How do you secure patio furniture from the wind?

If you live in a windy location and have outdoor furniture, you may be questioning how you might secure these furnishings when a storm comes. If the wind picks up, do you have a solution for your outdoor patio set, bistro table, and more?

Are you looking for how to secure outdoor furniture from wind? There are many solutions to this common problem, including tying down your table and chairs, anchoring them to each other, purchasing heavy metal furniture pieces, or even building wind-blocking solutions for your deck or patio.

We have nine possible solutions for you, including helpful tips regarding your patio furniture cushions, what to do with that delicate glass table, and how to deal with your outdoor furniture should a hurricane come. Read on to learn more!

Table of Contents

• 0.1 Does my Furniture Material Matter in the Wind?
• 0.2 What to Do with Patio Furniture Cushions in High Winds?
• 0.3 How to Secure Outdoor Furniture in a Hurricane?
• 0.4 What to Do if Your Outdoor Furniture Blows Away?
• 1 9 Ways How to Secure Outdoor Furniture from Wind
  • • 1.0.1 1. Furniture Weights
    • 1.0.2 2. Deck Anchors
    • 1.0.3 3. Stake the Furniture into the Ground
    • 1.0.4 4. Tie the Furniture Together (and then Down)
    • 1.0.5 5. Add a Heavy Duty Outdoor Furniture Cover
    • 1.0.6 6. Bungee Cord them Down
    • 1.0.7 7. Block the Wind!
    • 1.0.8 8. Buy Heavy Patio Furniture Instead
    • 1.0.9 9. Drill the Furniture into the Patio or Deck
  • 1.1 Wind and Furniture FAQs
    • 1.1.1 How to Secure Outdoor Furniture to Concrete Using a Steel Cable?
    • 1.1.2 Can I Tie Outdoor Furniture to a Patio Support Beam?
    • 1.1.3 What Should I Do with Glass Furniture During High Winds?
  • 1.2 Final Thoughts

Does my Furniture Material Matter in the Wind?

Your furniture material does make a difference when it gets windy. For example, if you own wicker or plastic furniture, the chances of it blowing away in a storm are much higher than if you own heavy wood or metal furniture. 

Some of the best outdoor furniture materials for windy locations include:

• Teak or other woods
• Metal
• Wrought iron
• Stone
• Concrete

If you know that you live in a very windy location, it would be wise of you to purchase more heavy-duty furniture initially. However, this is not always an option and thankfully there are other solutions to securing your more lightweight furniture.

What to Do with Patio Furniture Cushions in High Winds?

If you have outdoor patio cushions, it is always wise to bring them inside if you are experiencing high winds. Unless these cushions are permanently attached to your outdoor furniture, the chances of your patio cushions blowing away are very high.

You can always set them in a more secure location in your backyard or patio area, but bringing your cushions inside or into your garage is even better. This is especially true if the high winds that you are experiencing are happening because of a bigger storm. You likely don’t want wet outdoor cushions!

There are some ways to attach your patio furniture cushions to your patio furniture, but this may not be something you want to do given the seasonal nature of patio furniture. However, feel free to check out our article about how to secure couch cushions. Many of these solutions apply to patio furniture as well!

Read our full guide on 5 Easy Ways to Keep Your Outdoor Pillows from Blowing Away here. 

How to Secure Outdoor Furniture in a Hurricane?

If at all possible, you should try to secure your outdoor furniture inside during a hurricane. This is one of the only ways to ensure that your furniture will not be damaged or completely blown away given the strong winds and rains associated with hurricanes.

The last thing you want is for your home to get permanently damaged because your outdoor bistro table got blown into the side of your house. Do you have a garage or other secure indoor space, always bring your outdoor furniture and accessories inside!

If this is not an option for you however, you can always anchor your furniture to one another and then to the ground. Whatever ends up being the most safe and sturdy method of securing your patio furniture, that is the method that you should choose.

You can learn more about securing outdoor furniture from wind by reading on, and pay special attention to the fourth option on our list. This may be the most secure way of protecting your home and outdoor furniture during a hurricane, but it is still not a guarantee given how strong those winds can be.

What to Do if Your Outdoor Furniture Blows Away?

The risk of not tying down your outdoor patio furniture is that it will in fact blow away if the winds are strong enough. So what do you do if your outdoor furniture is suddenly gone one morning after a windstorm the night before?

You can always reach out to your nearby neighbors to see if they have noticed any new furniture appearing on their property. Searching your neighborhood, either in a car or on foot, is also a good idea for tracking down your wayward tables and chairs.

There are also helpful websites such as Facebook Marketplace that allows neighbors and other nearby residents to post things that they have found. Perhaps your local forum has found your outdoor patio furniture!

However, this may not always lead to a solution, and your patio furniture may in fact have blown away forever. This has happened to many homeowners and can even happen to you even if you believe you have properly secured your outdoor furniture.

Wind can be a more powerful force than we think. Securing your outdoor patio furniture can be done in only a few simple steps, and I can’t recommend it enough if you believe a wind storm is headed your way. Let’s take a look now at some of the best ways to secure your outdoor furniture.

Looking for some solutions for how to secure outdoor furniture from wind? Here are 9 simple and effective ways, depending on your outdoor patio and deck situation. Hopefully one of these options works well for you!

1. Furniture Weights

Sometimes all you need to do to secure your patio furniture is simply weigh them down. If you want to try this step first, I recommend these furniture weights from Anavim, sold on Amazon. They are designed to be filled with water and can add an additional 10-12 pounds per filled bag to your chair or table!

You can loop them around the legs of your patio furniture or attach with tie downs or zip ties. Simply fill the waterproof bag with water and set them on your deck or patio. While some reviewers mention these bags leaking and you may not like the look of these in your outdoor living area, this is a cost-effective and easy option to try first!

2. Deck Anchors

If you have a deck with wooden slats, especially slats that you can’t access from below, take a look at these deck anchors sold on Amazon. They are designed to slip between the wooden slats of your deck and have zip ties attached so that you can adequately secure the legs of your patio furniture.

Granted, this solution won’t work for all of you, especially those of you without deck boards or even deck boards that are too close together. However, these simple anchors are affordable, effective, and easy to use. Plus you don’t have to drill into the boards of your deck or patio furniture!

3. Stake the Furniture into the Ground

If you have outdoor furniture out on the lawn, you can use pegs or stakes to keep them in the ground. While this option may not work depending on the style of furniture that you have, staking your furniture into your lawn may be one of your only options if you don’t have a deck or patio.

Check out these Eurmax 12 inch Galvanized Rebar Stakes, designed to hold down a rope or bungee cord that is attached to your furniture pieces. They are sturdy and include lines on them to better grip the soil or grass. They are also rust resistant and useful for many weather applications.

You can also get creative with these Garden Staple Stakes– while they may not look like much, the more you use, the more likely it will be for your furniture to remain attached to the ground. This pack of 100 should be more than adequate for your outdoor lawn furniture.

Keep in mind that the overall saturation of your lawn and the density of your soil will affect the performance of these stakes. If your lawn is particularly wet or sandy, there is less for these stakes to grip and it is more likely that the wind will pull them out of the ground.

4. Tie the Furniture Together (and then Down)

Creating a larger Mass means that this combination will be both heavier and less likely to blow away in high winds. You can do this with your outdoor furniture by tying all the pieces together using a steel cable or other inflexible tie down.

Leaving less room between the furniture pieces means that wind is less likely to sneak between them and jostle them or otherwise blow them away. Once you have all of your furniture pieces tied together, this may be enough to prevent them from blowing away.

However, if your furniture pieces are lightweight and very movable, you should tie the furniture together and then proceed to tie the pieces to the ground. This may sound complicated, but it can be accomplished with ease and an additional hardware purchase.

Check out these tie-down rings from Amazon. They are heavy duty metal fasteners that screw into most any surface and are designed to be anchor points for attaching your furniture tie-downs. Once you have all of your furniture gathered together and tied, you can then attach your tie downs to these anchor points.

This can be one of the most secure ways of fastening your outdoor furniture during a windstorm. Depending on how many anchor points you have, the more likely it will be that your furniture remains secure. The tie-down rings from Amazon come in a pack of 10 or 12, which should be more than enough.

You can always secure your furniture to the anchor points using bungee cords or fabric tie downs, but steel cable or metal cable is usually recommended for this application. This is especially true if you live in an extremely high wind area. The steel cable will hold much more readily than fabric or elastic.

5. Add a Heavy Duty Outdoor Furniture Cover

Depending on the style of patio furniture that you have, you may have luck with a heavy-duty outdoor furniture cover protecting your pieces from blowing away. These covers are designed to add a bit more weight to your furniture as well as protect them from rain or hail.

Keep in mind that if you don’t install or securely tie down your outdoor furniture cover successfully, it can lead to your patio furniture blowing away much more easily. Wind can get caught up underneath a cover or tarp, unless you follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

You can check out some of our top choices for outdoor furniture covers that are perfect for rain, snow, or wind, see our best outdoor furniture covers by clicking here. You can also always make your own outdoor furniture cover, but many DIY covers often prove unsuccessful in protecting outdoor furniture from high winds.

6. Bungee Cord them Down

A potentially cost-effective way for protecting your outdoor furniture from the wind involves bungee cording them down. Bungee cords have been a staple in many households for generations, given their flexibility and ease of use.

Bungee cords are readily available in hardware stores or online, as well as many camping or outdoor retailers. They are available in many different lengths, widths, and durability levels so that you can find the perfect size and strength for your project.

It may take some trial and error, but you should be able to bungee cord your furniture down with relative ease. You can bungee everything together, creating a larger and more weighted structure. Or you can bungee your outdoor furniture to various other fixtures in your yard.

7. Block the Wind!

While the wind is a powerful force of nature, there are ways that you can block the wind from disrupting your patio, deck, and more importantly, the furniture on it. If you have the option, planting hedges, shrubs, and other privacy greenery may be an efficient and attractive way of stopping high winds.

You could also consider building a fence around your outdoor furniture area, and build it with the wind in mind. Obviously a chain-link fence isn’t going to help you very much in moments of high winds, but building a fence with large wooden slats can help protect your furniture.

If you have a deck or patio and not enough space to install plants or a fence, you can add wind deck screens to your pergola, gazebo, or patio cover. You may find that this option is a bit expensive, but there may also be deals from time to time.

Sometimes even rearranging your furniture to be closer to your home or other outdoor structure is enough to block the wind from knocking over your furniture. Obviously it depends on what direction the wind is coming from, but having at least one barrier may help.

You can read more about windy patio solutions and other common issues when it comes to the wind and your outdoor furniture by checking out this article here.

8. Buy Heavy Patio Furniture Instead

If you don’t already have outdoor patio furniture, and you know you live in a windy area, you should simply err on the side of buying heavy patio furniture instead of lightweight plastic or wood pieces. I highly recommend checking out our list of some of the best outdoor sectionals here.

Or you can read about our 10 most comfortable outdoor lounge chairs by clicking here.

Whether the pieces are simply larger, more aerodynamic, or made of heavy-duty materials, purchasing furniture with the wind in mind may save you a lot of hassle in the long run. Granted, these pieces are usually more expensive than your average plastic Adirondack chair, but you won’t likely have to worry about securing them.

Heavy metal or wrought iron outdoor furniture is ideal for windy locations, or larger wooden sectionals have been known to withstand high winds. Keep in mind that many of these furniture options have removable cushions, so you will need to properly secure those first.

If you have a large enough and heavy enough sectional, you can even plan on securing the rest of your outdoor furniture to it. This might end up being the simplest option for you, so long as you have a budget that will support this.

9. Drill the Furniture into the Patio or Deck

If you know you don’t plan on rearranging your patio furniture very much, you can opt for a more permanent solution such as drilling your furniture into your patio or wooden deck. This option may not work for everyone, especially those of you that enjoy the flexibility of rearranging your outdoor furniture.

However, if rearranging isn’t something you plan on doing, you can simply drill your wooden patio furniture into your deck with a long enough screw. You can also screw pieces of plywood into the deck and place them on either side of your furniture as a sort of anchor point.

You will have to make sure the plywood is taut against the furniture and that the furniture is in the exact position you want it before you screw in the anchors. This process acts as a sort of compression anchoring that may be successful, especially if you screw more pieces of wood into the deck.

Wind and Furniture FAQs

Still have questions regarding how to secure your patio furniture in moments of high wind? Here are some common wind and furniture frequently asked questions, along with some answers and even more solutions to your patio furniture problems.

How to Secure Outdoor Furniture to Concrete Using a Steel Cable?

You can secure your outdoor furniture to concrete using a steel table and a properly installed support anchor. I recommend following suggestion number four on this list when it comes time for you to tie down your outdoor furniture.

The most important part of the process will be properly installing an anchor into your concrete. You may need a specialized tool or concrete professional to help you with this process. However, just one properly installed anchor can make a world of difference when it comes time to secure your patio furniture.

You can also install a post into concrete yourself right beside your patio or desired area where your outdoor furniture will be best secured. This process may be a little bit easier, and less expensive overall. You can simply fill a large pot with concrete and install a wooden post in the center.

Can I Tie Outdoor Furniture to a Patio Support Beam?

You may be able to tie your outdoor furniture to a patio support beam, but it is only recommended that you do so if you know that the beam is strong enough to support this process. You may also not want to take the risk if the beam is holding up any sort of roof or overhead structure.

For example, if the beam is made of any sort of flexible metal or plastic, the chances of it being secure enough to attach your patio furniture to during a windstorm is low. This is also most likely to be the case for any beams that are not properly installed into the ground or a cement fixture.

However, if you are not worried about your overall patio supports and the strength of your beams, it is most likely worth a try. This is especially true if you own furniture that lies close to the ground and is less likely to be pulled or pushed by the wind.

What Should I Do with Glass Furniture During High Winds?

Many outdoor deck or patio tables are made using tempered glass or a more durable glass perfect for using in the great outdoors. However, this does not mean that the glass is unbreakable. If you have glass furniture during high winds, it is recommended that you bring the furniture inside.

If your glass table top is removable from the base, I would suggest bringing only the glass inside so that it takes up less space than the entire table. However, if the glass is not removable, hopefully you have enough space to bring the table inside.

While there’s no guarantee your glass table will break during a windstorm, the amount of potential cleanup required should your table break is most likely not worth it. Even if your table doesn’t get knocked over and broken, there is a chance that debris will hit it and shatter it.

Final Thoughts

Securing your patio furniture during a day or night of high winds doesn’t have to be complicated. You may find that bringing your furniture inside may be the wisest decision for you, but if that isn’t an option, choose from any one of these 9 solutions and secure your outdoor patio furniture with ease!

Jamie

Jamie is the founder of The Backyard Pros. When he was 15 years old he started working at a garden centre helping people buy plants, gardening products, and lawn care products. He has real estate experience and he is a home owner. Jamie loves backyard projects, refinishing furniture, and enjoys sharing his knowledge online.

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