Rain on a tin roof... how?

[Aiden Thorn]

I've been contemplating a few ideas. a problem I'm having is with flow mainly, and generating the noise...

Let me explain what I hope to achieve... My aunt many years ago, had aluminum awnings on her upstairs windows. I spent a few weekends there having sleepovers with my cousins, and one trip I remember the most, it rained. That night with the window open just a tad, and the rain coming down on that metal roof, was soooo relaxing.

I've tried a piece of PVC pipe, with random holes drilled into it, running down onto a piece of metal roofing, then into the pool above my waterfall. At first I had what I was looking for, but eventually it lost it's 'rain' type effect. I've tried with a few different heads in a filter/pump type assembly spraying onto the metal... wasn't what I was seeking. Seems as tho I have too much flow and cannot achieve that 'rain' sound.

Has anyone come up with a system to create this sound?

If not... I'm still extremely happy with just the sound of the running water!

 

[addy1]

A tin roof on your house....................

Never tried what you are trying, not sure what to suggest. One of the problems might be the algae/dirt build up will soften the sound, like your attempt mentioned.

 

[Priscilla]

If you want something like that to sleep with you can download the sound off the internet or buy a sound machine from Brookstone.

Full time, I think you will have an algae build up problem as Addy pointed out.

I used to live in a house with an aluminum roof, so I know the sound you are talking about.

 

[Dave 54]

Yes know the sound your on about e have a copper roofed bay window .
Have you tried head shops they do all all sorts of the new wave relaxation CD's you never know you just might hit it lucky

Dave

 

[j.w]

Move to Western Washington, install a tin roof and voila rain sounds 24/7 over you, your house and your pond, everything

 

[sissy]

But then you have all that insulation under the metal roof that takes away from the sound .My grandmother had a metal roof in PA and loved the sound of the rain but that is back when electric was cheaper and they did not have all this modern insulation .They used newspapers and froze in the winter.With metal in a pond you might get the noise at first but it will build up with muck after awhile and is the metal good for the fish ,no .the old farm stead .i was just a twinkle in my parents eye at that time .They were newly weds in that pic

 

[j.w]

I like the sound it makes on our glass skylights over our bed at night..............not as significant as metal but still nice

Why am I saying good things about RAIN.................slap my mouth or fingers or whatever

 

[slakker]

Do you have a flow restrictor or controller (valve) in place? I'd adjust the flow rate as the water needs to form individual drops and at the right rate to get the sound. Too fast and it's a stream, too slow and it'll be annoying like a drippy fawcet.

I've been wanting to build a suikinkutsu to get some other type of sounds in the garden.

 

[DoDad]

I have a metal roof and you can't hear the rain because of the insulation.

 

[talal101]

I like the sound it makes on our glass skylights over our bed at night..............not as significant as metal but still nice

Why am I saying good things about RAIN.................slap my mouth or fingers or whatever

Don't you say bad things about rain!!!

 

[Catfishnut]

Aiden,

Try this for an experiment:

Get a couple of sheets of corrugated tin roofing / skirting (painted or galvanized) that are about 6-8 feet length and 2-3 feet width.
Set four to six 4x4 posts in the ground for supports and make a framework atop them to nail/screw the metal sheets too. Set the sheets so that they angle downwards slightly (1/4" to 1/2" per foot) and let the low ends hang over your pond or stream, etc.
Then buy one of those old fashioned "oscillating bar" lawn and garden sprinklers and set it so that it points straight up and does not oscillate. Set the sprinkler on top of the metal sheets, in the center but closer to the higher end and hook the sprinkler to one of your pond pump lines with a variable valve to control the volume of water. The sprinkler shooting straight up and coming back down under gravity should simulate rain perfectly.

If the noise of the water running off the end of the sheets into the pond water below is too loud, drill some holes through the very end of the metal sheets (at the low valleys) and tie 1/8" cords (rope) through them so that they loop over the edge of the tin and then down. The water will follow the cords down to the pool below and can drip from a lower point instead of falling from the ultimate top. In the heat of the summer, this should provide cooling via evaporation (hence a swamp cooler) if you would like to sit beneath the tin roof on a hot day and drink an iced tea, etc.

It should be cool and green and shady and provide the rythm of the rain!

Gordy

 

[Catfishnut]

Aiden,

I just stepped outside and it happens to be raining here, lightly. With the birds chirping at 6 a.m. In the backyard there is a building with a metal roof, just like I was mentioning, but the rain is so light, I feel the sound perfectly. So, instead of using one of those oscillating bar sprinklers, try this... Get some lengths of that green sprinkler hose. You know , the flat kind with holes in it that sprays the water up? Lay those sprinkler hoses on top of the tin roof and fasten them with some sort of urethane adhesive.

Might make a nicer, calmer sound.

Gordy

 

[sissy]

If you have a dog build him a dog house with a corrugated metal roof and every time it rains you can sit out side and enjoy the noise coming from his dog house .If your deck is not covered then build a pergola and put corrugated roofing on top of it .A nice swing or glider under it and you have it made .That's what i am thinking of doing on my deck

 

[Philphine]

i'm not sure if this would work since I just thought of it reading this, but...

have you ever seen a rain stick? it's kind of an African (I think?) instrument that's just a hollow piece of wood with nails hammered into it and some kind of beads in it so as you rotate it or turn it one end up to the other the beads trickle down and bounce off the nails and gives a rain like sound.

maybe you could make something similar with a metal pipe, like a piece of furnace pipe with as many self tapping sheet metal screws as you can get in it and the ends closed off with some bb's in it. getting it t turn or rotate didn't come to me, but like I said, I literally just thought of it (and things like the bb's and screws while I was typing it).

just a quick edit to correct myself. I think it might actually be a latin/south American instrument.

 

[Fishylove]

How bout an old metal awning.......? You can still find them if you look hard enough