Hanging Clothes Rack Made With Plumbing Pipe

If you have more clothes than closet space, a hanging clothes rack gives you more room. It's kind of like having a movable closet without the walls. Clothes racks can prove somewhat pricey, however, for quality racks that won't spill your clothes in a heap. Building your own clothes rack will yield you a sturdy rack at a portion of the cost. Just use plastic plumbing pipe -- called PVC -- and think of it like putting together a simple puzzle -- but one you can modify as you wish.

Table saw or circular saw (optional)
Fine-tooth blade (optional)
Utility knife (optional)
Sand paper (optional)
3 pieces PVC, 1 inch in diameter and 4 feet long
6 PVC 90-degree elbows
2 pieces PVC, 1 inch in diameter and 5 feet long
6 PVC "T" connectors
8 pieces of PVC, 1 inch in diameter and 9 inches long
4 PVC end caps (optional)
Plastic or wood board, 20 inches wide and 4 feet long (optional)
Paint or dye (optional)
Rubber band, fabric or tape (optional)

Instructions

- 1
  Cut PVC pipe to size with a table saw or circular saw with a fine-tooth blade. Make a square cut, following with a utility knife to shave slight adjustments away. File or sand the edges smooth.
- 2
  Create the clothes rack top bar by fitting a 90-degree-angle PVC elbow on either end of a 4-foot-long section of pipe.
- 3
  Connect a 5-foot-long piece of pipe to each of the elbow joints on the top bar. Push the pipes home by hand – do not force them or use a hammer. You have now attached the clothes rack legs to the top bar. Place this somewhere safe where it cannot be damaged.
- 4
  Form the four feet for the rack base. Slide a 90-degree-angle elbow on to one end of each of the four 9-inch-long pipes. This forms four feet which curve down.
- 5
  Push the free end of each pipe into the cross-bar of a "T" connector. Fit another 9-inch-long pipe on the end of each "T," in line with the previous pipe. Turn the "T" fitting sideways. The result is four individual parts, each consisting of a curved foot, a straight section, a "T" connection with one opening turned to the side and another straight section.
- 6
  Connect the parts into pairs, sliding a "T" connector in between each pair. Turn the open end of this "T" upwards. These pieces, once connected, form the base of your clothes rack. The top-facing "T" opening receives the legs coming off of the top bar and the sideways opening "T" fittings allow additional bars on the bottom of the rack, running between and joining the two base pieces together.
- 7
  Insert two 4-foot-long pipes into the "T" fittings on the rack base. These provide the clothes rack, when complete, added stability as well as a lower shelf.
- 8
  Slide the free ends of the legs, branching off the clothes rack top bar, down into the top-facing "T" connectors at the center of the clothes rack base.
- 9
  Cover the raw edges of the base elbows that form feet with PVC pipe end caps, if desired. Other options include gluing fabric or a wood plug, covered with felt, or wheels. Complete with a board, made of plastic or wood, set across the shelf support created by the bottom two pipes that run between the base pieces.

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