How to Make PVC Pipe Artwork for Inside the Home

​text by Vicki     Sign up here to join our weekly email newsletter! ​

This post is sponsored by The Home Depot.

Despite all the work our first PVC project entailed, we were determined to repeat the process on an indoor piece. We incorporated many of the suggestions given through the comments from our viewers. Spoiler: this process was so much easier! 

As always, watching the video will give you a complete look at the entire process. It's less than 10 minutes to view. 

This new PVC art piece will go into those weird openings at Steph's house. They always looked a little incomplete so we thought that would be the perfect location.

Materials:

• PVC Pipe 1/2 in, 3/4 in, 1 in, 1-1/2 in, 2 in, 3 in (Home Depot)
• 
  
• Oatey 10 oz. Fusion One Step PVC Cement (Home Depot)
• 
  
• 4mm Plastic Sheet (Home Depot)
• 
  
• OOK 3/8 in. Offset Clip with Hardware (8-Pack) (Home Depot)
• 
  
• Easy Cast Clear Casting Epoxy (Online)
• 
  
• Black Diamond Pigments (Online)
• 
  
• Acurio Latticeworks 32 in. x 4 ft. White Vinyl Decorative Screen Panel Jumbled Circles (Home Depot)
• 
  

Tools:

• Milwaukee M18 FUEL 18-Volt Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless 10 in. Dual Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw (Tool-Only) (Home Depot)
• 
  
• Dremel GO 4-Volt Max Lithium-Ion Cordless Screwdriver with USB Charger and Insert Bits (Home Depot)
• 
  
• Milwaukee 16 in. x 24 in. Aluminum Framing Square (Home Depot)
• 
  
• Makita 18-Volt 5.0Ah X2 LXT Lithium-Ion (36V) Brushless Cordless 10 in. Dual-Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw with Laser Kit (Home Depot)
• 
  
• Husky 1-1/4 in. Ratcheting PVC Cutter (Home Depot)
• 
  
• Firm Grip Leather Impact Tan Full Grain Leather Glove (Home Depot)
• 
  
• Makita 18-Volt X2 LXT Lithium-Ion (36-Volt) Brushless Cordless 6-1/2 in. Plunge Circular Saw w/ (2) Batteries 5.0Ah, 55T Blade (Home Depot)
• 
  
• Kreg Multi-Mark Multi-Purpose Marking and Measuring Tool (Online)
• 
  
• Fiskars 2 Inch Thick Punch, Circle (Online)
• 
  

Most of our cuts were made on this Milwaukee Cordless 10 in. Miter Saw. We've used an earlier vesion of this saw for two years and have nothing but good things to say about it. We like the compact design and ease of use. It delivers up to 400 cuts per charge!

Ug, cutting PVC makes such a mess! We did use dust collection and stopped periodically to clean up. Steph set up a stop block (there on the right) so that all the cuts would be the same length.

We also tried out this brand new Makita miter saw. It's brushless and uses two LXT batteries; X2 LXT technology delivers more power, speed and run time without the hassles of a cord. There is so much more flexibility when you don't have to deal with plugging in a tool! Also, a nice feature of this saw is the dust collection is nearer to the blade which meant, for us in this project, it collected more of the PVC dust so less clean up for us! We swapped out the Makita blade that came with the saw for one with a higher tooth count to cut the PVC. (60 as opposed to 40). The higher tooth count makes smooth cuts.

We learned from our first PVC project that when cutting the smaller diameter pipes, that they ricochet everywhere! We knew this, but we tried again anyway! We decided that wasn't a good idea when one beaned me in the forehead. (I didn't get hurt--I had on my safety gear but we were done!) We decided to cut the smaller pipes with this Husky ratcheting PVC cutter. It took a little effort, but it worked. I was doing this bare handed, but then realized I had this pair of Firm Grip padded leather gloves that would totally aid me in this task! It's interesting, I love leather gloves but Steph really doesn't. What are your go-to gloves for working in the garage or yard?

Steph built a frame in which to hold the PVC pieces while we put them into place. The frame is held in place with those metal corner pieces. That powered screwdriver Steph is using is the best! It's the Dremel 4V GO. It's battery powered and you simply push and it automatically works. We are using a Milwaukee framing square to help square up everything. One of my oldest tools is a framing square like this, but this one is such an improvement over that one. The main thing is the weight! This is aluminum making it so much lighter and easier to use. I bought my first one to actually aid in drawing patterns for sewing, soooooo, I'm thinking this is going to disappear into my sewing room. (Don't tell Steph!)

First draft of the PVC panel. Nope, it needs more variety in the diameter of the pipes...back to The Home Depot for more pipes!

Much better, but there is still something missing. Hey, how about adding one more step and put some epoxy in there? Check out the video for that process.

One of the talking points of our first PVC project was that we used construction adhesive instead of PVC glue. This time we took your suggestion to use PVC glue. We did experience some issues with it. We share those in the video, "What We Learned" section.

This one is ready, well almost! We had a few pieces that didn't get glued so we had to do a little work on it before heading to Steph's house to install this one. Before taking this to Steph's house, I flipped it over onto the plastic board we were using and traced all the circle so that we could make a mirror image of the first one.

I don't know where Steph discovered these OOK offset clips, but they were perfect for installing these panels. You can see them in the lower right hand corner.

Here's the before...

...and the after! It looks like they have always been there!

Here's the view from the front door.

We love these panels!!!

Thanks to everyone who made suggestions on the PVC privacy screen. The best suggestion was closing up the fence on our miter saw. We did that this time and we had no issue with flying cut PVC pieces (with the exception of the small ones!) The epoxy was another idea, which is subtle in this project but effective. Thanks to all those that made that suggestion! 

We acknowledge that The Home Depot is partnering with us to participate in the ProSpective 2019 Campaign. As a part of the Program, we are receiving compensation in the form of products and services, for the purpose of promoting The Home Depot. All expressed opinions and experiences are our own words. Our post complies with the Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Ethics Code and applicable Federal Trade Commission guidelines.

FYI: We are not professionals, and we don’t claim to be. This is what we found worked for our project. Yours may need a little different approach. Safety first!

FYI: Affiliate links are being used on this page. Purchasing via these links help support MDP!

---

Related Projects

How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets

PVC Pipe Privacy Screen

Outdoor Privacy Bench