Made a scarecrow that doubles as a rain barrel after 3 failed tries

My old scarecrow kept rotting after a week of rain so I stuck a 55 gallon drum inside an old flannel shirt and carved a face into the plastic lid. The water collects right through the collar and it actually stays dry inside, has anyone else tried combining yard art with something useful like this?

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thomas_brown4mo ago

Hold on there, the water collecting through the collar might cause problems down the line. If the shirt is flannel it's gonna soak up water where it touches the plastic and stay wet against the drum, that could make the outside of the barrel rust if it's metal or just grow mold on the fabric corners. Better to cut a small hole in the back of the shirt near the top and run a pipe or a funnel straight through to the drum lid so the fabric stays dry. I did a similar thing with a fake tree stump that hides a gutter downspout and had to seal the whole thing with silicone caulk to keep moisture from wicking into the foam. Also you might want to check if the carved plastic lid is actually sealing tight because if rain gets into the gap around the face it could splash out or bring bugs in. Just something to keep an eye on before you wake up to a pond where your scarecrow's head used to be.

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jade2264mo ago

You ever had that happen with the collar wicking moisture into the drum, @thomas_brown? Silicone on the shirt edge where it meets the plastic should stop that mold problem before it starts.

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