When we first moved to our house I bought a hanger for the bird feeders that clamped on to my deck. That lasted about three years and then the arms would not stay put so I needed to look for a new one. I could not find the same one I had so I ordered the Deck Kit with Adjustable Branches at Amazon.com.
Description
This Deck Kit for Hanging Bird Feeders could be used to hang bird baths, or plants as well as bird feeders. When assembled, it measures a total of 39″ from the bottom of the clamp assembly to the top of the bird ornament. The length of the pole without the clamp and top bird ornament is 33″ The color is a very dark green that is almost black in color. I find it to be attractive and go well in a natural setting.
Each arm extends 17.5″ from the pole and travels in an upwards direction from the pole with some decorative leaves along the way. It is really not overly ornate and while I would have preferred the hanger without the ornaments they were not overly ornate.
The arms can be positioned anywhere on the pole and tightened down with a screw that is attached. It is sort of a wing nut type of thing so that you do not need a screw driver to adjust or tighten the branches down. Once I got mine positioned though I did give it a tightening with a pliers so that the wind would not move the branches.
The clamp itself is 3″ wide and 2.5″ deep. The actual space that you have within the clamp for your deck railing is 2.25″ We ran into trouble with this space being so small which I described in the “Installation Section. There is a hole on the top of the bracket to drive a screw (not included) into your deck to steady it. I found it necessary to use this since our deck railing was not exactly the right size.
Assembly
All the pieces that you need are in a box and screw together easily. The long pole is in two sections. Make sure to get them tightened together well so that it does not unscrew as a wind comes along. I ended up attaching my second branch right there at the junction and tightening it down to keep it from moving. It went together easily and everything fit the way it was supposed to.
Installation
I had trouble installing it as the clamp did not allow enough room to completely go under my deck railing. I was able to make it work by wedging it into a corner and just clamping it on the edge of the deck railing. I had to place a screw into the deck on the top to steady it or the wind would eventually loosen it. The other hanger I had had a much larger clamp so it was more versatile. I was surprised that this deck kit was not the same as people have all different types of decks and the small area of the clamp really only accommodates the railing only.
How well it is working for me
While I was not thrilled to have to drive a screw into my deck it is holding up and performing without wobbling or coming loose. To me the point of buying a clamp on assembly is so that you do not have to mar your deck to attach something to it. I found it interesting that they included the hole for the screw on the top as though they were expecting this issue to arise. Perhaps if they had just made the bracket a little deeper to accommodate more sizes then people would not need to use a screw.
My Rating and final thoughts
If you have a deck that will fit the clam on this deck kit and hanger for bird feeders, then I think you will be quite happy with the item. I have to give this 3 stars even though I love how it looks because it just does not perform as designed. I am taking off the points for having to drive a screw into my deck to secure it. I do not think I have an unusual deck and would imagine a lot of people would face the same issue as me so larger clamp should have been provided.
