Are you concerned about the upcoming windy season blowing your outdoor furniture away? Is a storm rolling in and you want to know how best to stop your furniture from blowing away?
No matter what the reason might be that brought you here today, we have the answer for you!
Outdoor furniture can be tricky to keep in one place. Depending on the furniture you can have, a strong gust of wind or a toddler tantrum can send it flying across your yard, or worse, over the fence and into your neighbour’s favourite rose bush!
Before you know it, you are left with broken outdoor furniture and a damaged relationship with your neighbour, not ideal!
From summer storms to the colder and windier winter months, we all have to deal with wind blowing across our deck or patio, furniture included.
And often, we only realize it when it’s too late. Furniture broken, scattered across the lawn.
But not you!
Today we have a complete guide walking you through keeping your outdoor furniture from blowing away.
Just keep reading to find out what you can do to keep it in place and everything else you need to know!
How Do I Keep My Outdoor Furniture From Blowing Away?
There are several things you can do to stop your outdoor furniture from blowing away. You can pick from any number of the solutions below.
A mixture or combination of these methods often is the best for keeping outdoor furniture put.
Invest In Heavy Furniture
First up, you can invest in some heavy furniture. This option is best suited to those looking to purchase or replace their outdoor furniture.
If you live in a windy region, consider the weight of the patio furniture when purchasing.
Heavy outdoor furniture is less likely to get blown away, as the wind won’t be strong enough to lift or move the furniture.
Of course, this does depend on the strength of the wind and the weight of the furniture, but the stronger your furniture is, the less likely it is to get blown away.
Consider purchasing outdoor furniture, made with the following materials:
- Cast aluminum
- Steel
- Wrought iron
- HDPE often called Poly Lumber
These materials are quite heavy, so most gusts of wind won’t be able to move them across your garden, or throw them into your neighbour’s prize rose bush!
One of the heaviest and most versatile materials is HDPE. A 3’x6′ Poly lumber table will weigh around 120 lbs.
A similar-sized wood table only can be as little as 50 lbs. Most are closer to 75 lbs.
Yes, the style of the table impacts the weight considerably. But generally, wood will be lighter than HDPE Furniture
.
Ironically, Wrought Iron patio furniture is often engineered to reduce weight, hollow tubing etc. Which generally is a good thing, except in the case of wind. For a windy deck, look for solid frames. Tables with a porcelain top will also increase their weight.
The same is true with chairs. Most HDPE chairs will be twice as heavy as wood. Requiring a stronger wind to move.
The only downside to having heavy outdoor furniture is that it can be heavy for you to move. If you plan on leaving your outdoor furniture out all year round, this shouldn’t be a problem for you, but if you like to move your furniture, you might struggle to lift and maneuver it on your own.
A good reason to consider other options to keep your furniture from blowing away, but heavy furniture that is hard to move is generally the best place to start.
Purchase A Weighted Umbrella Base
Another fantastic option is to purchase a weighted umbrella base. Umbrellas and their bases are often the first things to be swept away by the wind, so why not secure them with a weighted umbrella base?
Weighted umbrella bases are often filled with sand or water to help keep them secure and on the ground. The added weight between 30 and 75 lbs, depending on size, should stop your umbrella from blowing away. Just make sure the umbrella is properly secured to the base and closed to avoid it flying away!
Always close umbrella’s when not in use.
You can also look to anchor the umbrella base to your outdoor table too. This will take some ingenuity to tie the table to the umbrella weight. This is not always the best solution, but the right cords can work wonders to keep your table in an upright position.
Stack Your Chairs
Are your patio chairs lightweight? Made of plastic. Try stacking them! By stacking your chairs, you can reduce the chances of them blowing across your patio or lawn.
Often, it doesn’t take much to blow a lightweight patio chair over as they are so light, but when you stack them, you increase their weight, making it harder for the wind to blow them over!
The increased weight of the chairs helps to anchor them to the ground and prevents them from being blown over.
You can place the stacked chairs in a corner of your patio or garden that doesn’t see much wind. This helps to protect them further and should stop them from blowing over!
Plus, stacking chairs open up your deck for other uses.
Plant A Windbreak
You can plant a windbreak by planting a series of thick trees or plants in part of your garden. These will block the wind, and if your outdoor furniture is placed behind the windbreak, it should be protected from harsh winds and shouldn’t get blown away!
Not only will this prevent you from getting hit by winds and keep your furniture secure, but the shrubs and plants can be an attractive addition to your garden!
Make sure your planted windbreak is in keeping with the style of your garden to keep the style continuous. This also helps the windbreak look less obvious too!
The cost of this varies depending on the shrubs and trees you choose to plant, but you can create a windbreak on most budgets! Just make sure you do your research on the plants you choose to increase your chances of success!
Add a Privacy Wall or Screen to your Deck or Patio
Similar to a windbreaker but quicker. Shielding one side of your deck with a 6′ high privacy wall will reduce the amount of wind on the deck.
An advantage of a wind wall is the higher the wind, the greater the distance the wind is reduced. Allowing you to protect a large deck area with a screen on one side of the deck.
Wind walls don’t have to be solid privacy walls.
The deck can be sheltered but still keep its view by using glass. Or only slightly obstructed using a mesh screen. Even better is retractable ones protecting the deck from the wind but can be retracted on calm days.
A screen can also double as shade, cooling your deck on those hot sunny days.
Try Earthquake Gel
Another option is to use earthquake gel to keep your outdoor furniture from blowing away. Earthquake gel was designed to prevent glass from slipping off furniture and smashing during an earthquake, but you can follow others with this fantastic life hack and use it to secure your outdoor furniture!
Simply use the clear gel to secure the bottom of your table and chair legs to the ground. This will stop the furniture from blowing away when gusts of wind hits them, meaning you aren’t left chasing your six-piece furniture set down the street!
Although this is a fantastic option, the downside is that you won’t be able to move your outdoor furniture as freely as you previously did. You can remove the gel afterward, but this does require some effort.
If you like to keep your patio set or other furniture in one set place, this is a fantastic option, but for patio chairs or other pieces of furniture you want to move around, it’s worth considering some of our other options.
Also, if using on composite decking, try in a nonvisible area to ensure it doesn’t damage the decking. Some products will react with the composite material.
Secure The Furniture With Bungee Cords
You can also use bungee cords to secure outdoor furniture that isn’t going to be used for a while. All you need to do is wrap the bungee cord around your furniture and it will remain bound as one unit!
The elasticity of the cords keeps your outdoor furniture in one place, and the combined weight of it all in one place should prevent it from being blown away by strong winds.
If you have a spare bungee cord at home then this is the perfect budget-friendly option for you! The cord will act as an anchor and keep the furniture secure.
If you are expecting a serious storm or strong winds, you can connect the cord to a fence, tree, or other permanent fixture in your yard. This will act as an extra anchor and provide more weight, helping to keep the outdoor furniture on the ground.
You can also use a cable and lock to keep smaller furniture pieces bound together and secure if you prefer.
While this method is great for those with bungee cords in the house, it can be time-consuming to tie the cord around all your furniture.
We recommend this method when you aren’t planning to use your furniture for a while, such as during the winter period, or if you are leaving your house for an extended period and aren’t sure what the weather will be like while you are away.
Stake The Furniture To The Ground
If you keep your outdoor furniture on a grassy part of your yard, why not stake it and anchor it to the ground? This will provide your outdoor furniture with a secure connection to the ground and should help to keep it in place, even during harsh winds!
Whether you can do this method or not will depend on the outdoor furniture you have, so make sure to check that you can before you get started!
Why not loop the stake through the legs of your table or chair legs and anchor it to the ground? You could also use chains or wires to connect the stakes to the furniture if you prefer.
On a deck, looping a strap or rope through the decking gaps and around a joist will hold the furniture tight to the deck.
If you are anchoring your furniture to a patio or hard surface, you might find it easier to use anchors and far more beneficial than other methods we have listed today!
This method will require a fair amount of planning to ensure you have secured your outdoor furniture successfully and it can be expensive buying the anchors and stakes.
Move The Furniture Indoors
Finally, if all else fails, you can move your furniture indoors. It’s not the most practical if you have limited space, but it will ensure that your furniture doesn’t get blown away!
There are pros and cons to this option, so make sure you consider them carefully before you move your furniture indoors.
Consider the weight of your furniture and its size. Have you got space for the furniture in your home? Also, consider how easy the furniture will be for you to move. Will you need an extra pair of hands to help you, or can you manage yourself?
Also, consider how easy the furniture is to move in and out of your home. If you need to move it quickly when an unexpected storm hits, are you able to do so?
These, we would say, are the biggest cons or factors that you need to consider when deciding whether to move your outdoor furniture inside or not.
The pros of keeping your outdoor furniture inside are pretty self-explanatory. Your furniture will be protected not only from the wind blowing it away but from any harsh rain or snow. You won’t need to worry about weather-proofing your furniture as it will be tucked away indoors!
Your furniture is more likely to last longer, too, if it is kept indoors. It won’t be damaged by the weather, meaning there is less wear and tear or issues that can cause it to break. So you can get more years of use from your outdoor furniture, saving you money in the long run!
Plus, if your outdoor furniture is quite stylish, you can easily use it in a spare room in the winter. Now you won’t need to purchase a couch for your sunroom. Simply put your outdoor furniture in there until you have the budget to buy a new couch.
Or keep it there always if it looks good. After all, outdoor rattan furniture is very in right now!
Final Thoughts
And there you have it, 9 ways you can keep your outdoor furniture from blowing away!
Whether you are planning to utilize some bungee cord, invest in stakes, move your furniture indoors, or stack your chairs, we are sure you will have found an option to help you!
We have found it best to use a few of these options to ensure that no matter the weather, our outdoor furniture does not budge!
Why not try out a few of the methods today and see which works out best for you?
