diy industrial pipe desk shelf

I have so much stuff in my room, you'd think I've lived here for 5 years rather than just one. It got to the point where you could never even see the surface of my desk due to the sheer amount of things piled on top, thus I seized the opportunity to make my own industrial pipe shelf! It's quite simple...


Supplies

6- 90 degree elbow joints*
2- 12 in. black industrial pipes*
2- 8 in. black industrial pipes*
2- 6 in. black industrial pipes*
2- black industrial pipe flanges*
1- 1 in x 10 in. x 8 ft. pine boards (cut into 4 ft. and 2.5 ft sections)
8- 1 1/4" wood screws
Woodstain (I used Minwax Woodstain in Provincial)

*all pipes have a 1/2" diameter

Tools

Circular saw (or know your shelf measurements before and have the Home Depot/Lowes people cut it down to size)
Electric Drill/Driver w/ 1" drill bit
Stud-finder
Paintbrush for woodstain
Pencil

How-to

1.
Use your stud finder to figure out where the wall studs are and pencil in the holes that you will be screwing your flange into. You can use a leveler to figure out where exactly to place the flanges, but I eyeballed it and it turned out okay. You'll be drilling your flanges into these studs to support the weight of the shelves. Drywall alone can't hold much.

2.
Assemble two flange >> 8 in. pipe >> 90 degree joint pieces together. These will support the top shelf.

3.
Using your electric driver, screw in the two top-shelf supports into the studs, which you marked in step 1. I'd advise not doing all 4 screws at once in case you need to make adjustments to level it. You can place your 2.5 ft pine board on top to see if it needs to go up or down. Once you're happy with the level, add a 12 in pipe to the other end of the 90 degree joint making sure they are pointing downwards perpendicular to the floor.

4.
Measure from the center of one 12" pipe to the center of the other 12" pipe. It's important that these measurements be as accurate as possible since this is where you'll be drilling your holes for the bottom shelf.

5.
Mark on the 4 ft pine board the distance you measured from the above step. I left 1.5 in. on the front of the shelf, which would reduce to about an inch once the holes were drilled. On the left side I left about 4 in. at the end. Using a 1" drill bit for some wiggle room, drill a hole at the two places you marked.

6.
Once the holes are drilled and you've tested the shelf to make sure it slides onto the 12" pipes, stain both of your shelves. I gave mine a single coat so it wouldn't be too dark allowing the natural wood texture to show through. Allow it to dry for a day, or at least a couple of hours if you're anxious like me! (Make sure your room is well ventilated though, otherwise the odor will fill up the house, as my roommates noted.)

7.
Assemble two 90 degree elbow >> 6" pipe >> 90 degree elbow pieces which will support the bottom shelf. Slip the 4 ft pine plank with the holes onto the 12" pipes and screw on the bottom shelf support pipes. Place the freshly stained 2.5 ft top shelf plank on top...

...et voila! Add your books and cute hideaway boxes and there you have a DIY industrial pipe desk shelf that costs about $60 bucks, but looks like a lot more. :)

xo from catie