How to Install an Outdoor Wall Planter

Outdoor wall planters enhance the appearance of the exterior of your house and add color and aroma to a particular spot. These planters can be mounted underneath a window frame, on your boundary wall or to conceal masonry with flowers or foliage. You can even mount them against your patio or deck wall to enhance curb appeal. Purchase a square, rectangular or any angular-shaped outdoor planter and use it to decorate your bare wall.

Things You'll Need

• Planter and mounting hardware
• Measuring tape
• Marker
• Stud finder
• Level
• Drill
• Lag bolts
• Wrench

Instructions

1. Measure the planter, then measure and mark an appropriate spot for it on the exterior wall. If you are installing the planter underneath a window, measure and mark the center of the window.

2. Step inside the room of the selected window and drag an electronic or magnetic stud finder on the surface of the wall below the window. Mark the stud locations -- usually on each side and below the center of the window -- with a colored pen or marker. Extend these marks carefully to the windowsill so they are visible from outside.

3. Lift the planter against the windowsill outside. Align the planter so that its center is directly over the central mark on the windowsill. Also extend the side stud marks on the windowsill to the top back edge of the planter. Hold a carpenter’s level horizontally over the top edge of the planter to make sure it is level with the windowsill. Lower the planter back to the ground.

4. Check the size of the lag bolts and insert a drill bit of the same size into the drill. Hold the planter firmly as you drill holes over the marks in its back. Blow into the holes to remove collected sawdust.

5. Hold the planter against the windowsill again, positioning it so that its center is directly over the center of the window. Extend a marker or colored pen into a hole in the back edge and mark the spot on the wall. The marked spot will be directly over the stud mark. Repeat the procedure on the other side.

6. Hold the planter firmly in place and insert the drill into one of its holes so it penetrates a stud mark on the wall, and all the way through to the stud. Repeat the procedure to attach the planter to the other side stud. Insert lag bolts into each hole and tighten with a wrench.

Tips & Warnings

• Select a planter and mounting hardware according to the surface of the wall you are mounting it on. If the wall has hollow blocks, purchase mounting screws so that the screws penetrate the mortar to prevent the blocks from crumbling, or purchase lag bolts and lag shields if your wall is wooden or made of bricks.

References

• Flower Window Boxes: How to Hang and Install a Window Box with Lag Bolts
• Hooks & Lattice: Petite Window Box Installation Instructions