PVC plastic pipe is readily available, reasonably priced and ridiculously versatile. These ingenious hacks utilize this useful, DIY-friendly materia
Fast, Inexpensive Table
Aunt Edna just called to tell you she’s coming for the holidays (and bringing some nice people she met hanging around the bus station). Trouble is, you don’t have enough table space. Don’t worry; just run to the home center and get a 10-ft. length of 3-in. PVC pipe, four 3-in. toilet flanges and a hollow-core door. Hollow-core ‘slabs’ are 80 in. long and available from 28 to 36 in. wide. Cut the PVC to make legs and assemble the table as shown. And then check out our tips for finishing a table top. It’s not a masterpiece, but under a tablecloth it looks fine. Plus it’s light-weight and easy to disassemble and store until next year. Just remember that hollow-core doors aren’t very strong; don’t sit or stand on the table.
Long-Reach Vacuum
A PVC pipe connected to a vacuum hose lets you reach up to high spots or into narrow crannies, so you can suck up those cobwebs around skylights or exterminate dust bunnies behind radiators. A 10-ft. piece of PVC pipe is inexpensive. Here’s another vacuum attachment hack.
In the plumbing aisle, you’ll also find PVC and rubber ‘reducer’ couplings that let you connect your vacuum hose to a different-size pipe.
No-Ladder Gutter Cleaner
This gutter cleaner is inexpensive, takes about 10 minutes to make and will help you avoid ladder climbing. Buy 3/4-in. PVC pipe, two elbows, a garden hose coupling and a cap at a local home center. Drill 1/16-in. holes in the cap as shown. Make the handle long enough to comfortably reach your gutters, and cement the parts together with PVC glue.
Random stuff I find interesting and you may not.
