leaks. This will help keep down the leakage since the water will never fill to the top, but flow from this bamboo to the next barrel. Try to stay about 1/2" or so down from the top. Too close and you run the risk of splitting the wood.

After drilling a pilot hole, I used my jig saw to cut out the hole. As you can see, it's not too important to get the cut just right. However, try to stay close to the line as possible. Too large will make it hard to seal, and too small will make for a very tight fit! If you stay on the line as close as possible everything will work out. It's not necessary to have a smooth cut, nor sand it down. A rough cut won't be noticed when everything is in place. If however, you must have it perfect then find a hole saw that matches the size of the hole. Good luck with that!

Position the spout with a slight downward slope in the hole. If it doesn't fit, then you may have to ream the hole slightly or use a rubber mallet to gently force it in. Too large of a hole, you may have to place some small shavings as a shim to hold it in. You want a tight fit. When the spout is good and tight in the hole and has a downward slope (very important), then fill the seam around the bamboo with aquarium sealant. Make sure you do both inside and out. It's best that you allow it to dry a day or so before you put water in it, but you can continue with the rest of the project while it dries.

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