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How to Hang Patio String Lights

Raise your hand if you love the look of string lights… Yeah, me too!! Every time we would eat on a restaurant patio with the glow of string lights overhead or stroll through Denver’s Larimer Square, I would dream about hanging patio string lights over our backyard!
 
But if we were going to do it, I wanted to do it right – with commercial grade light strands and guide wires. The installation process seemed very intimidating to us, and we weren’t sure where to begin, so we finally enlisted the help of a knowledgeable family friend. As it turns out, it’s really not that difficult – you just need to have the right materials!
 
Backyard Evolution String Lights


Our backyard patio is situated between our kitchen and our detached garage, so I always envisioned lights strung back and forth between the house and the garage.

 
COMMERCIAL GRADE VS. STANDARD GRADE STRING LIGHTS
 
As I mentioned, we knew from the start that we wanted to use commercial grade light strands with guide wires, rather than the less inexpensive strings of lights available at most stores. One of the reasons for this is because we could custom order the exact length of lights we needed, but the other, more important reason is because commercial grade lights are better suited for permanent outdoor installation.
 
So what is the difference between standard grade and commercial grade string lights? It’s a common misconception that the difference is the type of light bulbs, but actually the distinction is in the wire and the sockets. According to PartyLights.com, commercial grade light strands are made from heavy duty wire with weather-proof sockets that seal around the bulb to keep water out. In additional to giving a more professional look, commercial grade string lights are recommended for permanent installations intended to be left up year-round and are suitable for hard-wiring.
 
By comparison, standard grade string lights can also be suitable for outdoor installation, but they typically do not last as long as commercial grade light strands, especially in locations with inclement weather. They are less expensive up front, but require replacement much more frequently if left up year round. Standard grade string lights are more appropriate for events and less permanent applications.
 
 

PLANNING FOR & PURCHASING PATIO STRING LIGHTS
 
Several years ago, during the construction of the patio, we also had an outlet installed in the underside of the garage eave {above the light by the garage man door} in anticipation of adding string lights some day. Commercial grade string lights can be plugged in or hard wired, but by having the forethought to add this outlet years ago, it made our string light installation such a quick and easy job! The outlet is controlled by a light switch in the garage, allowing us to the turn the lights on and off without ever having to unplug them.
 
Electric Outlet in Garage Eaves

I honestly think that figuring out the layout for the lights and determining the lengths, wattage and socket spacing was harder than the actual installation of the lights. However, I fully admit that is probably a biased perspective because since I was in charge of the measuring and planning, but I didn’t have to do any of the work of installing the lights.

Nonetheless, planning is obviously an important step, so let me show you the plan we came up with. As we went along, I learned that there is a lot more to it than just measuring for the length of your string lights, and it can get pretty confusing, so I’ll try to sum up all of the things you need to consider before purchasing your string lights.

 

Because of the placement of our outlet in the garage eave, we actually used two separate strands of lights {as represented by the red and blue in the diagram below}. Each strand plugs in to the outlet on the garage eave, and then zig zags back and forth between the garage and the house. We measured the length of the garage, including the overhang of the roof line. Taking into account the location of the electrical outlet, we determined that 5.25 feet between points would allow us to have five evenly spaced connection points, as illustrated in the diagram below. {The gray in the diagram represents where the roof line extends beyond the garage building.}

We then identified four corresponding connection points on the house side of the patio – each evenly spaced between the connection points on the garage. Knowing the distance between the garage and the house, and given the 5.25 foot distance between connection points, we were able to calculate the length of each zig {or is it a zag?} at 230 inches. Who ever said you’d never need the Pythagorean Theorem in real life?!

Patio String Light Diagram
 
Once we calculated the length of light strands we needed, we started doing research on commercial grade string light pricing. We settled on purchasing a bulk reel from PartyLights.com because they not only had the best price, but had also been recommended to us by a friend. {This post is not sponsored by Party Lights, I am just sharing our experience.}
 
Since we were custom ordering the lights, in addition to knowing the length of light strands we needed {as determined by the diagram above}, we also had to decide on the distance between the sockets and the style and wattage of bulbs. These decisions are important not only for aesthetic purposes, but also because each strand of lights has a maximum run wattage {which is listed in the specs for each light strand}.
 
In order to ensure that you stay within the maximum run wattage, you have to take into consideration the total length of the strand you need, the wattage of bulbs you want to use, and the distance between the sockets. In other words, the higher the wattage of bulb and the closer the sockets are placed, the shorter the strand must be; whereas with lower wattage bulbs and sockets spaced further apart, you can have a longer strand and still be with in the maximum run wattage. Installing two stands of lights was not only convenient due to the location of our outlet {as shown in the diagram above}, but also allowed us to avoid exceeding the max wattage of either strand.
 
Taking all of these things in to account, we settled on 11-watt “sign bulbs” and a socket spacing of 24 inches. This is the exact reel of lights that we ordered, and these are the exact bulbs. If you’re doing the math, you might notice that this reel was much longer than we needed. This is because we were splitting it with my parents who were also installing string lights at their house; however, we could have ordered just the length we needed.
 
Note that the reel we purchased DID NOT come with plugs. Since we were not hard wiring our lights, we had to add plugs to the ends of the strings, which we purchased at our local hardware store.
 
 
 
HOW TO INSTALL COMMERCIAL GRADE PATIO STRING LIGHTS WITH GUIDE WIRES
 
The commercial grade lights we purchased are suitable for permanent installation, either affixed to a structure {such as a pergola} or hung with a guide wire. Since we were stringing our lights back and forth between our house and our garage, we used a guide wire.
 
Full disclosure – I had no part in the actual installation of these lights. A family friend, who had experience installing commercial string lights, helped Scott do the job. They did the work while I was out of town at a conference last summer. As a result, I only have one or two photos of the process that Scott sent to show me sneak peeks along the way, but I think that the photos of the completed installation, together with their explanations, will tell you everything you need to know.
 
How to Hang Patio String Lights
 
Materials Needed:
 
  • Commercial Grade String Lights from PartyLights.com {discussed above}
  • 1/16″ Wire Rope
  • 1/16″ Wire Rope Clamps
  • Eye to Eye Turnbuckle
  • Screw Hooks
  • Zip Ties
  • Outdoor rated plugs
Since a picture is worth a thousand words…
 
commercial grade outdoor string light installation guide
 
Using the document I created showing the layout of the lights, the guys installed 5 screw hooks in the eave of the garage – one right by the outlet, and each other 5.25 feet apart. Then they installed four screw hooks in a small overhang on the house side.
 
Patio String Light Installation Diagram
 
They then placed eye to eye turnbuckles on each screw hook, and ran a length of wire rope between each turnbuckle {spanning the distance from house to garage}, and then secured each guide wire with a wire clamp. Once the wire rope was strung between the house and garage, the guys were able to adjust the screws in the turnbuckle to control the amount of swag in each guide wire {screwing the eye hooks further into the turnbuckle pulls the guide wire more taut}.
 
Patio String Light installation illustration
 

The screw hooks at each far end of the garage have just one eye to eye turnbuckle {because this is where the string lights end}. All of the other screw hook has two turnbuckles on it, so the guys zip tied the two turnbuckles together to secure the position of the each guide wire.

 

 

 
Once all of the guide wires were in place, the guys began attaching the light strands to the guide wires using zip ties at the location of each socket, as well as between each socket.
 
Using zip ties to secure string lights
 
String lights attached to guide wire
 
Here’s what the completed string light installation looks like on the house side of our back patio:
 
String lights attached to house
 
And here’s what it looks like where a strand ends and is capped off near the corner of the garage:
 
String light termination point
 
 
 
PATIO STRING LIGHTS HUNG IN A ZIGZAG PATTERN
 
The lights look great hanging above the patio during the day…
 
String lights above patio during the day
 
String lights above the patio during the day

 

…but, of course, it’s when the sun goes down that the string lights become the stars of the show! I love watching the way the glow of the light changes after after the sun has set as the sky becomes deeper and deeper shades of blue.
 
String lights above the patio at dusk
 
 
 
String lights above patio at dusk

We swapped out the regular light switch inside the garage for a dimmer switch, allowing us to control the amount of light that we get from the string lights at night. When not dimmed, the lights make the backyard quite bright {but not too bright} – perfect for entertaining or letting the kids play at night. But for a quieter backyard dinner, or when relaxing on the outdoor couch, we enjoy being able to dim the lights a bit for more ambiance.

 
How to install commercial grade patio string lights with guidewires
 
HOW TO ADD A DIMMER TO PATIO STING LIGHTS
 
If you decide you want to use a dimmer, just make sure that you buy a dimmer that can handle the wattage load of your lights. Most dimmer switches can only handle 600 watts of power, which was insufficient for the wattage and number of bulbs we had. We burned out a regular dimmer before realizing this, and then replaced it with a 1000-watt dimmer. If your strand rates at higher than 1,000 watts, you may be unable to use a dimmer with your string lights, because we were told that no one makes dimmer rated for wattage above 1,000 {though you should confirm this for yourself}.
 
 
 
HOW ARE THE STRING LIGHTS HOLDING UP?
 
The string lights have been up in the backyard for just over a year now, and I only wish we had installed them sooner! They are such a stylish addition to our yard, and make it easier to enjoy our patio at night.
 
The guide wires and lights held up great through the Colorado winter, including a couple of major snow storms. However, earlier this summer we had a massive thunderstorm that produced very large hail, and after the storm passed we went outside to find that about 20 or so of our bulbs had been shattered by the hail. If you look closely at the photo below, you can see that the glass is gone on just about every other bulb.
 
String lights broken by hail
 
I didn’t notice the broken bulbs at first, until I started finding glass on the ground. Fortunately, the kids had not yet been back outside. We already had extra bulbs on hand, so replacing them wasn’t an issue, but cleaning up all the tiny shards of thin glass was quite a job! Not only was there glass all over the cement pavers, we also found glass all over our table, chairs and couch, in the ground cover, and in the grass. So a word of warning – after a hail storm, be sure to check for any broken bulbs before letting kids run around in the backyard!
 
 
 
Hopefully I explained the installation process clearly enough to get you on the right track, but don’t hesitate to leave me a message or email me if you have further questions!
 
Installing commercial grade patio string lights
 
UPDATES:

Comments

  1. I love your string lights! Is there any chance that you are in the Denver area? I am too! I would love to pay your friend to install lights for us. (Or maybe he knows someone that does installation?) I am a DIY-er but hanging something that could electrocute me makes me a little cringy!!

    Reply

    • Sorry for my delayed response! I am in Denver! I would be happy to ask our family friend if he is interested in doing another string light installation, or if he can recommend someone else. Are you looking to do it this fall, or wait for spring?

    • Excellent post ! I live in Denver and just bought a duplex with rooftop patio. My backyard is almost identical to yours with patio in between detached garage. I am going to follow this exact guide and design my patio exactly like yours! Thank you for the wonderful post..

      Cheers !

    • I totally get that! I would be happy to ask our family friend if he is interested in doing more string light installs, or if he can recommend someone else! I'll let you know when I hear back from him!

  4. I'm curious about the wires (?) that are attached to the turnbuckles with some kind of clamp. How are they attached to the strand of lights? And is their purpose to provide strain-relief or to protect the strands from rubbing on hooks?

    Reply

    • I am not sure if I understand your question correctly, but I will try to answer. Please let me know if I am not answering the question you're trying to ask. The strands of lights are attached to the guide wires with zip ties (as explained above). We used guide wires, rather than just stringing the strands of lights back-and-forth by themselves, because these are commercial grade string lights intended for "permanent" installation and the lights hang year around including under the weight of snow during the winter. If you were talking about where the two turnbuckles come together, we used the zip ties to hold the turnbuckles together, thereby securing the position of each guidewire. All of this is explained in much more detail above under the installation instructions.

    • That would probably work fine for a temporary installation for a party or a short period of time, but wouldn't be a good solution for a permanent installation of commercial grade lights with guidewires (which is what I was after).

  8. Great Post! Thanks for sharing. I'm in Denver and my wife is pregnant and I would love to have this done this month ? Would be happy to pay to have some help ! We have almost the same layout between the garage and house. Please help!.

    Reply

  10. This is a great post! I am putting up acoustic treatment in my home studio. I need to suspend some acoustic panels from the ceiling, BUT I have those deadly asbestos popcorn ceilings and disturbing the ceiling is a no-no. So I figured I'd run a wire rope across the room from wall to wall and hang the panels from their. I didn't really know how to translate that bright idea into reality, but here it is in your post. Thanks!

    Reply

  11. A well planned project! All this advice about "permanent installation" and then using zip ties that will last (2)years max.

    Reply

    • I appreciate your concern, but in fact the particular zip ties that we selected are rated for a 10 year life when used outdoors exposed to both UV rays and snow. There are certainly different types of zip ties, intended for different uses and rated for different periods of time. I should add a note about that to the post, so thank you for pointing that out. However, when I reference "permanent installation" I don't intend to suggest that anything lasts forever. I recognize that at some point in time we may need to replace the zip ties (or some other part of the installation). Permanent installation is the term commonly used to refer to string lights that are left up year round, as distinguished from installation methods or light/socket types that are put up in the spring and taken down before winter. When we eventually see that any of the zip ties are beginning to fail, we will, at that time, replace all of them. Unless every zip tie were to fail simultaneously, the lights won't come crashing down, so we shouldn't have any problems even if the zip ties were to not live up to their estimated life.

  12. Wow — I really appreciate the photos and details of this post. We followed it almost to the letter and put our string lights up today. Thank you!

    Reply

  13. Thank you for this excellent post! I just put in my string lights today and you have the best guide online, hands down. The lights look amazing and I'm glad I followed all your advice despite the 5hour+ project.

    Reply

  17. Outstanding report of how the project was done! I'm curious, I live in Houston and we have an occasional rather nasty storm that comes by (hurricane) and I'd like to be able to take the lights down prior to. Looking at the screw hooks, would you say that the weight of the run of lights and cable going to each hook isn't so great that the turnbuckles can be lifted off either as is or turning the screw hooks 180 degrees to face inward? I'm guessing the greater the swag, the easier this might be accomplished.

    Reply

  18. Awesome post – never knew about commercial lighting options for outdoor use. Will look into that as we plan to rejuvenate our patio this spring. Thanks for sharing and thank you so much for the installation tips!!!!! The lights look great!

    Reply

  19. I am looking at istalling commercial grade string lights…. but dont have two permanent structures. I'm attaching between my house and some 2×2 8' posts I'm attaching to corners of my pool fence. All the commercial grade stuff is way too heavy and just droops. Will the guide wire help to hold that weight or will it just pull on my 2x2s too much?

    Reply

    • Trena,

      I'm having the same issues with 4×4 posts bending and we used the guide wire. The wire definitely helps, but the wire is not strong enough to support the weight of all of the lights. I'd recommend buying a heavy duty wire that's capable of support several hundred pounds. The wire we are using supports 120 pounds and is still drooping.

    • I don't personally have experience with attaching the lights to wood posts, but I do know quite a few people who have had good success using metal poles set either in the ground with concrete or set into concrete filled pots. You may have better luck with metal poles rather than wood posts.

  20. My wife and I are currently installing a similar setup, but using 4×4 posts to hang the lights. We're noticing the weight of the lights are bending the posts. We've tried to reinforce by packing extra dirt around the poles, hoping they'll hold. Does your friend who did the install have any recommendations how to balance out the weight or install a cantilever cable to pull the post back to an upright position? Thanks for any assistance!

    Reply

    • I think at the very least, your posts will need to be set with concrete. However, the wood may still bend. I know quite a few people who have had good success using metal poles set either in the ground with concrete or set into concrete filled pots. You may have better luck with metal poles rather than wood posts.

  21. Thanks for your great blog post. I followed your instructions and installed four aluminum fence posts to my deck and strung the lights on th eperimiter of my deck.

    I bought blank 2×2 aluminum fence posts that were 9 feet tall (no pre-drilled holes). I used 3" deck screws to attach them to the deck sides, placing the psist at the corners. I used Nylock screws on the top eyelets to hold them steady in the fence post. They seem sturdy enough and even came with plastic caps. We shall see how they hold up in the wind.

    Thanks again!

    Reply

  22. To the June 17th poster above – can you post a photo or more detailed description of your hardware setup using the poles attached to your deck corners? (how you connected the guide wire to your poles, how you attached the poles to the deck, etc…) Thanks! This sounds like a good option for stringing lights on deck perimeter.

    Reply

  23. I'm about to do a very similar setup at my house on my back patio. Although, I'm a little worried about connecting the strands of lights together and the connection spot being exposed to weather (rain). Does anyone have any thoughts about the plug connection spot being exposed or any prior experience doing this?
    Thanks in advance.

    Reply

  24. Great information and very well written! Thanks for taking the time to write this article. As a math instructor, I got a kick out of your plug for the Pythagorean Theorem. Yes, math is actually useful.

    I have experience that addresses some of the questions/concerns raised in the comments. Our house came with a shade sail set up so we have four anchor points already. Two of the cleats are attached to the house, and the other two are on posts. One of the posts is 6×6 and the other is a 4×4. They are set in concrete leaning at about 30° away from the house. Although a shade sail creates a much heavier load than string lights, my advice is don't skimp on materials or installation. You can do it right once, or do it over and over. It's a safety issue also to have insufficient support for your lights.

    Someone mentioned sagging. That's what the turnbuckles are for. Even steel cable will stretch over time the turnbuckles give you several inches of adjustment to the out the slack. When we were using the shade sail, we even had to take out length at the cable fasteners occasionally. But your posts have to be up to it. You could easily snap a 2×2 applying this amount of leverage. As for the question about an outdoor outlet constantly exposed to the weather, the author leaves hers plugged in continuously because it is switched inside. Most of you are going to be turning your lights on and off by plugging and unplugging them. Your exterior outlet should already be a GFI so if you get a shower while your lights are on, you should be Ok. Putting them on a dimmer switch is genius, though! I will certainly keep that in mind when I plan our installation.

    Reply

  25. Was wondering if you think I will need to use the cable for the string lights if I am going to be attaching them along my building, about 150 feet, instead of across from building to building? This is a four story building and I want to run it between the first and second floor along the building.

    Reply

    • I think it still might be a good idea, because it lends stability to help the lights withstand weather and keep them from sagging. It's definitely helpful in a place with snow, but would also help with wind and other weather as well.

  26. Thank you so much for this article! We followed your suggestions step by step and got our lights hung yesterday. I love them:)

    Reply

  28. Best instructions I've found on Pinterest! We just bought our light strands and will be installing them this spring. 🙂 I have my spacing & zig-zagging plan set. The only part that eluded me so far is the HOW to get them up in a way that will stand up to the weather year-round. This post makes it perfectly clear what to use, and why. Brilling! What I also like about your method, is that if a strand ever needed to be replaced, we'd simply need to cut the zip ties holding that strand to the wire, but the entire wire structure remains in place to hook the replacement strand onto. Actually, I can see how this would be helpful even for weather events where we decide it may be best to take the lights out of the elements – just snip the zip ties to remove the lights, while the entire structure remains intact to easily re-attach the lights when ready. Thank you, thank you!!

    Reply

  29. Too funny we live like 2 doors south from you on Penn. we were wanting to hang our lights too and I happened across this. Thanks neighbor!

    Reply

  33. Great post. I am going to upgrade an installation I had someone do a few years ago that is becoming problematic. Question: Did you do anything when plugging one strand of lights into another? I am concerned that just plugging them into each other will not support the weight of the lights over time and at some point they will come undone and fall possibly injuring someone. Thanks!

    Reply

    • Since we attached the string lights to guide wires with zipties, the wires support the weight of the lights. If you use guidewires, this should prevent the plug from pulling apart or the strings from falling down. I would, however, do some research on whether you need to do anything additional to make the plug connection between the two strings of lights waterproof.

  35. Great post! I'm in Denver too, and I'm interested in doing a similar installation. Are the lights still holding up well? I'm concerned about having the same hail problem you encountered. Has that continued to be an issue? Any better solutions other than just replacing bulbs after every storm? Any idea how Larimer Square gets around that problem? Thank you!

    Reply

  36. I first put up my patio string lights without cables and within a few months they started to fall down, when for example the plastic tab on the light connected to my eye hook broke. So I looked online for how to build a cable system and found your article. Took the rest of the lights down, and used your instructions to hang cables and hang the lights. Solid and brilliant – thanks for putting this together !!

    Reply

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