Lots of water runs off a roof during a downpour, around 600 gallons from an inch of rain off the average home. Some runs into the yard, some into the sewer and at my home, it was leaking into my basement.

A contractor pointed out that two downspouts draining into an area where water settled in low areas instead of draining away from the house was the problem.

He adjusted the gutter so a new downspout drained off in a different area near my vegetable garden. Perfect. I now have an opportunity for a rain barrel that will cut my use of city water over the summer.

I had been contemplating a rain barrel since seeing one at a friend’s house. Hers is a large, plastic barrel that is open on the top. When it rains, water from the roof pours directly into the barrel. During the summer, a couple of survival-smart goldfish live in the barrel, eating mosquito larvae. During a heavy downpour, the fish know to dive to the bottom of the barrel so they don’t get tossed out with the overflowing water into a gravel pit. In the winter, they live in a fish tank under the watchful eye of a cat.

My friend grabs buckets of water out of the barrel to water her plants. But I don’t want to work that hard. As soon as I start to prepare my garden for the summer, I am going to bury a soak hose and plant around it. With the rain barrel near my garden, I will be able to hook up a hose and let gravity do the work instead. One barrel will water a 200- to 250-square-foot garden.

Depending on the amount of rain, the barrel might not be large enough to collect all the water coming off the roof. I had a rain diverter added while the new downspout was being installed. When the barrel is full, the rest of the water will drain into the yard.

Currently, the water is being diverted out to the yard for the winter. Freezing rainwater will crack or damage the barrel.

I thought about buying a rain barrel, but found them to be a bit pricey for something made out of plastic that factories pay to have hauled away. The cheapest one in town was $250.

I located a 55-gallon Big Blue Recycled Plastic Rain Barrel online for $100. With my limited building skills, I built a similar rain barrel for about $20 in hardware parts and $5 for a used plastic barrel.

I sawed off the lid and reattached it with a couple of draw catches. This will keep the mosquitoes out, yet give access to the inside when needed. I drilled a hole near the top for the water to enter from the diverter. Near the bottom, I installed a faucet and used a faucet nut, Teflon tape, hose washer and a silicone sealant to keep it from leaking. I will see how well this device works over the summer.