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Home » DIY

Diy hanging outdoor string lights

By Debbiedoo's Team Published: Jun 29, 2016 · Modified: Jul 15, 2022

Disclosure:  My husband is not an electrician.  This project is done at your own risk.  He is still alive and there was no electrocution and the lights are all working. We take no liability for diy electrical work. Importantly, I was contacted by a concerned blog reader who is a retired electrician.  She voiced concerns regarding the splices.  Her recommendation is to use small metal and plastic splices that can be crimped using an inexpensive tool and to use shrink tubing and plastic electrical tape to protect your splices. She said while this would not be to code it would be more safe. We will be taking her advice and hope you do the same.  No project is worth your safety. Thanks and have a great 4th.

Now onto the project.  DIY hanging outdoor string lights.

We live in an heavily wooded area as you can see.  It’s dark, it’s spooky, and never anyplace I wanted to step foot out alone in the night.

For all I know Jack the Ripper could have been hiding back there.  I have always adored outdoor string lights hung from tree to tree, or from gazebo’s etc.  We just don’t have any of those options.

 It was time to fix that.  About a month ago I was away with a friend and our boys and we went out to eat on the inter-coastal.  They had beautiful outdoor lighting along the rails of the outdoor deck.  I thought to myself, Mike can do that.  They however used 2×4’s along the rails and little screw in hooks to drape the lights to and from each 2×4.

For this project you can use the 2×4’s, galvanized pipes, plastic piping, etc.

We chose copper piping.  I want that aged patina look eventually.

4- ¾ inch x 5ft. copper pipes

3 packages of Edison string lights

Electrical wire

Friction tape

2- ¾ inch Copper push elbows

2 -¾ inch copper push tee

1 inch. two hole EMT straps

small metal and plastic splices

plastic electrical tape

First the easy part.  Setting up the copper pipes accordingly with the elbows attached.

copper piping

Second mounting all the copper pipes to the deck as shown. This was done on the back side of the upper rails. Note: used friction tape on bottom of tube to improve grip.

brackets for copper piping

Third:  Snipping all three string lights at the end and splicing together using electrical wire, and small metal and plastic splices that can be crimped then use shrink tubing and plastic electrical tape to protect your splices

mounted copper pipes to deck rails

Splicing wire from copper elbow to elbow

Connecting through all the copper elbows for a seamless flow.

Edison bulbs

The Edison bulbs look fantastic lit up at night.  Certainly not spooky back here anymore.

Diy outdoor lighting with copper piping

Wrap around diy string light attachment

Wraps around the deck

Evening lighting on the deck

Affiliate links

Edison string lights

Edison line

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Hope you enjoyed today’s project!

Save it, do it soon:)

DIY outdoor string lights

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Shannon

    June 29, 2016 at 8:19 pm

    This looks fab guys! I love the copper pipe. It’s going to patina up so awesome.
    Great night shot. I bet it looks wonderful from inside the house too.

    Reply
  2. Lora Cutlip

    June 29, 2016 at 9:16 pm

    Love it!!

    Reply
  3. Nancie

    June 30, 2016 at 8:32 am

    I so love it ,Debbie! Wish my hub could do this. He’s dangerous with tools! I’m jealous! Love the night picture! You won’t be afraid anymore! Enjoy your new lighting!

    Reply
  4. Rhonda @ The Messy Roost

    June 30, 2016 at 8:34 am

    That is so cool.

    Reply
  5. Vonda

    June 30, 2016 at 8:37 am

    Love it! Great job as usual!!

    Reply
  6. Allie

    June 30, 2016 at 10:21 am

    I love this! Having a blond moment right now, wondering how you strung that size light all the way around using the elbows on the pipe? I understand getting the wire through, but how did you get the lights through?

    Reply
    • debbiedoo's

      June 30, 2016 at 1:23 pm

      My husband cut the strands and spliced them together at the end. No lights went through the pipes.:)

      Reply
  7. Donna Thomas

    June 30, 2016 at 10:25 am

    I just love it. Great idea. I recently saw on pinterest where they put the cord and connections of their Christmas light in a plastic container (such as glad container for leftovers) to keep it dry. Just an idea. I will put this on my to do list as I live in the woods too but I am afraid to step on a snake.
    thank you for all you share.
    donna

    Reply
  8. Pat

    June 30, 2016 at 10:57 am

    Love the lights!!! Great job!
    I would love those around my pergola!!!!

    Reply
  9. Kathleen Hornbecker

    June 30, 2016 at 11:11 am

    Perfect timing for this post! Wanting to add some lights that weekend given to me. I have some pvc pipes that I can paint and adapt your idea. Thanks as always for your sharing! Happy 4th of July!

    Reply
  10. Carolyn Penney

    June 30, 2016 at 11:18 am

    This is beautiful. Our daughter and son-in-law have a deck. This may be a housewarming gift Dad can do for them.

    Reply
  11. Treva

    June 30, 2016 at 11:31 am

    Great idea! Looks beautiful at night.

    Reply
  12. bj

    June 30, 2016 at 11:38 am

    they look great…I am going to buy solar string lights for our new pergola..hope to get them today..I was wondering if I would like the Edison lites…your;s look fantastic

    Reply
  13. Jewell Martin

    June 30, 2016 at 5:26 pm

    There was only one item in the materials list that I had ever held in my hands before–electrical tape. I use colored electrical tape to mark my luggage when traveling. But as a read your step-by-step directions, I realized this project is possible, even by me. I believe I could do all of the stringing, connecting, and splicing while sitting in the yard, with a little help. PVC or something else lightweight would please me, and I might even paint them to blend with the greenery. The copper hardware would still be pleasing, or maybe galvanized, but I would probably avoid more plastic. The Edison bulbs are perfect. I would need help placing the poles in the yard, but I would keep my placement flexible so I could change bulbs, lighting strings, and even the position of the lines when I wanted to. This is an excellent article with helpful, appropriate photos. Thank you!

    Reply
  14. Jeanie

    June 30, 2016 at 9:20 pm

    It looks fantastic. Good job Mike!!

    Reply
  15. Anne

    June 30, 2016 at 9:58 pm

    Looks fabulous!

    Reply
  16. Char Fisher

    July 01, 2016 at 7:25 am

    Fantabulous Debbie! Love the copper and the lights are so pretty! Kudos to Mike….he did an excellent job!

    Reply
  17. Doris Raab

    July 01, 2016 at 10:28 am

    Love it!

    Reply
  18. Linda

    July 01, 2016 at 12:39 pm

    Leave it to Mike to figure out how to do this it looks wonderful ???

    Reply
    • debbiedoo's

      July 02, 2016 at 9:40 am

      Thanks Mom:)

      Reply
  19. LuAnn Meyer

    July 01, 2016 at 4:53 pm

    I love these lights! I bought a pack at BB&B, for my hubby. They were pricey. They looked nice in the original spot, on the fence in the garden near our pond. But, he moved them to the eave on his barn shed. They still look nice but you just don’t enjoy the details.
    Yours look very nice! Enjoy the holiday!

    Reply
    • debbiedoo's

      July 02, 2016 at 9:40 am

      Thanks LuAnn! You too.

      Reply
  20. carol bittner

    July 01, 2016 at 11:09 pm

    Your lights are wonderful; and ‘no more spooky’ is a great thing. You two work together so well to come up with such exciting end results. You should be so proud!! Just one more time I’ve gotta say I LOVE IT. Happy 4th!!!

    Reply
    • debbiedoo's

      July 02, 2016 at 9:39 am

      Thank you Carol! Happy 4th to you as well!

      Reply
  21. Kim

    July 03, 2016 at 8:45 pm

    That looks so good. We love our outdoor lights. Now, if it would just cool down out there!

    Reply
    • debbiedoo's

      July 03, 2016 at 9:48 pm

      We were out there tonight. Thank God for the slight breeze!

      Reply
  22. EllieandElizabeth

    July 04, 2016 at 12:07 pm

    I LOVE this!!! It makes the outdoors soo romantic! Will have to get my hubby to work!! Thanks for the idea!

    Reply

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