Barrels made specifically for catching rain cost in the neighborhood of one hundred dollars but recycled barrels are available from several local businesses that advertise in the Yellow Pages(tm). Before you buy a recycled barrel be absolutely sure you know what it previously contained. One gardener made me promise not to reveal his !free! barrel source but says that gardeners should check with institutions that have large laundries, like hospitals and hotels. Their detergents are often shipped in fifty five gallon plastic drums.

Walter Reeves writeS:

Gwinnett County called Raindrops. Two women run it. Karen Alexander (770-813-0271) and Lynda Green (770-623-3226). Prices range from $65.00 to $85.00 per barrel. These women are still in business.

I made mine by hand, all 6 of them. It wasn't hard but a bit fussy. If you can get your barrels from the same place in Mableton, I can give you directions to make the same barrels I did. The only trick is to have the correct tools.

I got my barrels from Advanced Drum: http://www.advancedrum.com/

I have the white barrels pictured in their photo. No screw off lids. You must cut off the tops and alter them, which can be done.

And lastly, these people look COOL!: http://www.rainharvestcompany.com/portfolio/sydell.php

Good luck!

GGG

Thanks! I checked your websites. Being that it takes me forever and a day to have dh build something for me (only because he's self-employed and busy!)
I may opt to buy one ready made.

Please look at this one and tell me what you think.
Scroll down, almost to the bottom of the page for the 'factory blemished'....$79 (50 gallon), $89 (60 gallon)....price includes shipping. Looks like a good deal.

http://www.midwestinternetsales.com/rainbarrels.htm

The ones that look like the "factory blemished" type are exactly like the barrels the local ladies make. Theirs are $69 each (I think) and then if you can pick one up you won't have to pay a mail fee. I like this type, and would have actually probably preferred them.
The one thing you will need to have installed at request is an overflow or you need to buy a diverter for your downspout. Here, I prefer the overflow. So much gunk gets into my gutter that the diverter would fill and clog then back up into the gutter and into the roof. The overflow takes care of all that, with little fuss.
You can get a linking kit to link more than one barrel together.

GGG

Thanks for your help. Another question....We have gutter guards, so do you think the diverter or overflow would be necessary? I'll contact the ladies you mentioned earlier.

Thanks again for your help!!

Sharon, I just realized the link you sent to me, postage was included!
Do the gutter guards really keep out all the debris (which I'd like to know anyway, since we don't have that...)? If so, you can just get a downspout diverter. There are several available and I'm not sure if you can find them locally
http://www.gutterworks.com/diverters.html

Wow, and there's a Georgia garden forum too! This place is amaizing. What's wrong with wooden rain barrels? I can't see plastic or metal ones in my yard...Ugly, imo. Not sure what other larger big box stores carry but I found some nice wooden barrels at Home Depot in Blue Ridge. Cost about $125. Sorry no pic, maybe next time.

I made my rain barrels from trash cans. Screen over the top.

Check out my Flicker Photoes with instructions on making a rain barrel.

Karyl

Here is a link that might be useful: Click on my rain barrels.

If I make a rain barrel out of a trash can, will mesh over the top keep mosquitoes from laying their eggs in it?
Thanks.

If the mesh is tight enough so they can't get in, I'd think it would keep them out.

I would stay away from oak rain barrels made by TerraCycle, which are sold at Home Depot (and possibly Lowe's). My parents bought me one less than a year ago for my birthday, and the thing is already splitting on the side. Since the HD warranty only covers it for 90 days, I'm attempting to contact Terracycle about the problem to see if they'll do anything to fix or replace it.