I recently shared a picture of pipe shelving my husband made me for Christmas. I received a handful of comments from people asking how he constructed ours. I decided to write up a brief post sharing how it’s done.
NOTE: We did not take pictures during the process so hopefully the “after” pictures give you all an idea of how it’s done.
Supplies Needed (for 3 shelves):
- 3 – Shelves cut to 32 inches long, 10 inches wide
- 4 – Gas pipe flanges (black)
- 6 – Couplings (black, we used 3/4 inch)
- 4 – Gas pipe elbows (black)
- 4 – 10 inch Gas pipes (black, we used 3/4 inch)
- 8 – 4 inch Gas pipes (black, we used 3/4 inch)
- Wood stain of your choice (optional, we used dark walnut)
Tools Needed:
- Drill
- Paddle Bit (use appropriate paddle bit based on thickness of gas pipe)
- Sheetrock Anchors
- Sheetrock Screws
- Optional : Liquid nail
How-To:
- Drill a hole in each end of shelf (roughly 2 inches in) using drill and paddlebit.
- Stain each shelf (optional).
- Piece together the flanges, gas piping, elbows, and couplings to construct your shelves.
- Hang shelf using sheetrock anchors and screws.
- Optional: Use liquid nail to secure shelf to pipe around each hole.
Feel free to leave ask questions or leave comments!
Best of luck!
What do you use to hold the shelf down to make it sturdy?
It is pretty sturdy on its own but we used liquid nail to prevent it from moving at all. Putting somewhat heavy items on it helps to stabilize it as well.
Do you know approximately how much this cost to build? This is just the size I need for my kitchen area! Thank you!
Hi Rebecca! It’s roughly $100 to build 🙂
The holes are two inches in from the end of the board. What is the measurement for centering the hole? How far is the hole from the top and bottom (front and back)
Hi Kaitlin! The hole is in the center of the board. For example, if you’re using a 9 inch wide board, put the hole at 4.5 inches in. Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!
How did you prevent the shelf from rocking from front to back considering there is only 1 pipe supporting the shelf in the middle of each side?
Hi there! We used liquid nail where the holes and the pipe meet to prevent the shelf from rocking / moving.
We have made 3 floor length shelves very similar to these but with the bottom flange resting on the floor. I wanted to be able to be able to take it apart so instead of liquid nails to prevent the shelves from rocking, I used small pieces of wood and wedged in the hole space behind each pipe (like the wood from a matchstick) and the shelves don’t wobble at all. It came in handy because we once had a leak in the wall behind one and had to dismantle it to repair the wall, just sucked the wall wood pieces out with a vacuum!
Hi Jamie! What size paddle bit did y’all use? The 3/4″ and 1″ were too snug for us, but the 1 1/4″ feels too loose with the 3/4″ piping.
Hi Caitlin! We used 1 1/4″ and used liquid nail around the pipe to solidify the pipe to the board! Hope that helps!
Love the shelf! Curious what paint color is on the wall though. I love it!!
Hi Kristina! Thank you! It is Sherwin Williams, Mindful Gray!
Love it. Did you do anything to distress the pipes? The black pipes I’ve seen at HD or Lowes are solid black and don’t have the iron look that yours do. Thanks!
Hi Lance! We did not do anything to the pipes to alter the color. We bought them in this black / dark grey color from Home Depot!
About how heavy is the shelf?
What is the overall height of the shelves? From elbow to elbow.
Hello! I really the design of the pipe and shelves. What is the height of each shelf?
did you attach tp the wall first? or build it and then attach to wall?
We built it and then attached it to the wall!
Just an idea: We’ve made some similar sets of shelves for our home except they are nearly floor to ceiling and rest on flanges on the floor at the bottom. Instead of using construction adhesive to make sure the shelves don’t wobble, I cut a small piece of a wooden shish kabob stick and wedged it in the hole in the space behind the pipe. It fills in that little area just enough that the shelves sit tight and level but no one can see it. It came in handy when we had to dismantle, then reassemble them, due to a leak inside the wall behind it. Love pipe shelves!
Were the 10″ and 4″ gas pipes cut to size or did they come that way? Thanks!
They came that way!
the vase is gorgeous!
Hi there! Love this build so much. What wood did you use? How much weight did you put on the shelves?
Thanks!
We used pine – the weight would vary based on size but I put quite a bit up there no problem. It could easily hold any type of home decor items intended for shelves (books, vases, etc).