Wednesday, March 13, 2024
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How To Weigh Down Patio Furniture

Close The Umbrella Between Uses

An Entire DIY Patio Furniture Set – All From 2X4’s!

It might not have even crossed your mind, but closing your umbrella between uses will minimize how vulnerable it is to the wind.

Rather than being a parachute waiting for the next gust to take it away, your umbrella suddenly becomes a sturdy pole.

If you can find an umbrella with a hook-and-loop style fastener, thats even better. The strap will secure the umbrella while youre not using it.

Patio Furniture Weights 11 Tips To Secure Your Outdoor Furniture

Updated: Eric Clark


When youre inside on a windy afternoon, drinking some tea and watching the trees sway, the last thing you want to see is your outdoor sectional flying through the air, followed by the cantilever umbrella! You may need some patio furniture weights. Patio furniture has a pesky tendency to lift off of the ground or blow over.

These errant attempts at flight can damage the furniture, the surrounding garden, and occasionally bystanders.

Youve likely tried a few strategies in an attempt to keep your furniture secure, but so far they havent worked.

So what else is there to do? Here are some ideas!

Contents


  • 2.11 11. Bring Your Patio Furniture Inside
  • Section C Fabrics & Materials Best Patio Umbrella Fabric

    Click here to view all Sunbrella Fabric Options.

    Just like the fabrics of your outdoor furniture, you need to make sure that the fabrics and materials used on your umbrella meet all-weather requirements. If you live in windy areas, you may want to consider fiberglass umbrellas that are flexible and are designed to bend slightly. Likewise, aluminum is very durable and is still a viable option.

    As far as fabrics go, youll want to look for a few key phrases that will indicate a quality outdoor umbrella. All-weather, waterproof and UV resistant fabrics, and breathable designs that prevent mold and mildew are highly recommended. Sunbrellais the most well-known name in outdoor fabrics. They began making awning in the early 1960s. They now make fabrics for umbrellas as well. Learn more about Sunbrella Fabrics.

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    Determine The Primary Wind Origin Direction

    Ascertaining the origin direction of the wind can be quite helpful in determining how to stop your patio furniture from blowing over. Depending on the location of your patio area relative to hills, trees, walls, and adjacent houses and structures, there may be wind tunnel effects that impact the wind flow through your patio. So go grab your weather vane and

    You dont have a weather vane? Neither do we. Stand outside on your patio on a few windy days and close your eyes. Slowly turn around and feel the wind against your face. Focus on where the wind is most direct against both sides of your face, and the sound of the wind is equal in both ears.

    This will give you a good sense of the wind directional flow through your patio or garden space. With luck, most of it is coming from the same direction, which will make the patio furniture weighting strategy a little easier.

    Alternately, you could pick up a weather station like the Davis Vantage Vue or AcuRite Wireless Weather Station to give you some direction!

    How To Make Rice Outdoor Furniture Weights

    How To Weigh Down Patio Furniture

    Pick The Socks

    The first step to making rice outdoor furniture weights is to pick the right sized socks. I recommend you go for crew socks or any other type of longer socks. You will fit more rice into them and make heavier weights, as a result.


    Pick plain black socks if you want to keep your weights unnoticeable, or choose these colorful ones to add a pop of color to your backyard decor.

    Pro Tip: You dont have to buy new socks for this project. You can repurpose those old socks in the back of your drawer. Just make sure there arent any holes in them!

    Insert Stockings Into The Socks

    Inert one knee-high stocking into each sock and leave an inch hanging out from the top.

    The stockings will add another layer of protection to your outdoor weights. It will keep the rice from damaging the socks, over time and will make your weights last longer in the harsh outdoor conditions, as well.

    Fill The Stockings With Rice

    Fill each stocking with riceusing a funnel or cut water bottle. Just be careful the stocking doesnt slip out of the sock while filling it.


    Make every sock weigh the same by using a kitchen scale. Dont overfill them because you will have a hard time closing them later on.

    Pro Tip: You dont have to use rice to make your patio furniture weights. You can fill the socks with pebbles or any other weighty material instead.

    Tie The Knots

    Dont forget to tie a knot in the sock, as well!

    Connect Weights With Shoelaces

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    How To Put On Large Covers

  • Find at least one other person to help. If you have no one to help, you will need to put on the cover one side at a time.
  • Have everyone take a side of the cover.
  • With your team, hold the cover over the top of the item you want to cover.
  • Stretch out and roll down the sides of the cover over the piece of furniture.
  • Secure buckle straps and tighten the drawcord if the cover has those features.
  • Use cover clamps for extra security.
  • Use A Cover And Bricks To Keep Your Furniture Safe

    Rattan furniture covers are great for protecting your furniture from adverse weather conditions, not just rain but bright sunlight which could cause your tables, chairs or sofa to fade.


    When it comes to windy days, we recommend using a rattan furniture cover and keeping it secure with bricks or large stones to prevent it from blowing around your garden.

    This is also a great means of keeping your furniture secure and out of the eyes of thieves or burglars. Click here for a wide selection of rattan furniture covers.

    For more garden tips or advice about rattan furniture, visit our blog. Alternatively, click here to view our full rattan garden and conservatory range.

    Sign up for our emails below, so we can send you blogs on gardening tips, as well as updates on our sales, so you dont miss out on those garden furniture bargains!

    Read Also: How To Build A Patio Storage Box


    How We Picked And Tested

    New homeowners and renters often look for a comfortable, durable, and reasonably stylish dining set at a moderate price. Thats what we set out to find with this guide, limiting our budget to $800 but hoping to identify sets for much lesswhich we did. Although you can spend much more on an outdoor dining set, in our research we encountered plenty of great options within this price range.

    We considered the following when analyzing sets:

    We visited big-box stores such as Costco, Home Depot, IKEA, and Walmart, as well as more expensive stores like West Elm, Design Within Reach, Modernica, Crate and Barrel, and Restoration Hardware to identify the key differences separating affordable from moderately priced and investment-worthy designs. We dedicated an extensive amount of time to comparing online retailers like Amazon, AllModern, Lowes, Orchard Supply Hardware, Overstock, Target, Teak Warehouse, Wayfair, and West Elm, revealing several sub-$800 options only available online.

    After looking at on-the-floor offerings in stores and spending about 24 hours researching top-rated patio dining sets online, we narrowed down our list to include sets made of wood, steel, aluminum, plastic resin, and all-weather wicker that also have a strong history of positive online reviews spanning back several years.

    Any sets that become picks we buy for long-term testing so that if any issues come up during such use we can update this guide accordingly.

    Do Cantilever Parasols Move In The Wind

    How To Clean Patio Furniture

    Even after securing your cantilever umbrella, it will most likely move a bit in the wind. Due to the hanging design, some motion in the breeze is common, but this same motion is why it is so important to secure the frame and base in the first place. The canopy should sway slightly in the breeze but if it gets too windy, always make sure to fold down the canopy to prevent damage to the fabric and the frame.

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    What Is The Difference Between A Patio Umbrella And A Market Umbrella

    As we have mentioned several times, the market umbrella is used to protect the merchants and their customers from the elements of the weather. On the other hand, a patio umbrella is used for relaxation purposes. So, while market umbrellas have commercial uses, patio umbrellas are usually used for leisure. via

    Take Stock Of Your Furniture Pieces

    Take an inventory of your furniture pieces, and see which ones are most likely to blow around. Dining chairs are particularly light, so they often go sailing, as are sofa sectional pieces, especially the new modern style PE-wicker sectional sets with light aluminum frames. If you need to know how to keep uthe mbrella from blowing away, here are some great solutions for both traditional patio umbrellas and for cantilever umbrellas.

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    Easy Ways To Secure Patio Furniture

    Our outside living spaces have become an extension of our homes. I love to go outside to sit and relax. Being outside helps me to relieve my stress and take it easy! Our outside space should be a place that we can like with furniture and pieces that help us to enjoy the weather and our surroundings. In having this extension of our living space there are a few things we might have to contend with such as mosquitos, rain, wind, and more.

    Youve bought great patio furniture to enjoy your outside living area and here comes mother nature with the wind. Wind so strong that you guessed it, your patio furniture wants to blow away!

    So, how do you keep patio furniture from blowing away? There are several ways you can keep your patio furniture from blowing away including sandbags, earthquake gel, garden windbreak, heavy furniture covers, stacking furniture near a wall, get heavier patio furniture, tie furniture down, use patio furniture weights, and taking your patio furniture indoors.

    No solution works for everyone. Sandbags might work for you while weighted furniture or furniture covers work best for your neighbor. No matter what option you choose, your furniture will stay put and not blow away! So lets talk about the details. How do you know which idea will work best for you? Maybe one, two, or three ways will work for your patio furniture. Read ahead to learn more and keep your patio furniture from blowing away!

    How Do You Keep Your Patio Umbrella From Blowing Away

    Weigh Down Patio Furniture

    Your gorgeous patio umbrella keeps falling over and over when a strong wind hits? Well, we all have been there, and its something no one asks for.

    There are several techniques that we can adopt to solve this issue. The very core idea is to add more weight to the base in different ways. There are other tricks too that helps. Lets see what weve got to keep the patio umbrella from blowing away.

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    Patio Umbrella Basesoutdoor Umbrella Stand Guide

    Patio umbrella bases come are available in a variety of weights and material from granite to plastic. They serve an important purpose of keeping your umbrella from being lifted up out of the hole or from tipping over from the wind. Its not easy to find the heavier bases at your local home improvement stores.

    To determine the right outdoor umbrella stand for your pool umbrella you will need to know:

    1. The size of the umbrella canopy

    The most common umbrella sizes range from 6 to 12.

    2. Where the umbrella will be used

    Free standing umbrellas require a heavier stand than one that is resting inside a patio umbrella table. A table offers more stability from gusts of wind or windy days.

    3. The diameter of the umbrella pole.

    The most common umbrella pole size is 1.5 in diameter, but can range anywhere from 1 1/8 to 3.

    Go For Heavy Outdoor Furniture

    Another way of preventing your furniture from flying duringa hurricane or heavy wind is to invest in a heavy piece of furniture. Thematerial such as wood, iron, aluminum or steel are heavy and good for outdoorchairs. Plastic furniture and patio umbrella are easily carried by wind due totheir light weight.

    While this serves as an option, heavy furniture can bedifficult to move during cleaning or when you want to rearrange them. The heftyweight can also form some dents on your patio or deck. If you are not ready forsuch challenges, consider other options.

    Read Also: How To Hang Lights On Aluminum Patio

    Use Washers To Secure The Edges

    You may be tempted to just start putting heavy things on top of your textile and hoping for the best. This approach can work for light gusts of wind, although problems can still occur as the wind-speed grows.

    If the wind catches a corner just right, you might still be chasing your rug down.

    To solve your patio rug problem once and for all, consider fastening the patio rug in place with washers. Simply drill holes every couple of feet on the rug . Then place screws in those slots, fit washers over them, and tighten them all down.

    However, not so fast. Theres a big reason why you might not want to take this approach. It requires you to cut additional holes in your patio rug!

    If your rug is rare, expensive, or sentimental, this will naturally be a non-option. Not only will the holes themselves damage the rug, but can increase the likelihood of additional weathering.

    That said, this is the most permanent fix on this list.

    Barring hurricane-force winds or your rug somehow tearing, this should keep your rug from blowing away for as long as these washers are fastened in place.

    Does Outdoor Furniture Need To Be Covered

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    Everyone has different preferences regarding the style of outdoor furniture they like the best. Some people who dont necessarily prefer a certain style go for more affordable options like plastic. Other people choose to spend more money on wicker furniture because they love the look of it. And then, some people choose aluminum furniture because of its durability.

    No matter which type you prefer, you want to get a lot of use out of it. Prolonging your outdoor furnitures life means that you need to know the best way to protect and care for it. We will look at some common outdoor furniture materials and discuss how they could potentially get damaged so you can better understand why you should cover them.

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    Demerits Of Mounted Heaters

    • A mounted heater isnt as powerful as a propane heater since it is electric. One propane heater may have enough British Thermal Units to heat an expansive area. However, you may need several mounted heaters to heat the same size of space.

    Hence, you will need to look at a few things before purchasing mounted electric heaters.

    • You should consider the number of heaters that will adequately heat the area you desire.
    • Check if you have ample wall space where you will mount them. You may have vines covering your gazebo or covered patio, and this may be challenging.
    • The amount of power supply in your home will affect electric heater purchasing. You can calculate all the power that your appliances use. You can then determine whether adding electrical heaters is feasible or not.
    • Also, consider the direction in which you want your heat to get directed.

    Getting several mounted heaters can be tedious but still an excellent patio heating method. Besides, you wont experience tipping incidences.

    Stay Cool & Enjoy Your Secure Patio Umbrella

    Patio umbrellas are an excellent way to stay cool in the shade while enjoying a warm sunny day. The last thing you should worry about is your patio umbrella falling over, getting damaged, and hurting someone.

    Following each of these 7 tips will greatly reduce the chance of your patio umbrella from falling over, which gives you peace of mind and helps you relax more deeply.

    Also, if you are looking for an umbrella, we have a large collection of different patio umbrellas that are ideal for windy conditions.

    We hope you stay cool in the shade and enjoy your secure patio umbrella for many seasons to come.

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    Recommended Reading: How To Keep Mosquitoes Away From Patio

    Tips For Using Your Outdoor Furniture Cover

    Outdoor furniture covers extend the life of your patio furniture by protecting it from the beating sun and harsh rains. That means you can enjoy more barbeques and time lounging by the pool without having to invest in new furniture. We’ve put together a few tips and tricks to make sure you are getting the most out of your covers.

    The Effect Of Wind On Patio Heaters

    Weigh Down Patio Furniture

    You might already know that windy conditions are not ideal to use a patio heater. Wind deters your outdoor patio heater from functioning effectively. Moreover, you can easily forget your outdoor patio heater on windy days if you didnt use it. Therefore, make sure that your patio heater is under a shelter during such times. Some other things you can implement to improve stability when handling patio heaters are

    • Ensure you safely secure your patio heater or weigh it down.
    • You can enhance the stability of your patio heater by tying it down.
    • Cover your patio heater when not using it. By covering, you will protect it from rain, snow, and dust damage. Consider the type of patio cover you are using, as this may impact your heaters stability.

    It is best to get a cover that snuggly fits onto your patio heater. If your patio heater cover is loose, it offers more room for air to enter, resulting in billowing. Moreover, it is best to pick a backyard heater cover that has air vents. These will permit the free flow of air and prevent billowing during high winds. If your patio heater cover flails in the wind, it can cause your patio heater to topple.

    • Stacking them together when not in use
    • Furniture weights
    • Velcro and ties to keep cushions stationery.

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