The $20 canopy weight hack our block party needed

My neighbor Rick swore by filling milk jugs with sand instead of buying those fancy weights, and I thought he was nuts. Then a gust at our July 4th party sent one canopy flying across two lawns, so we tried his trick with 8 jugs around each leg. Not a single tilt for the rest of the afternoon, has anyone else used this or do you all just rent the heavy bases?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_avery10d ago

Man, that sand jug trick is the real deal. I did the exact same thing last summer after my pop-up almost took out a neighbor's grill. We filled up old detergent bottles with gravel instead, just because we had them lying around, and tied them to the frame with bungee cords. The wind picked up pretty good that afternoon and the canopy didn't budge an inch. I used to think those store bought weights were a rip off, and now I'm fully convinced they are. Rick's a smart guy, you should listen to him more often.

jesse_craig2210d ago

Gravel in detergent bottles, huh? That's a solid upgrade, honestly, water jugs are cheaper but gravel gives it that extra heft. I've been using old milk jugs filled with sand for years, never had a single scare since. Store bought weights are just plastic bags with sand inside, they charge you 20 bucks for what you can make for free. Plus, when the season's over, you just dump the gravel in the garden and recycle the bottles. You basically stole my exact setup, just with a better filling. How much did you pack in each one?