How to Hang Outdoor String Lights Without Trees

Learn how to string lights in your property with action by stage guideline to hanging outside string lights from fences, poles, and roofs.

A person of my most well known posts is my tutorial on how to hang out of doors string lights from our oak grove at the ranch. But our yard at our residence appears to be like very different… and yours could, far too! 

How do you string globe lights in a backyard without the need of trees? Now, I’m going to exhibit you.

Criteria for Hanging Outdoor String Lights

In advance of I demonstrate you specifically how we hung our lights previously mentioned our pool, I want to assistance you assume by means of the out of doors lights suggestions and options for property and patio lights.

Initially, even though, permit me remind you to use warning if you have a pool. This tutorial is intended to display you how to hold lights throughout a garden without easy trees to maintain your lights it is not a in depth tutorial on energy and water basic safety. Remember to test your regional code and/or consult with an electrician when performing in the vicinity of drinking water.

Overhead vs On the Aspect

I’m a sucker for twinkle lights, like Xmas lights, and the ambiance they supply when strung throughout a fence or through the trees is this sort of a entertaining element in backyard lights. Even so, if you want the lights to supply purposeful lighting, like for dining, then you will want bigger lights strung overhead.

To string lights overhead, you need to have a set place at minimum 8-10 feet off the ground that can maintain the rigidity of a wire or light-weight strand. This can be a tree, the eaves of your house or gazebo or coated patio, a pergola, a fence, a picket write-up, a 2nd story deck railing, a metal pole, or any other durable guidance.

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Photo voltaic String Lights vs Plug In

Talking of useful overhead mild, I attempted a number of various solar light strands, and I could not find one that basically presented enough gentle for our purposes. We needed the place to be absolutely lit to enjoy dining, swimming, incredibly hot tubbing, and even an outside video game night we hosted. The solar light strands seem pleasurable for ambiance, but not enough for job lights.

So if you are looking for activity lights, then you will require to take into consideration your electrical power resource. Your design for stringing your lights will will need to start off at a plug and/or contain an extension wire that can mix into your space.

Wire vs No wire

At the ranch in the oak grove, I applied this package and strung a manual wire for the lights (which proved to be beneficial since squirrels like to take in the light cords – ugh – and that permits me to change sections without having losing the tension of the entire house). In our backyard, though, since I was not absolutely sure I required the lights there permanently, I chose to dangle the lights without a wire package.

Long-lasting vs Removable

Technically all of these string lights are really removable, but there are absolutely ways to make them easier to set up and just take down if you want that versatility. Especially if you have to incorporate posts to keep the lights, you are going to want to think about how quick it will be to take out the posts if you ever pick to. 

Glass Bulbs vs Plastic

We chose to use these commercial strands with glass bulbs at the ranch. They are attractive, and since there is mulch beneath, we have not damaged many… But if I experienced it to do above again, but I would almost certainly pick out plastic just to take out any fears.

In our outside house at residence, on the other hand, we have a large concrete patio beneath the lights, so plastic bulbs have been a should. We also chose a strand without having the more dangling cord for just about every gentle because we needed to gain as considerably headroom clearance as probable. 

How to Cling Outside String Lights With out Trees

With all those criteria in brain, we selected overhead plug-in lights with plastic bulbs, and I bought imaginative to put in them in a way that seemed stylish and created-in but could simply be eliminated if we selected to. Permit me demonstrate you how!

Materials we employed to cling our outside string lights:

1. Measure your space

Use a tape evaluate to strategy the area and decide the selection of gentle strands you need to have and the very best configuration for them. You will also will need to contemplate where you can connect the lights (see #2 underneath). Fortunately, you can see the length of just about every strand of lights right before purchasing, so you can make your selections accordingly.

We determined that a VVV formation which began at the outlet earlier mentioned our grill would be ideal. This usually means that the lights are entirely unplugged most of the time. If you can, it will help to attract out the place from an aerial perspective.

2. System your supports

We realized we needed the strands to appear off the framing of the porch, so that gave us two of our details. We have a mountain laurel tree that is generally in line with the porch, so that delivered stage #3 on the residence facet of the property.

For these details, we made use of major-duty screw hooks. The hook screws into the wooden and retains the gentle strand.

On the other dimensions, we had the gentle pole for the grill, but we nonetheless required a few a lot more supports to full our VVV development. Did you know you can develop your possess supports?

We have a charming wrought iron fence, but it is only about 4 toes tall, not approximately tall adequate to assistance overhead lights. I thought of buckets or planters with cement or gravel, but I didn’t want to vacation above them or have to lug them in or out if we ever determined to just take the lights down. 

In its place, I purchased 8-foot prolonged 1″ aluminum sq. tubing and painted it black to match our fence using the goods shown over and this approach for painting out of doors household furniture. I hooked up the poles with large-obligation black zip ties (which you actually really don’t notice except you are staring at it up shut): 3 at the top for safety and a single at the bottom for utmost steadiness.

Notice: aluminum is incredibly a bit adaptable. You might see a little bend in the pole if the stress is substantial, but you should not have any issues with durabilty.

3. String your lights

It was so straightforward to dangle the lights! We made use of zip ties all around the sides of the posts and light pole to safe the mild strands. The cup hooks didn’t require any securing considering the fact that they hold the twine securely.

It has been just about 10 months considering that we put in these lights, and they however seem fantastic as new! I  installed them for a social gathering, but I was doubtful if I would want to maintain them up all calendar year since our porch is elevated and they are in your line of sight when standing on the porch… but I merely enjoy them!

Do-it-yourself Backyard and Patio Lighting

In quick, you may possibly have to get inventive, but hanging your string lights can be accomplished. I do believe it is attainable to cling lovely, professional on the lookout string lights even without the need of trees or lasting poles. 

One additional helpful reminder: If you have a pool or other drinking water features in your property, be sure to remember to use warning when making use of nearly anything electrical close to water! Our lights are fully unplugged when not in use, and we double verify their stability right before plugging them in.

Consider attaching to roofs and porch beams with hefty obligation screw in hooks. Try out extending metallic fences with aluminum poles painted to match or performing the similar with a wood pole versus a picket fence. Use zip ties to keep it all with each other and take pleasure in your new room!