Old Dish Makes Classy Patio Umbrella

2014 - Volume #38, Issue #3, Page #24

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Ken Bolyard and his wife, Ann, spend more time outside their Texas home since Bolyard turned an old satellite dish into a classy patio umbrella.
    With the help of his son, Toby, Bolyard buried a piece of 12-in. dia. culvert about 30 in. deep and cemented it in with 14 bags of ready-mix concrete. They cut a hole in the middle of a steel mesh table with an acetylene torch and cut and welded the table’s support braces to the culvert.
    To support the dish, they welded four tabs on the outside of an old 3-ft. wagon wheel and welded the wheel to the top of the culvert. They drilled holes in the dish and bolted it to the wheel tabs.
    “I cut a big hole in the middle of the dish to let heat out,” Bolyard says. To keep rain out, the Bolyards welded a piece of pipe to the wheel with an old disk blade on top. They drilled a small hole and attached a piece of pipe to drain rainwater that catches on the dish’s lip edge.
    “There’s a rope light threaded around the wagon wheel. It gives off a soft glow under the dish,” Bolyard says. He ran the wiring through the culvert and added an electrical outlet.
    The couple considered painting the exterior to look like a giant mushroom, but the dish looked clean and bright after it was power washed, and they painted a decorative maroon band instead and topped the dish umbrella off with a purchased weathervane.
    Bolyard notes that there are different types of dishes. The seamless 10-ft. fiberglass style he used worked out well. He also suggests keeping the umbrella as low as possible to maximize shade. The bottom of his dish is about 3 in. taller than him. With its shape and concrete footing, the umbrella doesn’t move at all – even in big winds.
    “It was a fun little project. The longest wait was for the cement to dry. My son and I probably have about 2 hours in it,” Bolyard says.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ken Bolyard, 208 Laramie Lake Dr., Powderly, Texas 75473 (casperbaby02@hotmail.com).

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Old Dish Makes Classy Patio Umbrella AG WORLD Ken Bolyard and his wife Ann spend more time outside their Texas home since Bolyard turned an old satellite dish into a classy patio umbrella With the help of his son Toby Bolyard buried a piece of 12-in dia culvert about 30 in deep and cemented it in with 14 bags of ready-mix concrete They cut a hole in the middle of a steel mesh table with an acetylene torch and cut and welded the table’s support braces to the culvert To support the dish they welded four tabs on the outside of an old 3-ft wagon wheel and welded the wheel to the top of the culvert They drilled holes in the dish and bolted it to the wheel tabs “I cut a big hole in the middle of the dish to let heat out ” Bolyard says To keep rain out the Bolyards welded a piece of pipe to the wheel with an old disk blade on top They drilled a small hole and attached a piece of pipe to drain rainwater that catches on the dish’s lip edge “There’s a rope light threaded around the wagon wheel It gives off a soft glow under the dish ” Bolyard says He ran the wiring through the culvert and added an electrical outlet The couple considered painting the exterior to look like a giant mushroom but the dish looked clean and bright after it was power washed and they painted a decorative maroon band instead and topped the dish umbrella off with a purchased weathervane Bolyard notes that there are different types of dishes The seamless 10-ft fiberglass style he used worked out well He also suggests keeping the umbrella as low as possible to maximize shade The bottom of his dish is about 3 in taller than him With its shape and concrete footing the umbrella doesn’t move at all – even in big winds “It was a fun little project The longest wait was for the cement to dry My son and I probably have about 2 hours in it ” Bolyard says Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Ken Bolyard 208 Laramie Lake Dr Powderly Texas 75473 casperbaby02@hotmail com

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