Patio lighting project

We put up some lights on our back patio. We wanted to go simple, portable, and cheap... so of course it was way more complicated and costly than it should have been! I said, "You live and learn" multiple times over the weekend, but I guess it turned out okay in the end.

When Jane first brought up the idea, she wanted me to make some tall box planters with 4x4s for the lights. I thought on this for quite some time, and finally one day happened across some alternative ideas on Pinterest via Google. If I learned one thing, though, it is: Don't use someone's idea off of Pinterest!

Anyway, we went with concrete-filled planters and 1 1/2" pvc pipe cut to 8'11" (so it will fit under the eaves for winter storage). I also got end caps so they don't fill with water, though I don't know that that would be a problem. We painted the pipe black and drilled holes in the end to insert a wire to connect the lights to. We thought this would make them easy to move about if necessary.

After letting the poles and end caps dry overnight, we set them in concrete in the planters on Saturday. I used about 3/4 of a bag of concrete mix per planter, and just mixed it in the planter. I made a triangle of boards to sort of hold the poles in place, but it set up pretty quickly. I also drilled three holes in the planter sides just above the concrete to allow for drainage (we planted flowers on top of the concrete). Within a couple hours we were attaching the lights.

 I thought everything was going pretty smooth until we strung the lights. We got three strands of 20' lights from Walmart that connect together. Unfortunately the planters, having a narrower base at the bottom, were a little too tippy with the lights attached so high. After having the poles fall over a couple times we decided a change was necessary. We happened to have some bigger planters with a wider base and just set the original ones inside them. This added some stability, but we also decided we needed a third pole/planter. We happened to have a 10' galvanized pipe that was the same size as the plastic, and it worked better than the plastic pipe. And... the plastic pipe bent quite easy, so I cut some smaller conduit and put inside the plastic pipe. With the new planters and the third pole, we think it is now sufficient.

Costs were roughly:

• Plastic pipe - $5/each = $10
  
• Cement - $5/bag = $15
• Original planters - $15/each = $45
• Lights - $12.50 = $37.50
• Conduit = $10
  
• Grand Total = $127.50

If I had it to do over again... I would probably opt for one of these scenarios:

1. Run a wire from the house to the tree and back to the garage and hang lights on the wire. That would be the simplest, cheapest, and probably best overall.
2. I would sink 4x4s in the ground with concrete and string the lights from them. Not portable, but cheaper and more stable.
   
3. If we stuck with something similar to what we have: I would have gotten the wider planters to begin with, and metal pipe instead of plastic. Also use a full bag of concrete per planter.

 But, alas, we didn't do any of those things (yet), so this is what we have for now! You, um, live and learn. ;) 

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Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” - John 12:35-36