Creating A Globe Light American Flag For Your Backyard

Home & Garden Blog

Are you looking for a cool way to show your patriotism this Independence Day? Create your own American flag globe lighting fixture. This will require a little patience and some creativity, but it's worth it.

Changing The Bulb Colors

To create your American flag, you're going to need 13 strands of lights, the correct color bulbs (red, white, and blue), and a little creativity. All the strands should be of equal length for this to work. Lay your strands down on a work table from top to bottom and remove the original globe lights.

Now, you're going to replace the removed bulbs with the correct colored bulbs. This part can be confusing, but requires starting out with the following process:

  • First strand – red lights two-thirds of the way down and alternating blue and white lights the rest of the way
  • Second strand – white lights two-thirds of the way down and alternating blue and white lights the rest of the way
  • Alternate these two strand types until you have seven total strands: you should have a red strand at the top and a red strand at the bottom

Now, place a full white strand underneath the bottom strand of your original seven and alternate three white and three red strands to create your flag. You may not have exactly 50 stars, but it should be good enough.

Hanging The Strands

Now comes the trickiest part: hanging your strands on a display wall. This is a fairly precise process that requires careful measurement and adjustment:

  • Measure the length of your light strands with a tape measure.
  • Hang wall mounts at the top of your display, using the tape measure to evenly distribute them so that they fall on either side of a bulb.
  • Lay your top strand wire along these mounts, adjusting the position as necessary to ensure the strand is taut and the bulbs aren't blocked.
  • Install another row of mounts far enough down the wall so that your bulbs have an inch or so of area and hang the second strand on it.
  • Repeat this process until you have hung all 13 strands.
  • Gather the power cords for the strands, bundle, and tape them together.
  • Pull your cords towards your power source, tape them to the wall to keep them out of the way, and then plug them in.

Once your strands are lit, stand back and inspect it. Do all the lights turn on properly? Are the strands taut and not tangled up with each other? Make adjustments as necessary to ensure that your display looks good.

Performing Maintenance On The Strands

While your glorious American flag light strands should be sturdy enough to survive the elements, there's a chance that a few lights, or even strands, will suddenly blink out. Maintaining these lights is relatively easy and requires just a few simple steps:

  • Check how well each bulb is installed – if even one is slightly crooked, it can cause lighting problems.
  • Replace obviously burned out bulbs with a correct colored replacement bulb.
  • Unplug the strand and check the sockets to make sure the connecting piece of metal at the bottom is high enough to connect with the bulb – lift it slightly with a screwdriver if it isn't.
  • Find the fuse box on the male end of the plug, slide it open, and replace the fuse with one of the replacements that come with light strands.
  • Look for frays along the length of the cord and replace the strand if the fray can't be taped.

Following these steps will give you an awesome lit American flag that will create a very patriotic style for your yard come Independence Day. Don't be afraid to experiment with other arrangements to create an even more engaging backyard style. Contact a business that sells vintage outdoor lighting for more information.     

Share

17 April 2016

Double Up: Bunks Beds as a Small Room Solution

Having to place children's furniture in a small bedroom presented a problem for me. With two growing kids, I needed a dresser to accommodate both boys, as well as two beds. With two beds, desk and chair, toy chest and floor lamp, the room seemed overly crowded. My solution came with a highly functional bunk bed. Bunk beds take up minimal space. Better yet, my choice was a bunk that included a storage drawer. This compartment is used for storing the boys' small toys and other necessities. I didn't have to have a separate toy chest, so I reduced clutter which was great! When you have multiple children all in one room, you need all the help you can get!