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PVC Chair This PVC chair goes together PDQ. From "B. Original" episode DBOR-126

Go for a hip industrial look with PVC furniture.

The same factors that make PVC a great choice for plumbing also make it a great material for crafting: It's cheap, easy to work with and extremely durable.

Michele Beschen uses PVC for everything from planters and bird feeders to furniture—including the easy-to-build PVC chair in this project. Follow along as the B. Original host crafts a cool chair without nails or screws—just some pipe, fittings and glue. Scroll down for her easy how-to, and get started building with PVC.

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Materials:

PVC pipe, 1-1/4" diameter - 4 pieces 21-1/2" long - 4 pieces– 12" long - 3 pieces 18" long - 4 pieces 6" long - 2 pieces 7" long PVC fittings, 1-1/4" diameter - 6 T connectors - 8 elbow connectors

Miter box, chop saw or hand saw PVC cement or contact cement PVC cleaner or carb cleaner rubber mallet paint and primer

Figure A

About PVC Pipe:

• Do a dry fit of the entire piece before you start gluing any joints. You don't necessarily have to glue all of the joints, because PVC fits together snugly. For those joints you do glue, you can use PVC cement or any contact cement.

• The easiest way to cut PVC pipe is with a miter box or chop saw. However, you can certainly cut PVC with a hand saw; just be careful to make cuts even so you don't throw off the balance of the piece.

• Work on a stable, level surface so your final piece of furniture also will be level. When fitting pipe into connectors, pound with a rubber mallet to make sure everything's snug and flush (figure A).

• When you shop for PVC pipe, you'll notice two types: the pipe with red lettering and the pipe with blue lettering. Either one is fine for this project; the pipe with blue lettering often is less expensive.

Figure B

Build the Base

• Slide an elbow connector onto each end of two 21-1/4" pieces of PVC (figure B).

• Add a 12" piece of PVC to each of those four elbow connectors. You now have two assemblies, each of which makes three sides of a rectangle.
  
  
• Slide one arm of a T connector onto each of the four 12" pieces.

• Connect the two assemblies with 18" pieces of PVC inserted into the T connectors as crossbars. These mark the front and back of the chair seat.

Figure C

Add the Arms

• Insert a 6" piece of PVC in each of the four T connectors on the base.

• Add an elbow connector to the 6" piece of PVC on each side of the front of the chair.

• Add T connector to the 6" piece of PVC on each side of the back of the chair.

• To complete the arms, insert a 21-1/2" piece connecting the T connectors at the back of the chair to the elbow connectors at the front of the chair (figure C).

Complete the Chair Back

• Insert a 7" piece of PVC into the top of the T connectors at the back of the chair.

• Put an elbow connector on each of these 7"pieces.

• Insert an 18" piece of PVC between the two elbow connectors. This forms the top of the back of the chair.

Figure D

Seating

There are two main ways to approach seating with this chair design:

• You could cut into your PVC crossbars, add more T connectors and run crossbars across the bottom of the seat to support cushions.

• Or, you can create a sling out of some durable canvas or fabric (figure D). Drape the fabric over the chair to see how you want it to hang. Pin for the seams—you may want to sew a long tube to go over the crosspiece at the front of the seat and another to go over the top of the chair back. Then stitch your seams and slide it into place. Add some comfy cushions to top everything off.

Figure E

Finish the Chair

• Glue any joints you feel need gluing. Remember, you don't need to glue all of the joints, and you can use contact cement instead of PVC cement if you prefer. PVC cement carries strong fumes, so make sure you only use it in a well-ventilated area and keep it away from children and pets.

• Use PVC cleaner or carb cleaner to remove the printing from the PVC pipe (figure E). Remove all of the writing before you paint the piece; if you don't, it will show through. Michele Beschen left the writing in place on some of her smaller pieces for a more industrial look.

• If you want to paint the chair, either use a spray paint suitable for plastic or prime first with a primer formulated for use on plastic before painting with regular paint.

• If you paint the chair, Michele Beschen recommends you paint the individual pieces, let them dry and then assemble. That way, the paint won't seal any joints you want to get open later.