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.
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.
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
Connecting through all the copper elbows for a seamless flow.
The Edison bulbs look fantastic lit up at night. Certainly not spooky back here anymore.
Wraps around the deck
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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.
Love it!!
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!
That is so cool.
Love it! Great job as usual!!
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?
My husband cut the strands and spliced them together at the end. No lights went through the pipes.:)
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
Love the lights!!! Great job!
I would love those around my pergola!!!!
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!
This is beautiful. Our daughter and son-in-law have a deck. This may be a housewarming gift Dad can do for them.
Great idea! Looks beautiful at night.
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
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!
It looks fantastic. Good job Mike!!
Looks fabulous!
Fantabulous Debbie! Love the copper and the lights are so pretty! Kudos to Mike….he did an excellent job!
Love it!
Leave it to Mike to figure out how to do this it looks wonderful ???
Thanks Mom:)
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!
Thanks LuAnn! You too.
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!!!
Thank you Carol! Happy 4th to you as well!
That looks so good. We love our outdoor lights. Now, if it would just cool down out there!
We were out there tonight. Thank God for the slight breeze!
I LOVE this!!! It makes the outdoors soo romantic! Will have to get my hubby to work!! Thanks for the idea!