Outdoor Patio Lighting (DIY)
Lighting can truly transform a space, especially outdoors. To complete our outdoor patio renovation, we hung string lights and it amazed me how much it brought the whole space together.
When we removed the few trees we had in the middle of our yard for this backyard renovation, one challenge we faced for hanging string lights was determining how we would hang them if we didn't have a standing structure to connect to the exterior of the house. But..there is a way!
First, we needed to figure out the design of how we wanted to hang the lights since there are so many options. After doing some research and drawing out sketches of our backyard plan, we determined that the V shape was the best option for the space.
Here's how we did this and the materials we used:
Materials:
-1 4x4 (10 ft. tall) treated wood for post
-1 bag of concrete
-Shovel (to dig into the ground to cement the post)
-3 U-shaped hooks (we bought the ones that screw into the side of the house, but if you can't do this with yours there are command hooks you can use as well). The number of hooks will depend on your space as well as how many lights you are hanging, but to make the V shape we used 3.
-Zip ties
-Stick for mixing concrete
-Water source (i.e. hose)
-Level
-Tape measure
-Ladder/step stool
-Outdoor string lights (make sure the box/label states that they are for outdoor/indoor use). The length of the lights will depend on your space, but for ours we bought 50 ft, with extra bulbs. Here is a link to the bulbs we bought on Amazon.
Directions:
-The first thing you have to figure out is the plan for hanging the lights. Here's what you need to think about: How much lighting do you want? Do you want this to cover the entire area? Is it possible to cover the entire area? Do you have any structures to hang this from?
-If you don't have any trees or other structures to hang the lights from, here's where the wood post comes in. Identify the area you want to put your post and dig down at least 2 ft. in the ground to ensure the post is secure.
-Once the hole is dug out, put the post in and begin pouring the bag of concrete. Be sure you have a hose or water source nearby so you can pour this over the concrete to solidify it. Continue doing this, while making sure the post is perfectly level. It's easier when you have two people doing this so one person can hold the post and the other person can handle pouring and mixing the concrete.
-When the concrete is mixed in well in the ground, shovel the rest of the dirt on top of it. Once complete, I recommend using stones or something to hold the post in place. It may already seem like it won't go anywhere, but until the concrete is completely solidified you don't want to take a chance.
-Wait 24-48 hours until the concrete is completely dry. In the meantime, you can begin hanging your U-shaped hooks.
-Place the hooks on your house and on the post. When doing this, make sure you have a tape measure to ensure that it's evenly spaced out (both across the house and from the ground to make sure this matches up to the height of the post).
-Lay out the string lights on the ground to make sure this will be the perfect length for the set-up.
-Begin hanging the lights by attaching one end to the U-hook on the exterior of the house. Use a zip tie to connect. Repeat by attaching to post and the other side(s) of the house.
-Turn on lights and voila!
