Cut PVC pipe into pieces for a chic chandelier.
Chandeliers spread and diffuse light, making the area below them glow. Even if the bulbs aren't very strong, chandeliers reflect their light to make the most of them. While traditional chandeliers house individual bulbs under glass hurricanes, modern chandeliers can be nearly any material. If you love industrial chic pieces, you can even use PVC pipe and white twinkle lights. The project is inexpensive and will quickly draw the eye upward, showing off your decorating skills and your DIY prowess.
Instructions
1. Clean all of your PVC pipes with alcohol wipes. This removes dirt and grime that may prevent your glue from adhering. It also makes the pipe look shiny and new. Pipe often gets very dirty in the hardware store; it will look smudged when you purchase it.
2. Cut pipes of different diameters to different lengths. Diameters may range from 3 inches to 6 inches and lengths from 2 inches to about 6 inches. Try cutting narrow pipes longer and wider pipes shorter for an interesting visual effect.
3. Cluster all of the pipe pieces together in a rectangle or circle on a flat surface. All of the pipes must touch each other. Arrange and rearrange them until you find a pleasing configuration. The parts of the pipes sticking upward now will hang downward later.
4. Pick up the pipe pieces, one at a time, and apply polyurethane glue to the sides. Replace the pipe, pressing it against the pieces around it. Continue until all of the pipes are glued together. Allow the glue to dry overnight. This is the chandelier assembly.
5. Cut four pieces of 4-inch diameter PVC pipe about 8 inches long. Fit one end of each pipe with a pipe flange. Remove the flanges, apply glue to the end of each pipe and replace the flanges. Let the glue dry overnight.
6. Flip over the so you can see the flat side. Glue the four flanged pieces of pipe at even intervals around the edges of the chandelier assembly. The flanges should stick up about 3 inches above the assembly and sit even with each other. Allow the glue to dry overnight.
7. Arrange a strand of up to 300 lights over the flat side of the chandelier assembly. Scatter the lights randomly, or arrange them in a pattern, as you like. Place the battery pack near an edge for convenience.
8. Slip binder clips over the wires in the twinkle lights, sliding the sides of each clip down over the edges of the pipes. Each binder clip should span the touching edges of two pipes. Continue until the lights are snugly secured to the chandelier assembly.
9. Screw the flanges into the ceiling with 2 inch screws and an electric hand drill. Turn the chandelier on by reaching over the edge and turning on the battery pack.
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