PVC pipe bench

Well I finally get first section of my new plant shelves done. And I am very please. I had to change the plans a couple of times. At first I planned on having the shelves 3 feet wide but I realized there was no way my short arms where able to reach that far, so I cut it down to 2 1/2 feet and it works great. Then I realized that having the shelves 2 feet apart would not work as I am short on one end and I would not be able to fully use the top shelf and at the same time I could not reach to the back of the bottom shelf as I could not get down there. So I made the bottom shelf only 1 ft high. I am using the closet maid shelves. One bottom I use one 16" shelf and that will before my new cuttings. The second shelf was done with the 2 16" shelves that I had already gotten but I get a 12" shelf to go with the last of the shelves that I had already bought. This plant bench takes up half of the back side of the epi house, and holds over half of my epis. I will finish the other 8'feet this month and one of the 6' bench that will go on the door side.

Here is the first of the picture As you will notice that the first section is 4ft long, but I decide that 2' sections was much better. Infact there was a sag in the middle of the 4' section and I had to put a piece of pipe under it

Here is another picture In this one you also can see part of my first attempt using the 1 1/2 in PVC pipe

Here is a end view

Here is a closer view

And one last picture. This one is of all my seedlings, only 6 more years to wait for blooms.

Nice job Sandy, that looks really great!

Cathy

thank you.

Sandy,
you seem to be an epis person. Just how much light do they need? Are they fussy with cold weather? I have some epis growing way up in the palms and they don't seem to mind the occasional freeze.

Your greenhouse has that dark grees poly. Does that provide enough light? Or is it because you have young plants down below?

Do you think orchids could go with clear poly and 50% aluminet shade cloth underneath?

I'm going to make me some benches like yours but need to have a cover over them.

fred

I am growing epiphllums or orchid Cactus I was told that they need 70 % shade but they can take more sun . the poly is alternating sheets of narrow strips of clear and wider strips of dark green. There is a good bet of light in there. I have 60% shade cloth on the west and south side of the house and 40% on the other two side. When the summer sun comes back I may need to add more shade. the shade cloth and the plastic is just clamped on so it will be easy to change.

As to the cold as long as they do not freeze they seem to be alright. I had one that was left outside all last winter and it not only survived but bloomed last summer.

Very nice , where did you find the 5 way pvc joints?

I found the Y and 4 and 5 hole connections here
http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/Build-a-Greenhouse/products/1162/

Great job on your shelves, Sandy. And you built them to suit your height and reach -- smart! Not much good having things out of reach or having to use a ladder to get to them! Hope your plants are doing well in this cold weather we are having here in FL. Hope the end is in sight. We have some plants we have to bring inside every time it gets cold and that is getting old, along with trying to cover our Meyer lemon which is full of buds and blooms.

Thank you. My epi house is also made out of the PVC pipe. I need to make some changes in it before next winter. This wind is blowing the plastic badly. I have clamps, just need pieces of 1" pipe put around the bottom to hold the plastic down. So far all the epi's are doing great but many of my yard plants are toast. Oh well that means room for new plants!!!!!

Sandy, I really like your set up. Want to come build one for me?...

If you pay my way up there!!!!!!

If was really easy. The hardest part for me was cutting the pipe as I have damage to my shoulders.

I used the 4 hole corner joints and the 5 hole cross joints. You can use the 3 hole y joints for the corners but I decided not to as I may add a bar for hanging plants later.

I forget to add in the above that I used the zip ties to tie the shelves to the pipes.

Thanks for that link. I will look into getting some stuff to build a greenhouse this summer.
I sure am sick of carrying plants around this winter. It is like a plant parade around here every time it freezes-all I can say is thank god for hand trucks! I've noticed that I am getting great muscle tone in my back lately though LOL! It was really cold here last night 19, I think and supposed to be 18 tonight grrrr.

We did not get down that low. was in the 20's but it stayed in the upper 30's in the epi house. I'm going to make a few changes on it when it warms up.

Sandy: Like your design but bear in mind that your plants are going to spread downward as they grow. Are you going to have enough room to over-winter them in your present setup? Are you going to be able to lift them out to inspect them without breaking surrounding foliage? Just some things to think about. bob

Yes as there will be another 8ft bench and two 6 foot benches and a space at each end between the benches.. Plus I can change the set up at any time, as there is not glue holding it together.Many of my epis are upright growners, also. I am thinking of making the 6ft benches only 1 foot wide, for the plants than have hanging growth. Also I have room for some hanging pots. I could probably get another hundred plants in there, with room to spare. I can always build a second house. LOL

Great job looks wonderful.

How is the greenhouse doing now?. I look every day to check out what you have made that is new. Have you made any more benches?.
Guess what, one of the epi's I recieved on 2-14-09, this past week , Meadow Rose, had a uneven edge on the top of the plant, it then started to split. 2 buds have started to grow. I have been reading that the buds may drop so I do not want to get my hopes up too high. But I must tell you, thanks to this (Orchid Cactus) forum, I have cheered up in this cold season. I hopefully will have blossums. And so soon. (Now the need to make a enclosure is really important). And will take pictures.

Torrie
great news on the buds. Yes wish to see pictures.

I just get more pvc pipe joins today and I finished the bottom two shelves on the second back wall bench. I made it a 7 ft long bench and it left a nice spot inbetween the 2 for my large hanging pot.
I need to cut 12 more 2 ft pipe pieces, but I am taking a rest. LOL
I have enough joins to make the tall 1ft wide bench and a third small bench. The 1ft wide bench will be 1ft tall at the bottom, then 18inch high on each of the rest of the shelves. I think I can make it 5 highs. It will be great for my draping epis. I have not planned out the 3rd bench as I do not know yet how much room there will be left on the end. I may just fix it up so I can hang pots there. with one low bench. Decisions, decisions!!!!!!

I am also thinking about making a metal hanging bar set up for summer for the "Holiday" cactus.

Sandy the epi nut

Do you order your pvc pipe or do you have one of those mega hardware stores like Ace hardware etc near you?. I see that you use the Greenhouse Mega store for the connection pieces. I don't have a car, so I will have to order my pipes unless I get some one to take me to New Jersey. Everyone is busy working and trying to keep their families together. I think shipping costs would be kind of expensive. My plants are doing well so I do not need the enclosure just yet. I just have to handle them more than usual to check them for dryness.

I buy the pvc pipes local at HD and the great news is the price has droped a whole dollar.

I just checked one on the sites that I was looking at and 10 twelve length pvc pipe would be about 33.oo including shipping. That is about what I paid for 10 ten foot lengths at HD I might order my next ones from them. Their joints cost more than what I am getting from the other site.

http://www.pvcfittingsdirect.com/_e/1_Diameter_Sch_40_Pipe/product/P100-120/1_Diameter_x_12_Length_Schedule_40_PVC_Pipe.htm

I just finished the second bench. I used foot wide closet maid shelves so the second shelf is set back so that the bottom shelve is more out in the sun and I put the top shelf in the middle so there is room on both side for hangover and the pipe will protect the leaves. LOL I am no very pooped!!!!

Thanks, I am taking notes. I'm sick today and will call for information when I get to work tomorrow.

Sorry that you are sick hope you get feeling better soon.
On the site that I just sent you has a place to calculate the shipping which is what I did. If that helps any.

I will need to wait till this cold spell passes before I can get enough stuff out to be able to take pictures and to be able to start the next bench. But it will take a good bit of time to cut all the 1ft and 18in lengths that I need for it.

I have a lot of new growth in there. I wish I had had it last year. Do not know if I will get any flowers this year but with all the growth I should have very large and health plants by next year.

This message was edited Feb 18, 2009 3:08 PM

I just move some plants over to the new bench . And I really like the space between the shelving and the pipe frame. The leaves of the hanging plants hang down on the inside of the frame and will be protected from bumps. I will start the end bench after it warms up next week. Then the front bench, that will only leave the other end bench and other front bench on the other side. I now near to start cutting up a lot more pipe. LOL

Sandy the epi nut

A note on working with lengths of pvc pipe, write the length on EACH piece. 2 1/2 feet and 2 feet look much alike and they can throw you work off. LOL

I can see someone making a mess with that. When you cut it yourself, how easy is it to do evenly?. I ask because I never used pvc pipe before. I always buy plastic shelving and put my plants on the shelves. If I could make a enclosure around the shelving unit, that would be fine. Or I could make a tall gate for the archway to separate the rooms. But I like the idea of the enclosure better. Thanks for the tips.

There are two ways to cut pvc. One is with a hack saw and this is best for the thicker pipe. There is a cutter for pvc pipe . This is what I am using for the 1 inch pipe. Just remember to get the heavier "40" pipe If you get the clamps you can fasten plastic or shade cloth to your frame work.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=pvc+pipe+cutter&x=11&y=19

I won't need plastic or shade cloth, I will be using plant lights for indoors. I just saw what amazon had. Very impressive. You should see all of the notes that I have generated just trying to get ideas.

tell me about it. I keep designing and redesigning. Now I am also working on a place to hang the trilling plant pots. That is one problem with the pvc pipes they will bend if to much weight is put on them.

Well I have started my third bench. This one will be 4 shelves high. Each shelf will be 1 ft wide with 18 inches high. And the bench will be 4 feet long. I am putting it together outside of the epi house, so I will take it a part and then take picture as I put it back together. Only problem is I have to wait 2 weeks until I have the money to buy the shelves to finish it. DARN!!!!

I will use this bench to hold the plants that have draping leaves.

Ok a couple of picture of my new bench-minus the shelves that I have to wait for.

This one is 62 inches tall. 44inches wide. The cross pieces are 20 inches and the upright pieces are 18 inches with the width pieces 12 inches

Here is a picture on one of the corner joints

And here is a 5 way cross piece

I will take it apart and put it into the epi house after I get the shelves.

My epis are very happy since I started building the shelves. I even now have some buds, for a picture go to my new thread. Here is a picture of my seedlings.