Whether you have a modern landscape, a rustic garden, or just a bit of patio space, you can incorporate some kind of corten steel element to make your outdoor space more interesting. From planters and retaining walls to beautiful water features, the possibilities are almost endless!
What Is Corten Steel?
Corten steel is a copper chromium alloy developed to resist corrosion from outdoor weather conditions. For this reason it is also called weathering steel. “Cor-Ten” is the trademark name for this alloy and is commonly referred to without the hyphen as simply corten steel.
How does it work and what are its properties?
When corten steel is exposed to the atmosphere, like most steel alloys it will oxidize, or begin to form a layer of rust. What sets corten apart from other alloys is that this layer actually protects the material from further rusting.
You may not be ready to transform your entire garden or landscape into a corten steel masterpiece yet so let’s explore some simple ideas you could try…
1. Corten Steel Planters
2. Retaining Walls
Corten steel retaining walls can be a challenge. The walls must be custom cut and formed into the desired shape, then installed carefully. There are few landscape design companies with much experience with them.
A more simple solution is to build a wooden support structure wall and then clad it with corten panels.
3. Privacy Fence
4. Garden Bed Border Edging
Garden bed edging using corten steel is one of the least expensive options available. Also, since it comes in thin strips it will be much easier to bend and even form sharp 90 degree angles using a vice.
Additional ideas using corten steel that won’t break your budget:
- Custom made house address numbers
- Small cut-out silhouette animals
- Tabletop planters
- Wall art
5. Garden Gates
6. Corten Steel Rain Curtain Water Feature
7. Fire Pits
8. Garden Sculpture
9. Water Bowls
Wildlife are attracted to ‘still’ water features as an oasis for refreshment!
10. Screens And Shade Panels
11. Fountains
12. Corten Steel For Raised Garden Beds
Raised garden beds are a great use of corten steel. They are very attractive, even in the wintertime when they may have no plants growing in them.
If you ever decide to change things up a little, they can easily be emptied and moved to another location.
13. Pillars
14. Trellis
15. Water Trough
16. Pergola
17. Garden Bench
This is just my opinion, but I would prefer to use wood or another material where you would be sitting rather than to sit on rust. As beautiful as the patina on corten steel is, I don’t actually want to get it on my pants while the rust coating is developing.
However, this is a good opportunity to mix the natural elements of wood and steel together in a visually appealing way.
18. Water Garden/Fish Pond
19. Firewood bench or rack
20. Chimeneas
21. Back Lighted Sculptures And Panels
The Pros And Cons Of Using Corten Steel Outdoors
Pros:
Corten steel is a durable and environmentally friendly material that will last for decades without need for maintenance of any kind. It is also reusable and recyclable.
While doing online research on the pros and cons of using corten steel I have come across quite a few “authoritative” websites claiming that you should not use it where the humidity is high and it rains a lot. Why? Well, they never say why, but they also claim that corten steel forms a thin protective rust coating that protects it from any further corrosion.
This is a contradiction in my book. These two things cannot both be true at the same time. While the protective rust coating concept is true, I believe it’s completely fine to use corten in hot, humid and rainy environments. Let me show you a real-world example of what I’m talking about.
Where I live in Houston, Texas, the highway department has used corten steel extensively in bridge girders all over town and elsewhere in the state (and has for decades now). In the image below you can see a freeway connector using corten steel girders to support the road deck.
Constructed in 1990, this particular interchange was completed more than 30 years ago. Houston has a sub-tropical climate that is notoriously hot and humid with an annual rainfall that can sometimes be measured in feet!
This is why I say that you should have no problem using this material in any climate.
Cons:
One of the cons of corten steel is that it can stain painted walls, stone work, stucco, concrete driveways and sidewalks, and some other materials from runoff while it is in the process of rusting and somewhat thereafter. So keep this in consideration when deciding on where to place it.
Some corten steel products are sold in a brand new condition where the metal surface is still shiny and has not yet been weathered and rusted. Some other products will already have their rusty patina. If you are not certain, you should contact the seller or manufacturer to find out.
You may not mind having to wait a few months to a couple years (depending on your climate) for corten steel products to develop their rust coating, but if you do not want to wait for this to occur naturally, it is possible to accelerate the rusting process.
Make a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, vinegar and salt and pour into a spray bottle. Spray this mixture onto the metal surface, applying several times, and allow it to dry between applications. Doing this will force the material to develop the rust patina very quickly.
Where Can I Find Corten Steel Products?
Corten steel is commonly sold as a finished product like planters and water bowls, and also as flat sheets, coiled sheets, tubes, pipes, and plates of various sizes and thicknesses.
All manner of corten steel products can be found by looking at the following websites and placing “corten steel” in the search box:
- Ebay.com
- AllModern.com
- Etsy.com
- Wayfair.com
- Walmart.com
- Overstock.com
- Amazon.com
A good way to find corten steel products is to simply do a search in your favorite search engine by typing in something like “buy corten steel near me” or insert the specific product you are looking for. Example: “buy corten steel planters near me” or just “corten steel planters”
If you are a Pinterest fanatic like me, you can do a search on the site for corten steel, after you hit search/enter, you will see a neat little option right below the search box that says “explore” and “shop”. Switch your search to the “shop” option by clicking on that button.
Then you should see almost endless options of products made of corten steel and most pins will include pricing with a description and of course a link to the website where you can purchase the product.
Corten steel planters, privacy screens, fire pits, water bowls, garden bed edging, are available from many sellers on Amazon.
I’ve found the corten steel rain curtain water feature for sale at Fountains.com. At nearly $9,000 it can be a bit pricey. A do-it-yourself alternative would save quite a bit. You could do a search online for how to make one, also there are fountain kits as well as d.i.y. instructions that are both sold separately on Etsy.
More Reading Resources:
- Cor-Ten Steel: The Essential Guide (From The Landscape Architects Network)
- Corten Steel Resource Page (Houzz.com)
- Using Corten Steel (GardenDesign.com)