The right way to Make Sturdy DIY Patio Mild Planters | Thrifty Decor Chick

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The right way to set up STURDY cafe patio string lights with out timber!

Putting in these outside string lights was on my record for years after we moved into our home! The issue was, we had a brand new yard with no mature timber to connect the lights to.

I had to determine a option to hold these patio lights in a protected manner so they might maintain as much as rain, wind and snow.

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We love these outside string lights particularly. They’re sturdy, commercial-grade strands that maintain as much as all the things. We saved them up in rain, wind and snow and so they nonetheless look/work nice right now.

It helped that we had timber sufficiently big to carry the burden of those — they’re heavier than your common outside lights, however once more…they final perpetually.

Figuring out we had been going to hold them over the brand new patio, I grabbed a pair containers of the lights final yr. I used to be actually hoping to get them up final fall, but it surely did not occur:

As a result of we do not have timber across the patio but (and it will be years earlier than they’d be robust sufficient to carry the sunshine strands), we had to determine a distinct possibility.

I have been researching this for a yr as a result of it was so necessary for this to a.) be purposeful, b.) look good and c.) not break the bank. I gathered information from a bunch of tutorials I discovered after which we needed to make some extra modifications on the finish I will share with you. (Trace: the tutorials we discovered did not work for the heavier lights!)

Let’s get began! I will record ALL of the objects you will want on the finish of the submit, however listed here are the step-by-step directions.

Step 1: Collect the planters you need to make use of.

Among the tutorials I discovered used wooden wine barrel planters — however the ones I discovered both had giant holes already drilled into the underside or they weren’t tremendous sturdy. I used to be frightened the concrete would ooze out between the slats of wooden.

I purchased three plastic planters for this venture awhile again, however I made a decision they had been too tall and never broad — you need one thing that has a large base. We returned these and obtained these plastic barrel planters as an alternative:

They nonetheless have that wine barrel look however ought to maintain up significantly better!

I initially had three planters, however we ended up utilizing two after we found out what number of ft of lights we had.

Step 2: Safe the poles within the planters.

Subsequent, we grabbed eight foot 4×4’s for every planter. The short set cement set actually quick — however this subsequent step was useful. I put in “L” brackets onto the underside of every 4×4 after which screwed them into the underside of the planters earlier than including the cement:

This won’t preserve them tremendous safe (no less than with plastic planters), so you may’t let go simply but — however they do assist!

I’ve by no means use cement but it surely was surprisingly simple! We used two 50 pound luggage of Quikrete for every planter:

We added and blended one bag at a time — you add the cement after which spray water. You do not want a ton of water — simply combine in addition to doable so there is not any dry cement left:

For the primary planter it took three of us as a result of I used to be frightened the 4×4 would not maintain at first. However the cement units up so quick, it simply took two of us for the second.

Use a degree to verify the 4×4 throughout this course of. It would not should be completely straight — bear in mind you may modify the mulch or filth beneath the planters to assist make the poles straight.

Inside 15-20 minutes it wasn’t budging:

Cement planters for outdoor string lights

You possibly can stain or paint the 4×4’s earlier than setting them within the cement, however I am too impatient for that. I wished to get them up! It was simple to get them stained after the actual fact:

Step three: Safe the planters into the bottom (if wanted).

Soooo this half went rather well and was manner simpler than we thought it will be. That’s, till we began pulling on the 4x4s a bit…and we realized there was no manner these would not tip over from the burden of the lights. (Even with 100 kilos of cement!)

The lights aren’t CRAZY heavy…however we had been draping them throughout the patio, so the gap provides some rigidity. We had our handyman come out to have a look (he was serving to me hold the lights anyway) and he got here up with a superb answer.

He discovered lengthy steel metal flats on the ironmongery store that he pounded into the bottom after which secured into the cement portion of the pots:

You may want a stone/cement drill bit to get into the set cement. You can even do that whereas the cement is drying with an everyday drill bit.

He hooked up 4 to every planter and it labored like a allure!! Good. They do not budge. I am shocked the planters within the tutorials I discovered keep upright — however as I discussed, in case you are putting them nearer collectively or utilizing light-weight mild strands, they’ll most likely work. (Our lights are strung 20+ ft over the patio.)

As a result of I used to be filling the remaining a part of every planter with soil and crops, I drilled a number of holes into the perimeters of the planters so water would not pool up inside:

I discovered a flat of those succulents at Lowe’s — it was SO simple to plant! You possibly can both simply lay them down over the filth or tear them into items like I did:

Hopefully they do properly on the market! One flat was $21 and I had loads for the 2 planters. Within the spring I will add petunias that may spill over the perimeters.

Step 4: Hold the lights with {hardware}.

Subsequent it was time to get the lights hung! I purchased this light hanging kit final yr and it had all the things we would have liked:

We had loads of {hardware} and wire leftover. In case you are draping the lights lower than seven ft, you may simply hold them by themselves. The model recommends that you just use wire for distances longer than that.

The equipment comes with 150 ft of wire, which was far more than we would have liked. The outside lights we use are from Feit and are 48 ft every. So you will simply should map out the design you need primarily based in your house and the way lengthy your lights are. I knew the place we wished to begin (the nook of the patio so we might entry a plug), and I positioned the planters (earlier than we added cement) the place we wished them to drape:

How to hang outdoor lights without trees

It is arduous to find out precisely how a lot you will use, so we knew the position of the final attachment to the again of the home would rely upon how a lot of the lights had been left, if that is sensible. We thought it will attain to the nook of the home, however as an alternative we needed to transfer it in a bit. This made it so we did not have any extra lights/wire hanging down.

It’s SO lovely and even higher than I imagined!:

DIY string light cement planters tutorial

We hung the wire after which used small zip ties to connect the lights. You possibly can string the wire by the holes within the lights beforehand, however the zip ties after was simpler. This manner you may safe the wire first after which add the lights after the actual fact.

I all the time lean to an easier look so I did not need this to get too busy. We might have added extra planters and lights and had them commute many instances…however I favor this! If you need extra, go for it!:

Patio with DIY outdoor lights in planters

I shared all about these superior industrial cafe lights right here — within the few years since that submit, they now make them in LED as an alternative. This may save on electrical energy — every bulb is just one watt.

The outdated units got here with a ton of additional bulbs as a result of they had been glass. These are plastic so that they solely present a number of additional (additionally as a result of they will final MUCH longer than the incandescent model). The LED model can also be lighter (weight clever) than those we used years in the past.

I do not all the time love LED lights, particularly exterior. I favor a hotter mild, however as you may see, these aren’t stark in any respect. Very heat and welcoming:

Be sure you tighten the bulbs properly — if they are not working that is normally the issue.

We had been going to have a change run down the porch column so we might simply flip these on and off, however our handyman jogged my memory {that a} distant change would work simply as properly. We saved SO a lot cash utilizing that as an alternative of getting electrical work performed.

That is the remote we used — simply plug it into the outlet, then plug the lights into the machine. You possibly can flip the lights on and off from inside or exterior simply. Here is a have a look at the lights when it is fully darkish: