How To Repurpose A Satellite Dish: DIY Project For Your Garden Or Yard

Upcycling is a practice of taking unused, discarded items and turning them into something else. It is a practical way of ensuring our landfills aren’t stuffed with things that could be repurposed. Your old satellite dish is begging for a little garden upcycling! Satellite dishes are commonly thrown away when the service is no longer active, especially nowadays when “cutting the cord” on viewing services has become popular. Perhaps it’s a good time for a satellite dish DIY project that will see that one time garbage turned into art or a functioning item.

Satellite Dish DIY Project Ideas

Satellite TV was once the go-to method of viewing, especially in rural areas. But technology has kept pace with demand, and modern programming is available reliably in a variety of other ways. This means that the once needed item, the satellite dish, is a relic. Instead of adding it into a landfill, try making a DIY old satellite dish garden element. The old hunk of metal will look at home with a little bit of work and can provide a focal point in the garden. Here are some ideas.

Satellite Dish Swing

Comfy seating for the outdoors doesn’t have to be expensive or fancy. A couple of old satellite dishes pair up nicely as a hanging swing seat. The style is completely customizable, but a basic swing should have a seat, back, and armrests. Arm rests may be made with scrap wood in any form you prefer. The seat and back are joined with screws to make it sturdy. Using the original mounting brace to attach the two makes a very strong construction.

• Pre-drill the back, seat, and mounting holes and line up the back and seat to make sure it will be even.
• Before assembly, the dish needs to be sanded, primed, and painted.
• Use a file to smooth out the drill holes so there are no rough edges.
• Using a spray paint made for metal will yield the best results. Start with the primer and let it dry and then finish up in any color you choose.
• Once everything is dry, assemble the back and seat. Then affix the seat to a sturdy ceiling, tree, or other aerial space.
• Thick rope or even chain can be used to hang the seat.

Satellite Dish Bird Bath

Once satellite service has been disconnected, the company doesn’t require the return of the dish, just the receiver. That means there are thousands or more of these dishes floating around. Even if you don’t personally have one, a neighbor, junk yard, or probably an abandoned field will yield one of these beauties. Once in hand, what can you do with it?

Try making a DIY hovering bird bath. The mounting hardware that usually affixes the dish to the roof will make a perfect way to mount the dish on a tree, fence, or other vertical structure.

• Spray paint the dish with a non-toxic paint that will not leach into the water if you want to clean it up.
• Drill holes to the installation location at the same distance the mounting hardware bears. The mounting hardware should be long sturdy screws that will hold the weight of both the dish and the water it will contain.
• Mount, fill, and enjoy bird watching.

Other DIY Satellite Projects

Imagination is the only limitation in upcycling these common trash items. The shallow dish makes a perfect succulent container once drainage holes are drilled. Fill with a fast draining soil such as cactus mix, and grow hens and chicks, sedum, Aeonium, or other sun loving plants. Either mount the dish or simply nestle it in a garden bed. The small satellite dishes can also be painted and installed on fences or outbuildings, adding art in your garden. Big dishes are useful as the roof on a gazebo, or as larger planting spaces. Another ambitious way to use a larger dish is to make a pond. Once installed in a depression that fits the dimensions of the dish, line it with concrete, and then a pond liner or a water proof sealer. Birds will love the space, but it will also attract many other types of wildlife.