We recently bought a 120' garden hose for our front yard. We had it temporarily coiled up in a pile but needed something that looks better.

I checked Lowes, Home Depot, and Sam's Club to see what kind of hose pots they had available. In my opinion they were all ugly or extremely over priced. I checked Amazon and had the same problem.

While browsing Home Depot I came across a 17 gallon steel galvanized bucket. It was perfect. I purchased it for $21 and here's my project.

Including the gathering of tools and supplies, loading the hose in the bucket, and taking pictures for this Instructable, this took about 35 minutes.

Update: we decided on the paint and painted it. The paint and the treated 2x4 added $8 to the total cost, and about 20 more minuted, not including drying time. This is totally optional, as it would be just fine on the ground unpainted.

Tools are dangerous. Be safe. I'm not responsible for any injuries.

Enjoy!

Step 1: Tools and Supplies

Supplies

Hose
Bucket
Paint (optional)
Pallets (optional)

Tools

Drill and bits for metal
Jigsaw and metal cutting blade
Pliers
Marker
Ruler
Gloves
Protective eye glasses
Protective ear muffs

Step 2: Prep Bucket

Remove all the stickers and their residue from the bucket. Easier now that later.

Measure the female end of the hose (the end that screws onto the spigot). Decide where you want the hose hole and draw a square that is slightly bigger than the female end. My hose has a 1.5" female end so my bucket hole is measured at 2". I used a square for simplicity but you could do a circle, a pentagon, freehand shape or whatever shape makes you happy.

Whatever shape you chose, draw cross lines that will decide your shape into equal parts in the same number of sides.

At this point, go ahead and drill drainage holes in the bucket (not pictured). I used a 1/4" bit and drilled about 20 holes throughout the bottom. Probably overkill but so be it.

Step 3: Make the Hole

First, I drilled a small hole in the middle of the X. The small hole is more manageable to start at the exact point. Then I drilled a hole big enough for my jigsaw blade to fit in. Wear eye protection because no one wants metal shards in their eyes.

Second, I used my jigsaw to cut the X lines. Wear ear muffs as this step is very loud.

Step 4: Finish the Hole

Use your gloved hands (cut metal is crazy sharp) to fold each triangle into the bucket while trying to fold on the outer line. You may need a flat edge behind the outer line but I was able to do this with my hands.

Next, use the pliers to fold in the tip. Once folded, use pliers to flatten the piece. Now fold this over and flatten until the piece is even with the square's outer lines. I folded my triangles into thirds. At this point I used the pliers from the outside to squeeze it all the way flush so that there are no parts sticking out.

Repeat for the other three triangles/sides.

The folding is what makes the smooth edges of the hole so that it doesn't go Dexter on your new hose.

Step 5: Add Hose & Finish

Unwind the hose and disconnect from the spigot.

Feed the female end through the hole and attach to the spigot.

Leave enough room for the hose to be loose going into the bucket to avoid kinks and unnecessary pressure.

Coil the hose up into the bucket.

Stand back and enjoy your handiwork.

Step 6: Update and Extras: Pallet Base and Paint

I used some pallet wood and a treated 2x4 and made a base for the hose bucket.

I used one can of Rust-oleum Fern Gloss spray paint to paint the bucket. The one can was enough for two coats inside and out. I've been using it for one month now and it still lols great.

One caveat, the spray paint can said not to use on galvanized metal. I don't know why or what the repercussions are but I can say that it looks great and seems to be going strong. I'll try and update after it goes through the hot Alabama summer.

Thanks for looking.