How to Make an Outdoor Curtain Rod for Very Little Money
Step-by-step tutorial to make an outdoor curtain rod that won't rust.
As promised I'm back today to show you how we hung our outdoor curtains with a really inexpensive solution for a DIY Outdoor Curtain Rod.
I posted how I made these Outdoor Curtains for less than $10 and the response from all of you was overwhelming. I'm so glad that you love them as much as I do, and if you make them, you will most certainly want to hang them up! It's super simple… I promise 🙂
First, I have to say that when we started thinking about the idea of an outdoor living room, I could not imagine relaxing with this grimy patio cover we had going on. I dreaded the idea of having to repaint the entire thing so I set out to find a better solution.
I rented a really good power washer from my local equipment rental. Then I put on my scuzzies and made it rain!!!
Take a look at what a difference it made!
It's by no means perfect and in fact could probably use a new coat of paint, but we have plans to eventually make this structure a solid top, so why spend the money or the time now?
A good cleaning will certainly do for now.
There I am in my scuzzies.
By the end I was drenched and had the day before's mascara running down my face. I don't know what it is about power washing, but it's thrilling! Like instant gratification watching all that filth rinse off!
So now that I had a clean patio cover I could get going on my Outdoor Curtain Rods! Here's how we did it.
Supplies to Make a DIY Outdoor Curtain Rod
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I purchased my supplies at Home Depot. Did you know that you can actually order your supplies at HomeDepot.com and then pick them up in the store?
That's right! If you hate wandering the aisles trying to figure out what you need you can select your supplies online, someone from the store will gather them for you and you can pick them up! How cool is that?
You will need
- ¾ inch conduit. It's about $10 for 10 feet of this stuff and it won't rust, which makes it perfect for outside. I used the whole 10 feet for my 2 full width curtains and then I had one piece cut for 2 shorter rods. And the best part is you can walk your conduit over to the plumbing aisle and they will cut it for you right there in the store! Geesh I love Home Depot!
- ¾ inch steel pipe hangers. These come in a 5 pack for about $3 and are really easy to drill into your patio cover to hold your rod.
- 1 inch curtain rod clips
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How to install your DIY outdoor curtain rod
Obviously the placement of your curtain rod will depend on your patio cover, but with mine we have 2 beams, so we decided to hide the rod between the beams.
On our short rods we placed the hangers on the main beams of the patio cover.
And on the sides with the long rods we hung the hangers a few inches in from one of the top slats to get the placement we wanted.
Then, we placed curtain rod clips on each rod and clipped our Outdoor Curtains up. This will make them really easy to take down in the winter too.
If you haven't already, check out how I made these outdoor curtains here!
Frequently Asked Questions - DIY Outdoor Curtain Rod
I need to hang a ten-foot-wide rod which will be holding an outdoor curtain that is 20’x10′. Will this conduit be strong enough?
Yes the conduit will definitely be strong enough. It is really solid pipe.
How do I attach the rod to a metal pergola?
if you have metal you will need to use a different method. This post might help you!
How long are the curtains and how many panels did you use?
Head on over to my DIY Outdoor Curtain post here and get the details on length and panels plus a supplies list with a link to everything you'll need for your curtains.
Would this work if you drill the pipe hangers into the side of the porch instead of above?
The only problem is the angle of the hangers. You could ask the sales people at the hardware store to help you find a part that will do the same thing and have the right angle to attach to the side.
