My DIY “Brass” Freestanding Hose Butler

Is there anything better than taking an ordinary utilitarian item in your home and giving it a bit of an upgrade? No. No there is not.

This whole journey started a few weeks back when I saw my friend Diana show off this beautiful brass utility hook she had picked up from Rejuvenation to hang up her garden hose.

I never knew I needed a brass hose holder or “Hose Butler”, (which is what I now know it to be officially called… and if I’m going to write an entire blog post about a fancy hose holder, we might as well use the fanciest term I could find for one) but damn it if I didn’t need one too after seeing hers.

But there was a catch…. I knew with the way our home is constructed I didn’t want to attach my hose butler directly to my house. (It’s mostly all brick from the early 1900s, so I try to avoid putting screws into it if I can.) After searching for days and finding nothing like what I wanted, I decided to get creative and make myself what I had envisioned.

STEP ONE: FIND A HOSE BUTLER YOU LIKE THE SHAPE OF

STEP TWO: GATHER YOUR SUPPLIES

Here’s everything I picked up at Home Depot for this project, along with a list of the misc stuff I had on hand at home and used to get the job done.

Things I Purchased:

• A Bag Of Concrete Mix
  • I used about 1/2 of the 60lb bag we bought
• A Can Of Spray Paint
  • I used this one from Rust-Oleum in Champagne Bronze
• A Sleek Looking Garden Hose

Things I Had On Hand:

• A container to mix your concrete in
  • We used a mortar tub we had on hand.
• Some sort of tool to mix your concrete with the water needed and scoop it into the pot
  • I just used a tamper and joint knife, but you could just use a shovel or trowel
• Gloves to keep the concrete off your hands while mixing
  • The concrete will come off… but it will dry out your hands SO BADLY
• A level to make sure your host butler is plum (aka straight up and down and not crooked)
• ***A Container Of Some Sort To Pour Into
  • This Is Optional Depending On Your Use Situation

Alternatively, if you have a situation where you need to install a freestanding hose butler somewhere you *can’t* bury it in the ground. (Say on top of a concrete pad or something) This would be a great solution to that problem! You’ll probably just want to use a prettier container than I did lol… (If you do decided to go this route, I’d suggest making sure you either fill the pot all the way to the top with the concrete mix or ensure you have drainage holes of some sort in your pot so the top doesn’t just fill up with standing water and breed mosquitos for you).

STEP THREE: SET THE LEG OF YOUR HOSE BUTLER IN CONCRETE

You’ll need to work fast during this bit and ideally have an extra set of hands around to help hold things.

• First you’ll want to either grab your pot/bucket or dig your footer in the ground where you’ll be installing your host butler.
• Next, make sure you have your hose butler and level handy.
• Then mix up your concrete mix with the water as per the directions on the bag.
• Have your extra set of hands hold the leg of your hose butler in the hole you dug (or inside the pot you’re using*) where you want it and keep it in place while you scoop concrete mix into the pot/hole around it.
  • *NOTE: If you will be placing your hose butler IN A POT, be sure and place the leg near the BACK side of the pot, not in the middle. Placing it along the back side wall of the pot wall will help to counter balance the weight of the hose when it is placed on the butler later.
• As the concrete sets, it will start to firm up around the leg of your hose butler, so be sure and do any adjustments you need to your leg of your hose butler right away to keep it level and plumb until the concrete has hardened enough to keep the leg in place all by itself.

If you want a visual of this entire process, you can check out my instagram story highlight here and watch the process from start to finish.

STEP FOUR: PAINT YOUR HOSE BUTLER

If you are installing your host butler in ground against a wall, you may want to paint before setting it in concrete to avoid overspray or having to protect the wall behind the hose butler as you work. Since mine was set into a handy moveable pot, it was easier for me to paint it afterwards.

First I started by giving the hose butler a light sanding to remove the a bit of the gloss coating and help my spray paint adhere better, then I wiped it down with a cloth to remove any sanding dust.

I then applied three very light coats of spray paint, trying to go as light as possible each time, aiming for a build up of thin smooth layers rather than globs of thick runny spray paint.

STEP FIVE: PRACTICE PATIENCE WHILE IT DRYS

Why is this the hardest step of any project?

STEP SIX: STYLE IT UP WITH YOUR HOSE & YOU’RE ALL SET!