How to Hang String Lights on Covered Patio or Deck

Easy and inexpensive way to hang beautiful string lights on a covered patio and deck – full instructions and products that I used!

I’ve been so excited to hang up some amazing string lights in covered, screened patio. My vision for our patio was to make it an extension of our living space. However, I didn’t want to splurge too much on furniture knowing that, in the future, I wanted to extend our patio from just a small 10 x 10 space that wrapped the width of our home. In order for us to complete the deck project, it would take about $10,000 to create some much needed french drains for our backyard hill to slope the right way and then the same amount to build the deck. Talk about expensive!

So as an interim step to that project, I wanted to make the space as inviting as I could while I patiently for our home furnishings savings account to increase. I purchased an amazing teak patio set for under $150 on Craigslist that desperately needs sanding and new cushions.

I needed an easy way to update the space, but at an economical price point. Simple, gorgeous string lights to the rescue! It was an elegant and easy way to spruce up our outdoor living space, making it more cozy and inviting.

With the right toools, installing string lights can be very easy to do. Here are a few tips and tricks I learned along the way.

Supplies for Hanging String Lights on Covered Patio

Brightech Shop String Lights
Screw Driver
Hooks
Silcon
Zip Ties
Extension Cord

These Brightech shop string lights are amazing. They are heavy duty and very cost effective with their low power. They are also super easy to hang, as each light drop has a small loop hole in it. You simply cannot go wrong with these. They are so durable. I love how you can see the “filament” of the lights even though they are LED, gives more of the vintage vibe.

Tips and Tricks for Hanging Lights

Clean design. Initially, I had wanted the lights to be angled from one corner to the next. Since we had a fan installed, it would be too much for the space.For our space, I wanted to stay clear of a cluttered ceiling, so we opted for the perimeter to be lighted.

However, if you have a fairly open space, I would recommend looking up various ways you can hang the lights (for example lights strung out only from one corner, but spreads like a fan to the sides).

Measure Your Space. Before you even think about ordering your lights, measure your space and your design. It’s important to think about how you’ll get the light to the outlet, especially if you want to hang the long leading end. Measure your space and your initial design so that you get enough length.

Anchor Ports. Make sure you have anchor ports for the light strands. In our space, since we were securing it around the perimeter, it wasn’t that big of a deal.

Use hooks and silicon. If you plan on adding holes to the outside walks, I would recommend using caulking silicon around the hooks to keep the hole from wearing with the weather as well as keeping the bugs out.

Keep the lights away from the wall. While the lights don’t emit that much power, we wanted to avoid any heat to the structures surrounding it as much as possible. As a hack, we added zip ties to the hooks and cut them. The zip ties effectively worked as spacers on the hooks to keep the lights away from the wall. It was cheap and worked.

Seriously, this is the easiest project ever. Adding string lights to our deck makes our evening more magical. The lights look glorious during sunset hours. I just love to get away from the noise of what a big family offers and just sit and relax with a cup of hot chocolate. The glow is charming and provides a surprising amount of light.

While it is true that bugs are less attracted to these LED lights as compared to my regular fan lighting, I now had a new appreciation for what my screened in patio could do for me. Next on the deck project list is sanding down our second hand teak patio set and adding new cushions!