Garden Sink... Got One?

I’ve thought about it .. but hasn’t happened yet.
Maybe if I get really busy with gardening this year I’ll make it happen. We’ll see. I think it is a good idea. A very good idea.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

yup….............two so far. One in the pool house and another in the pergola

need another one near the barn, maybe this spring if it ever gets here

-- Central northish Ontario

Thought about it: got 2 sinks waiting to be installed.

For the garden one, I am planning to make a concrete counter as it will be easy to keep clean, will not rot, and I might be able to do something interesting with the legs so that when not in use, it can look like an interesting “sculpture” in the garden!

The other one is for my concrete work area! It is a wash tub (like the one many of us have in their laundry area).

Just 2 more projects for this spring if, as MsD says, it ever gets here!!

-- Eklectic, Follow my Bliss, South East Ontario 5a

One will be installed in the shop. This is against my local building codes, though. If you put water “inside” a structure it has to have some place to go. Consequently, there must be a septic field to accept the waste. I don’t have/didn’t put in a septic field.

I did install a gray water drain, as it is a gardening wash station. Nothing more than water and dirt. It, along with the supply line entrance, is hidden from the inspector until I get my final inspection. There is a hydrant outside to explain the supply line.

-- arborial reconfiguration specialist......Zone out....(USA 5)

We have 2 old sinks in the garden, full of plants…....................any good?

-- Derbyshire------- English Countryside

Only if you want your hands dirtier than before they went into them… ;)

Well this solidifies my plans to take over th… err… put a sink in the garden.. Now.. back to that time management issue.

Ok… so.. How does one “hide” something from an inspector like that.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Scott…........put it in after the final inspection is done.I doubt any one will complain about tap water being used for plants/garden.

We put another water line out to the barn and chicken coops and the inspector never said a word so I just run garden hose to the sinks and used ABS to drain it out away from the barn. This year I hope to put eavestrough up on the barn to collect rain water and then run a hose/slow soaker to recently planted trees and shrubs.

Even copper lines that connect to a garden hose work….........that way it isnt deemed permanent. I see them on the television and I have read in magazines when folks install an outdoor kitchen…...just a sink that drains into the garden that is attached by a garden hose.

Its a long walk back to the house just to have a squirt. If I were a man of money I would put in another septic system at the barn because a toilet/shower/dog bath would be a heavenly luxury.

being that I do a lot of renovations, mainly ripping out existing kitchens and bathrooms then installing new ones I have sinks coming out the ying and yang. Cast iron ones with porcilen finishes, poly sinks, plastic sinks and stainless sinks. Enough for a sub division, same for vents. The things that folks throw out amazes me. I guess the saying that “One mans junk is another mans treasure” is true.

-- Central northish Ontario

Yea, the inspection, at this point, is up to electrical. All he looks at is that. Once I get the final, I just hook up the lines buried in the wall insulation.

I even figured out how to get electricity from the power company side of the meter. Unless every inch of the line is inspected…no one would ever know because of the way the inspect. I’m not going to do it, but, it’s a hobby of mine…figuring out security problems….I see the errors that people make in inspecting things and such.

In my case, it was just easier to run a utility chase into the building so I wouldn’t have to do it later. The inspector wouldn’t notice ‘cause they’re only looking for what the current inspection calls for.

My standpoint is, what I do on my own property is my buisness…and putting a water line INTO my building doesn’t hurt anyone. They just get ticked off because they don’t get to pick my pocket for more inspection fees. I’m lucky in that for the most part, I can do anything without an inspection unless I change the footprint of my home. In this case, I added a building so the inspections were necessary so the government could steal money from me.

This is the post-apocolyptic-patriot-survival-and-gun-club forum isn’t it?

-- arborial reconfiguration specialist......Zone out....(USA 5)

I hear you Catspaw.
I will do what I want too, but to code.
Some guy wants me to do a $25.000.00 environmental assesment on one of my properties to prove to him I have no contaminates.
-It’s not gong to happen. Why because as soon as the bloody Govt got involved the bloody engineers spotted a cash cow.

Why am I ultimately responsible to generations of inhabitants on my deeded property?

In the future, you will see more and more “rental properties” and less and lless ownership.
You do the math.

BOB – a BIT GRUMPY TODAY

-- I want to believe in a lot of things but, in the meantime I have to deal with the truth

It is Ok to be grumpy every so often!
We all have some of “those” days!!
Hope tomorrow is better Bob!:-)

-- Eklectic, Follow my Bliss, South East Ontario 5a

am I hearing that no one ever takes a squirt unless its in a “quantified government toilet”..........like no one ever had to shit in the woods?

come on folks,..............

its not like you dont have a hose at home connected to water and you pull the button on your new “Gardena” attachment and spray something like a plant?

and then you call the city inspector and inspect your sink?...........you just rinsed the roots from soil for a transplant?.................r u telling me I need a city inspector to make sure I can actually do that?............shoot me if I cant!

arent we talking gardening…..........the very thing that makes the earth green?..........or housing multiple families in my back yard sink?

Hello?

-- Central northish Ontario

sometimes the rules get too extensive.
(like the law against having an outdoor clothesline).. yah, wouldn’t want to disrupt the neighbour’s view by airing our clean laundry

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

this “No Clothsline” rule is just stupid. All the talk of energy conservation, global warming,,,,,,,,,,just plain stupid to rule against a clothsline. In the municipalty to which I live they are talking about “banning” wind mills that generate electricity…........?

I just dont get all the fuss when we are faced with ever warming world partly due to the burning of fossil fuels.

-- Central northish Ontario

yah.. we have to change how we live. Period.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Wow… I sparked a political conversation.. Didn’t see that coming. ;)

I’ll re: later.. mega busy right now with work, so, back to work I go.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

GT, if I read you right, I’m not saying I have to call an inspector when I do something. I had to because I built a new building, so the inspections have to be done. But, I planned things so that I can complete the government stuff…THEN do what I really want.

We always have to the other stuff too…IF you live in the city. There was recently a big deal about some one keeping chickens in their back yard (in the city). They got shut down.

One thing I’ve figured out working with rich people. They want things to be just a certain way. If they build a house in a neighborhood, they want it to be just exactly what they want and have the money to sue anyone doing something differently.

If I move into a neighborhood that has a homeowners association and covenants and such, then I can’t complain if I break those rules and get busted. But, if I live somewhere that Doesn’t have the restrictions and some one tries to make me change my ways (PARTICULARLY if I was there long before THEY were), THEN we’re gonna have a real problem. I’ve been lucky….there wasn’t even zoning on my property when I bought it.

Oh yes, GT…I was listening to NPR awhile back and couldn’t believe I heard them talking about people complaining about some one wanting to install offshore windmills (the big ones that are maybe 20 miles offshore) ...and they didn’t want them because it would spoil the view they “paid for”. What’re the letters for that…. NIMBY (not in my back yard!?)

And, yes, I think everyone should have a garden sink. (are we back on topic yet?)

-- arborial reconfiguration specialist......Zone out....(USA 5)

I agree that every garden should have a “garden sink”!
So, yes we are back on topic!!!

-- Eklectic, Follow my Bliss, South East Ontario 5a

Awww.. Ok.. Back on topic.. Just as well.. My brain is too fried to make any worth while comment on the other.. Man, been soooooooo busy.

So, your sinks.. Do you have them piped to drain to a certain flower bed, or into a bucket?

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

I use a sink at the BBQ area and only use it to wash things (no soap) and it drains into a flower bed which looks awesome.

another at the veggie garden, near the shop…......again, I just use it to rinse the dirtoff the veggies and it drains back into the garden.

The one in the shop I use to get water for work, like diluting paint, water toget a rag wet to get glue off, etc.

-- Central northish Ontario

Does anyone have a garden sink picture so I can see how you put it up

I have a sink laying in the storage room and thought I would like to use it outside but I don’t know how to erect it and on what etc to make it useful and look ok

thanks

-- NS Zone 5B 200 KM East of Halifax cheers Bunting------Having a place to go – is a home. Having someone to love – is a family.

Bunting,
a garden sink, is any old sink that you can gimme up to do the work!
Why don’t you post a pic of your sink and some of the brains here can help you!
They are very knowledgeble!!

-- Eklectic, Follow my Bliss, South East Ontario 5a

Anything that you use to support said sink needs to be able to handle the elements.

If you build something, it will need to be out of pressure treated material or cedar.

There’s always opens to reuse materials for this purpose though. For example.. I have an outdoor grill that’s going to die off soon and be replaced. The grill itself lifts out of the base, giving me a perfectly useful metal base with wheels to use.

This is, in fact, what I will be putting a sink into.

Gimme a few min and I’ll post a picture.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

See Bunting, I told ya!

-- Eklectic, Follow my Bliss, South East Ontario 5a

The sink is in the storage room way back of other things right now, hard for me to get out myself

itd an old stainless steal sink

I have an old table I use outside for potting and thought of cutting a hole in it to fit the sink in

Is that the idea? I have a jig saw but need new blades

-- NS Zone 5B 200 KM East of Halifax cheers Bunting------Having a place to go – is a home. Having someone to love – is a family.

I’ll be putting a wood top on it, and replacing the plastic sides with wood tops as well.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Scott, I think I still have my old one!
This is a great idea!
May I “steal” it from you?

-- Eklectic, Follow my Bliss, South East Ontario 5a

Bunting, that’s indeed the idea.

You may need to reinforce the cut area of the table if it’s made up of boards, but that’s a simple task with just some scrap wood and screws.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Eklectic, feel free. It’s a nice little stand that could be used for several things around the yard/garden.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Well, if you have any more ideas for this, please share. I am always open to good recycling ideas!

-- Eklectic, Follow my Bliss, South East Ontario 5a

Skip the sink and put in a rubbermaid bin to hold dirt instead, use it just for potting? Nice storage under and you can hang your hand tools on the side.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Oh I like the dirt bin idea … great idea!! Thanks Scott!!!

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

Do you know I just gave away my old BBQ

I could have done that with it

But there are lots of BBQ of Free cycel

Great idea there. Now I wish I had my old BBQ back

-- NS Zone 5B 200 KM East of Halifax cheers Bunting------Having a place to go – is a home. Having someone to love – is a family.

Scott
I know how to do that and I have scrape lumber here lots of it

Would gyp rocks screws do the trick or do I need shoorter ones, longer ones??

Thanks

-- NS Zone 5B 200 KM East of Halifax cheers Bunting------Having a place to go – is a home. Having someone to love – is a family.

drywall screws will rust, but other than that will be fine. If you don’t want the rust you’ll need to pick up some galvanized or stainless exterior screws.

Also, if you screw into pressure treated wood, expect it to rust more since the chemicals oxidize metal. Will still hold up for 10-15 years before the screws start to fail though.

I’m not real picky about fasteners, unless I’m doing a deck or building framing. Else I just use what I’ve got on hand.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Thanks Scot

I didn;t think of rust DAH!!! lol,lol

I must have lots of kinds here, I know I do

thanks

-- NS Zone 5B 200 KM East of Halifax cheers Bunting------Having a place to go – is a home. Having someone to love – is a family.