Solar Deck Lights

This was one of my favorite projects.  I had an old split rail fence in the yard that I took down a few years ago.  I saved some of the posts and rails.  I finally came up with a project to use them.  Below learn how I put this together.

You will need:
4 Pieces of wood
3 Solar Lights
Sander and Sand Paper
Stain
Polyurethane
4 small "L" brackets

Steps:
Cut the wood into 4 pieces (39 inches, 33 1/2 inches, 27 inches and 14 inches).  Make them level. 
You can use wood that you have on hand.  

Sand the wood.  

Once the wood is sanded put one or two coats of stain depending on the color you want to achieve. 

Let the stain dry over night and apply two coats of polyurethane.  I allowed the wood to dry overnight after each coat.

Now it's time to assemble the project. I asked my husband to help me with this part.  I played with the pieces until I found the best placement of the wood.  The smallest piece of wood is used in the middle as the anchor piece.  All the pieces will attach to that one.  It gives space between the the posts for the solar lights. 

I decided to catty corner the wood 
(see picture above). 
I used  4 inch screws and put them in on a diagonal to the small piece.  

Now you are ready to drill the holes for the solar lights.  Use a drill bit that is the same size at the post of the solar light.  When picking the solar lights make sure you pick ones that have a round post and not a square post.  

Once the lights are in, pick a sunny spot on your deck or garden to place the unit.  I used 4 "L" brackets to attach it to the deck.   Let it sit in the sun for the day and when it gets dark watch the lights come on.

When I chose the lights I didn't realize one of the lights change color.  I was going to return it and get a white light but I decided it made the project more interesting.  

I hope the instructions are easy to follow.  Let me know if you have any questions.


Lisa
simplycreativebylisa@gmail.com