How to Make a PVC Pipe Light Frame

If you need overhead lighting in a space that has no solid framework on which to hang it, such as in a greenhouse, you can install overhead lights by using a light frame to hold your lighting fixtures. You can buy a prebuilt light frame for this purpose, or you can save some money and create your own light frame using PVC pipe and PVC pipe connectors. Creating your own light frame from PVC pipe can be accomplished for less than $20.

Things You'll Need

• PVC pipe, 1/2-inch or 1-inch
• PVC pipe cutter
• 4 90-degree elbows, 1/2-inch or 1-inch
• 8 45-degree elbows, 1/2-inch or 1-inch
• 6 PVC T-connectors, 1/2-inch or 1-inch
• 1 can of PVC glue

Instructions

1. Cut the pipe into predetermined lengths. You can make your lighting frame any size you need. For a 4-foot frame, cut three 48-inch pipes, two 18-inch pipes, four 12-inch pipes, four 9-inch pipes and eight 1-inch pipes.

2. Make the base of the light frame. To make the base that will be on the floor, put 90-degree elbows on the ends of two of the 48-inch pipes. Place a 1-inch piece of pipe in the other end of all of the elbows. Place a T-shaped connector on the other end of the 1-inch pipes. Connect the two 48-inch pipes together with 18-inch pipes between the T-shaped connectors. You will have a rectangular base with T-connectors at all four corners.

3. Place 12-inch pipes in each of the four T-connectors. Attach 45-degree elbows to the top of each of these 12-inch uprights. Connect 9-inch pipes to the other side of each elbow, and attach another 45-degree elbow at the top of 9-inch pipes. Connect the two elbows at each end together by placing 1-inch pieces of pipe in the other end of each elbow and a T-connector in between them.

4. Connect the two upper Ts together with the last 48-inch piece of pipe. You should now have a structure that is shaped like a house with a rectangular-shaped lower half and an upper part that angles in like a traditional roof.

5. Glue all of your joints together. To easily accomplish this, pull the structure apart one piece at a time and add glue to the connection.

6. Install any kind of hanging light fixture to the light frame. According to Atlanta-based "Lawn and Garden Show" host Walter Reeves, using a fluorescent shop light with one warm white tube and one cool white tube offers the correct lighting combination for growing plants.

References

• Walter Reeves Light Frame Design