Whats The Best Way To Hang Outdoor String Lights
The answer, of course, is It depends. But never fear! Were about to go through 10 different ways to hang outdoor string lights.
The best option for you will come down to whats around your outdoor space to secure the lights to, whether you need to install your own posts, and whether you plan to leave the lights up year-round or take them down for the colder months.
How To Hang String Lights On A Deck
For a patio, hanging string lights is easy you can find tall shepherds hooks to insert into the grass or flower beds to achieve the look you want. But a deck that sits a few feet off the ground is another matter entirely!
First, I needed some kind of pole to hang the string lights from, in the areas they wouldnt anchor to the house. One method of securing deck lighting poles is to ground them into planter containers , but this wasnt a possibility on our deck due to two built-in L-shape benches in the outside corners.
Two things you may or may not know about me: 1) Im frugal and 2) Im not that handy. I didnt want to spend hundreds of dollars on this DIY project, and it had to be easy. I can happily say now that were almost two years in, nothing has fallen down, and every one of my solar Edison bulbs still glow as brightly as the first night. I am really proud of what I made!
Is It Time To Purchase A New Light Pole
You’re searching for a new string light pole. How do you feel? Future price alterations are difficult to forecast. It may be worth investing now to get a return on your investment sooner if there are no indications that manufacturing is slowing down. But if output is falling and prices are expected to climb, you might want to hold off on making a decision until the commotion has subsided.
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How To Make A Pole For Hanging String Lights On A Deck
We already had a DIY bird feeder hanging from the deck so we had to work around that.
Once again we are using EMT, which is used to run electrical wire through. I like it because it’s cheap at around $5, and it’s very sturdy.
You can also paint it to match your space.
I painted the poles that we made last time we did this project but we did this really quickly, in about 20 minutes, so I didn’t paint it.
Besides, the bird feeder pole is still in its natural state, so I just kept the metal look for both.
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Installing The Deck Pole For String Lights
The first thing we did was drill a hole for the EMT in the deck railing.
Then I added my two hose clamps to the EMT.
One went on the top to keep the wire rope in place, and one at the bottom to keep it from sliding down through the 2 hole straps that we attached to the deck pole.
Next, I slipped the tubing into the hole Roger drilled in the deck rail, and used the hole straps to secure it to the bottom of the deck.
What Does The String Light Pole Look Like
I’m sorry if this confused you. I am aware that choosing is difficult! But this is one of your most important decisions. If you’re still not sure which kind of string light pole is ideal for you, I suggest evaluating the features and capabilities of the various types of string light pole that are mentioned above. Each has benefits and drawbacks.
- MULTIPLE USAGE::You can apply our outdoor light pole in the garden, the backyard, and the patio, as well as decorations for parties, Christmas and Halloween. Of course, it would be feasible to hang some other outdoor decorations, including colored flags, lanterns, bird feeder, flower pots, etc. 30 days refund and 12 monthly replacement warranty is applied.
- TWO-IN-ONE DESIGN: Flanagan string light pole is newly upgraded with 7-prong foot and U-shaped bracket. There have two ways to install without extra charges, it can be inserted into the grassland and soil or can be installed on fence.more
Camping is an outdoor activity, thus we must always check the weather forecast before going. Nothing beats camping on a sunny day, but the weather isn’t always cooperative. The rains will come unexpectedly, especially in the spring and summer, or when you are having a picnic in the mountains.
With my experience as a camping enthusiast and many times getting startled by the weather, I’ll share with you some critical camping knowledge for when it rains so you’ll be prepared to cope with it
Things to prepare when camping in the rain
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How Much Are String Light Poles
poles for string lights are available in a range of styles and price points. These days, estimating product costs is challenging. The pricing spectrum is so wide that you can’t tell what anything costs. For instance, based on where you buy them, a pair of jeans might cost anywhere from $20 and $200. Likewise, extra items like a pole for string lights
How To Hang Outdoor Lights From Trees
If youve got big trees near your patio or deck, youre in luck! You can use eye hooks, cup hooks, or coaxial staples to secure them to the tree.
Cyndy from The Creativity Exchange anchored her patio lights to a tree in this beautiful outdoor dining space.
Ariel from PMQ for Two made use of some nearby trees to hang lights over her super-fun outdoor living room.
Or drape them in the lower branches of a tree, like my friend Kippi did for this gorgeous backyard 4th of July party.
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Outdoor Storage And Seating
This outdoor storage bench is just a box made from four frames with legs that wrap around the corners. The panels that fill the frames are plywood with waterproof fabric stapled over them. Covering the plywood seat with foam and fabric is something even an upholstery novice can manage. This bench is easy to customize, too: You can change the dimensions choose fabric to complement other patio furniture, and stain the wood to match your deck or paint it to match your house.
Pole For String Lights
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Why You Need A Guide Wire
Roger has worked with electric his whole adult life so he knows a thing or two about it. I know that a lot of people skip this step but he says it’s important to use some kind of guide wire to hang your string lights.
The reason that you shouldn’t just string the lights without wire is because the string light wire can stretch .
So the short answer is yes, you need to use a guide wire when you are hanging string lights.
With that out of the way, we can move on to securing the wire. This is where the wire rope clamps come in to play.
They keep the wire in place and taut.
How To Hang String Lights When Youre Renting

Heres a slight variation on the string lights poles above. These poles use a patio umbrella stand as the base. They can be moved around easily and are perfect for wedding receptions, outdoor parties, or anywhere you dont cant dig holes in the ground. And did I mention this one only requires 3 tools and takes about 20 minutes tops?
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Diy String Light Poles: The In
Our patio dining space is right next to the house, with no convenient trees nearby. So while we could hang them from hooks on the house side, we really needed some poles on the other side of the patio.
We came up with this ultra-simple and inexpensive method for installing string light poles. The PVC stays in the ground year-round, but the poles themselves can be pulled out at the end of the season and stored in the garage. You can watch our quick video tutorial here:
Hanging String Lights On A Deck
Once the wire was taut we were ready to hang the string lights.
These particular outdoor lights had hooks on them so hanging them was easy.
To keep them from sliding down the EMT, Roger looped the lights around the top of the hose clamp that we attached to the pole.
We needed to run a second string of lights so we used some white electrical tape to protect the plug on each strand.
Then we ran the second string over to the hook on the house and plugged it into the outdoor extension cord and a GFCI outlet.
It took us about 20 minutes to hang our new deck lights and we were in business.
Now with the new porch roof, the outdoor string lights and a little decor, we have a great new outdoor space.
We can’t do a whole lot in this small space but now it looks good!
It also looks great from inside the house. You can see the porch string lights from the front door straight through the dining room.
I just wish we had done this easy project sooner.
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Here’s A Simple Sturdy Way To Hang Those String Lights You’ve Been Eyeing
Jessica Bennett is the digital assistant home editor at Better Homes & Gardens. With a knack for writing and editing, she covers decorating, home improvement, cleaning, organizing, and more for BHG.com. With nearly five years of combined experience in digital and magazine journalism, she has contributed over 800 articles for BHG.com to date, and her writing on interior design and decorating has been featured in 16 national print magazines, including Do It Yourself, Country Home, Beautiful Kitchens & Baths, Secrets of Getting Organized, and more. Jessica received a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism and mass communication from Iowa State University. She also completed a secondary major in French language studies. Prior to graduation, she was inducted into the Kappa Tau Alpha honor society, which recognizes academic excellence in the field of journalism. She is currently pursuing an interior design certificate from the New York Institute of Art + Design.
- Total Time:1 day
- Skill Level:Beginner
Ready your outdoor space for al fresco dining and bonfire season with the warm glow of string lights. If you don’t have any deck or porch posts accessible or trees you can use to string outdoor lights, this backyard project to install a pole for string lights can help you suspend lights anywhere with minimal effort.
Helpful Notes Before You Start This Project:
Following are some helpful notes when youre installing string lights around your deck using this method for making deck poles:
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How To Hang String Lights From A Wall Fence Or Building
If you want to hang your cafe lights from your house or another wall or fence, simply drill a pilot hole and screw either an eye hook, a cup hook, or a coaxial staple into the wall.
We used this method on the house side of our patio.
I hung string lights on the wall behind my new boho porch swings! You can see the whole porch makeover here.
Jenna from Jenna Kate At Home hung string lights along her house next to her patio to create this ultra-casual look.
How To Hang String Lights: 10 Different Ways
Outdoor string lights are wildly popular, and for good reason! They feel magical and bring a warm, intimate ambiance to any party or outdoor living space.
Inexpensive, simple for the average person to DIY, relatively easy to put up and take down with the seasons, and the list goes on
And if youre still not sure what kind of lighting is best for your outdoor living space, I walk through more backyard lighting options in this post.
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How To Hang String Lights If You Only Have A Patio
The same ideas will apply! Instead of attaching the wood poles to a deck, I would suggest putting them into a planter and perhaps filling it with a small amount of cement to really weigh it down. Then fill the rest of the planter with some soil and succulents to make it pretty.
You can also use command hooks to simple drape them across the side of your house, like we did!
See how easy it is to hang string lights on a deck? We really love the effect these string lights have created on our deck and we’ve been spending so much more time outside enjoying our deck while the weather is still nice!
P.S. Don’t forget to check out the full summer deck reveal!
Hang String Lights From A Ceiling Or Covered Patio

April from Love Our Real Life has a roof over her deck, and she has a great tutorial for hanging patio lights from the ceiling.
I hung string lights in the kids playhouse using a similar method- small cup hooks in the rafters. It takes 5 minutes to hang the lights up each Spring and take them down at the end of the Summer. You can see the whole playhouse makeover here.
Emily from Table & Hearth used a similar method to hang her string lights under her covered patio but she hung them in a criss-cross pattern.
I hope these tutorials were helpful! Now go enjoy your outdoor living space!
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Set Concrete For String Light Poles
Create a sturdy base for the lighting supports using concrete and PVC pipes. Sink concrete forms at each end or corner of your patio or backyard area. Make sure the concrete forms are set deep enough to go below the frost line, which varies by region. Center a same-height piece of 1-inch-diameter PVC pipe inside and fill form around the pipe with concrete.
The Easiest Way To Hang String Lights On Your Deck
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Learn how to hang outdoor string lights on a deck. It’s a simple task with only a few materials needed.
We’ve been using our so much more this summer now that we can spend our evenings out here, even when the sun sets and it gets dark. Thanks to this pretty string lights overhead, we’ve created a really beautiful ambience and glow on our deck that keeps up out here until late every night.
Can you see the wooden stake on the top right hand side of our deck? That’s a string light pole and it’s all you need to hang deck string lights! If like us, you don’t have a sort of overhead structure like a gazebo to hang lights from, then this easy DIY will be something you’ll love.
In only 30 minutes, you’ll have those pretty string lights draped over your deck or patio and you can start to enjoy them!
- Furring strips – stained or painted to match deck
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Our deck is not huge, so instead of swagging the lights back and forth, we chose to simple create a perimeter of lights around the deck.
If you wanted to get the swag effect, simply attach more hooks to the house and a center pole attached to the deck.
Here’s a quick video from my phone so you can get a better idea of how pretty and glowy the string lights are when it’s completely dark out .
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