Wine racks have been around as long as wine bottles. They can be made from virtually any material and can hold hundreds of bottles or just a few. The sheer number of wine rack variations is mind-boggling and can make it hard to decide on one for your home. A great alternative to buying one is to make your own modern-looking DIY wine rack. And what better material to build it from than PVC?
When shopping for a wine rack, people often encounter two problems: high prices and incompatible sizes. Pre-made wine racks are sometimes seen as a luxury item, so they are priced accordingly. They can also be made too big or too small for the space you have available. A large rack will simply not fit, and a small one could look awkward. However, you can create a DIY PVC wine rack at a reasonable price to fit whatever space you have available! Keep reading to learn how to make your very own.
Materials
To make your own DIY wine rack, you will need a few inexpensive materials. Click the links to find the lowest prices anywhere:
- 4" Sch. 40 PVC Pipe
- 1 1/2" Sch. 40 PVC Pipe
- Clear PVC Cement
- Hand Saw, Dremel Tool, or Miter Saw
- Sandpaper
In addition to these materials, you may want to purchase some spray paint to make the wine rack look even more visually appealing.
Step 1: Cut PVC Pipe
For this project you will need 7" lengths of pipe. Depending on your needs, the number of pipe sections will vary. For our design, we cut 6 pieces out of 4" pipe and 5 out of 1 1/2" pipe, which left us with 11 7" sections in all. When you finish cutting the pipe, smooth out the ends with fine grain sandpaper. This will ensure your wine rack looks clean when finished.
Step 2: Connect Pieces
Connecting the pipe pieces is the trickiest part of this project, but once you connect one or two, you will quickly get the hang of it. Start by applying a thin strip of PVC cement to one surface and pressing the adjacent piece to it. Hold them together for twenty seconds and the cement will already have a strong hold. PVC cement is stronger than typical glue because it chemically bonds PVC pipe together. Do this at every point where pipe touches pipe and you will have a strong structure.
(Optional) Step 3: Paint DIY Wine Rack
Unless you use unmarked PVC pipe (which is difficult to find in larger sizes), you will probably want to paint your wine rack. This gives you the freedom to color your creation however you want. We recommend using spray paint, as it will more easily fill in the small spaces. It will also cover the interior of the pipe with little to no hassle. Be sure to paint your wine rack outdoors and to wait for it to dry before moving it to its new home inside. We used a bronze-ish paint, which ended up giving us a high-quality metallic look.
Step 4: Install
Once the paint is dry, you are ready to install the wine rack. Thanks to the glue, it should be very sturdy. The one we made is capable of holding 6 bottles and does so with ease. Now you can display your wine collection proudly in a unique way! For more DIY guides and general PVC information, visit our our Resource Center.
