DIY Metal Yard Art
Repurposing your metal gutters
Did you know that a metal rain gutter can become the perfect outdoor drink holder? As the spring heats up and summer is around the corner, we all take to our backyards for grill outs and evening get togethers. What better way to keep the drinks flowing than to have a built in trough in your table for your beverages? Forget interrupting conversation every time someone needs a fresh drink. With this DIY project, a cold drink is just an arms reach away.
What you need
For this project you’ll need a metal rain gutter sized to a length that fits your picnic table. You will also need a wooden picnic table and tools for cutting the leftover wooden plank that you will be removing from the table. You will also want gutter end caps to seal up the gutter.
The Process
Measure the length of the gutter section you will be using and mark it on your table. You can use a shorter gutter section and leave some of the planks on the end of your table. Or you can use a long section and cut off excess length.
Take a hammer and hammer claw and remove the picnic table plank in the center of your table. Be sure you pry out every nail holding the plank in place. Now simply insert the rain gutter into the leftover space. Use a drill to screw through the sides of the gutter into the adjacent wood. Alternatively, you can use metal brackets that attach to the top of your table and the metal gutter.
Drill a drain hole in the bottom of the gutter so that as ice melts it will easily drain out of the trough. You can use the leftover plank of wood from your table to create a lid for the trough so that when the trough is not in use, you can simply cover it up and regain your table space.
Now fill your trough with ice and your drinks of choice and enjoy a relaxing evening with friends!
Video Explanation
If you are the visual type, check out this helpful video of a step by step process of making a picnic table drink trough:
http://www.todayshomeowner.com/video/how-to-make-a-picnic-table-drink-trough/
Good luck and we hope you enjoy your DIY rain gutter picnic table drink trough in Florida or anywhere you may reside.
