Trophy-Topped Hose Guard – DIY Tutorial

It’s comforting to watch the inevitable, calming fade of autumn after the exuberance of summer.  Seedheads and berries replace summer flowers.  Leaves lose their greenness and drift to the ground.  The temperature cools, the air clears, the light softens and the days shorten.  It’s the perfect time to be outdoors in the garden.  It’s also the perfect time to address those little garden projects I’ve been putting off all season.
One of those projects concerns our garden water hoses.  We replaced our conventional water hoses with expandable water hoses a few years ago and will never go back.  We prefer expandable hoses for several reasons: 1) they are much lighter which makes them easier to move around and manipulate 2) they are less likely to kink and twist and 3) they’re considerably smaller which means they’re easier to store.  In fact, our garden hose fits nicely inside a vintage, metal watering can.
Regardless of the type of hose, it’s a challenge to “corral” water hoses when they’re in use.  One mighty, careless tug could instantly wipe out the blooming plant you’ve been waiting for all year.  Don’t ask me how I know!  To prevent this problem, I decided to install hose guards in strategic positions around the flower beds.  And since I never miss an opportunity for a creative project, I set about making my own unique hose guards.
I’d like to share my quirky, trophy-topped (dare I say, award-winning?) hose guards in this blog post.  They add a bit of whimsy to the garden while effectively corralling our garden water hoses.  As an added bonus, this project repurposes an item that typically sits around collecting dust—the humble sports trophy.  Why not gather together a few old sports trophies and follow these step-by-step instructions to make your own trophy-topped hose guards?

Supplies Needed
. Figure and Column Trophy.  See Step 1 Source a Trophy below for more details.
. PVC Pipe: 6-8” of ½” PVC pipe.
. PVC Fittings: ONE ½” coupling and ONE ½” plug to fit the end of the ½” PVC pipe.
. Rebar: 12” length.
. Spray Paint
. Styrofoam or Cardboard Box and Wire Coat Hanger (optional): To hang parts for spray painting.

Tools and Equipment Needed
. Socket Wrench (or tool of your choice): To loosen/tighten the nut on the trophy bolt.  I used a ⁷⁄₁₆” socket wrench.
. PVC Pipe Cutter (or saw of your choice): I used a ratcheting PVC cutter.
. Drill:  To bore hole in PVC plug.  I used a ⁷⁄₁₆” drill bit.
Step 1  Source a Trophy 
The idea to repurpose a sports trophy as a topper for my new garden hose guards came to me when I spotted an assortment of old trophies at a thrift store.  There was a wide variety of styles, sizes and themes so I picked up the whole lot.  When the store clerk offered to knock down the price to less than $1 each, I gleefully snapped up my little bargain!
Through trial and error, I’ve determined some trophies work better for this project than others.  The ideal trophy has an interesting figure and a short (about 3”) round column.  The trophy should be constructed with a single, threaded bolt down through the center.  Although the trophies I bought were from different suppliers, I was pleased to discover all the parts were a standard size.  All the bolts, connectors and nuts were ¼” with 20 thread count.  Parts were easy to mix and match, making a variety of figure and column combinations possible.
Step 2  Disassemble Trophy  Remove any labels or papers covering the bottom of the trophy base.  A nut and bolt end should appear.  Remove the nut and separate the pieces.  Take note of how the parts, especially the center bolt, were configured and connected.

Step 3 – Prepare PVC Pipe   Three ½” PVC components—PVC pipe, coupling and plug—will be used to hold the repurposed trophy.
Start by cutting a 6-8” length of ½” PVC pipe.  A PVC pipe cutter is ideal of this step but a jigsaw or other tool can also be used.
Next, bore a hole in the center of the ½” PVC plug using a drill bit just large enough to accommodate the trophy center bolt.
Check to ensure the PVC parts will fit by inserting the plug into the coupling and slipping the coupling onto one end of the pipe. Separate the parts—they will be reassembled in the final step.
Step 4 – Paint Parts  Prepare to spray paint all the visible parts including the trophy figure, trophy column, TWO trophy column disks, PVC pipe, PVC plug and PVC coupler.  In hindsight, it would be better to paint ONLY the top of the PVC plug and ONLY the outside of the PVC coupler—painting the other surfaces makes it difficult to fit them back together.

TIP: Create a temporary support structure for spray painting.  Make a base from a scrap piece of styrofoam (a foam cooler lid works well) or a firm cardboard box.  Cut a wire coat hanger into sections and bend into hooks.  Insert the hooks into the base and suspend the parts to be painted.

Step 5 – Assemble Hose Guard  Gather the parts to be assembled including the trophy figure, trophy column, TWO trophy column disks, trophy center bolt, bolt connectors and/or nuts, PVC pipe, PVC plug, PVC coupler and rebar.
Re-assemble the parts of the trophy in the same way it was originally constructed.  In my case, the trophy figure was attached to the trophy center bolt with a threaded connector.  Then the first disk, trophy column and second disk were slipped onto the center bolt.
Next slide/screw the PVC plug onto the trophy center bolt and tighten.  If needed, finish off with a nut or threaded connector.
Note you have essentially replaced the original trophy base with the PVC plug.
Attach the PVC coupling to the top of the PVC pipe.  Insert the PVC plug (with the attached trophy) into the PVC coupling.

Step 6 – Install Hose Guard  The final step is to install your new hose guard in the garden.  Tamp the rebar into the desired location and slip the PVC pipe over the rebar.   There you have it—your new garden hose guard is on duty!

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Today’s Takeaways

1. Hose guards are an effective way to corral garden water hoses and prevent damage to garden plants.
2. Be on the lookout for discarded items to repurpose into useful objects.
3. Never miss an opportunity for a creative project.