How To Brand An Industrial Piping Flooring Lamp

I actually guide hold a affair for lamps. I roam thrift stores admiring them— the weirder, the meliorate — too interruption on catalog pages amongst cool fixtures. Today I'm happy to part a invitee tutorial on how to brand your ain industrial-style flooring light out of pipes. Set this infant inwards front end of your exposed brick wall too gulp a arts and crafts cocktail spell you lot admire your handiwork. You built a lamp!



The how-to is yesteryear Matthew Lyons, self-proclaimed handyman too blogger for HomeDaddys.com. Here's what Matthew has to say:

- - - - -
Like most red-blooded Americans, I dearest industrial pipage lighting. There’s a for sure derelict nostalgia near lamps too chandeliers made from onetime metallic plumbing that only makes me experience all warm too fuzzy too man inside. Unfortunately, that feeling isn’t shared yesteryear my wallet.

I’ve been lusting afterward an industrial pipage flooring light for years at nowadays but the cost tags people attach to these things are utterly ridiculous. The bulk of multi-bulb floor-length pipage lamps available online or inwards stores sell for $400 - $1,000. As a guy on a lower middle-class income amongst a married adult woman too a modest fry to support, I only can’t justify spending that form of coin on what amounts to a few lengths of pipe, some wire too a twosome vintage calorie-free bulbs.

So, considering how uncomplicated these things are, I figured I could only build my ain pipage light for one-half the cost of buying one. Having never wired anything earlier inwards my life, I was a piffling worried how this projection would plough out. Surprisingly, though, it was super-easy to make. The entire light tin dismiss move assembled yesteryear paw similar some sort of awesome adult Erector Set. As I predicted, the wiring was yesteryear far the hardest component of the entire build – but fifty-fifty that took less than 2 hours too I didn’t fifty-fifty laid the theater on burn downward when I plugged it in. This made my married adult woman real happy.

Here’s how you lot tin dismiss build 1 of these awesome industrial pipage lamps for your ain theater or even out or business office or whatever nighttime corner of your life begs illumination.

The Materials

When planning out my DIY industrial pipage lamp, I decided that I wanted to acquire amongst a tree-style blueprint amongst 3 bulbs, for no other argue than I saw something similar on Etsy too idea it looked cool.

I ended upward purchasing all the plumbing for this projection from Home Depot. Coincidentally, I ended upward buying everything else from Home Depot every bit well. All inwards all the total neb was $180 – less than one-half of what a similar light would cost in-store.

You mightiness move able to pass fifty-fifty less if you lot search for the parts online – it only seemed easier to me to acquire everything inwards 1 haul therefore that I could start edifice the light immediately. Here’s the shopping list:

The Structure

You’re in all likelihood going to desire to acquire these lengths of pipage at a hardware store. Unless you lot actually similar ordering heavy things online, that is.

1x 36” Long ¾” Black Metal Pipe

2x 12” Long ¾” Black Metal Pipes

4x 8” Long ¾” Black Metal Pipes

3x 6” Long ¾” Black Metal Pipes

2x 5” Long ¾” Black Metal Pipes

1x 2” Long ¾” Black Metal Pipe

6x ¾” Black Metal Pipe Close Connectors

7x ¾” Black Metal Pipe Elbows - 90°

5x ¾” Galvanized Metal Pipe Tees

1x ¾” Galvanized Metal 4-Way Pipe Splitter

3x 1”-to-3/4” Black Metal Reducing Couplers

4x ¾” Galvanized Metal Pipe Floor Flanges

1x ¾” Black Metal Pipe Nut

I wanted to acquire all dark metallic amongst this projection but Home Depot was out of the dark versions of some of the connectors I needed. So I made practise yesteryear getting the silvery galvanized metallic versions too spray ikon them dark inwards the dorsum yard. The spray pigment I used is listed inwards “Other Stuff.”

The Lighting

You tin dismiss acquire all this materials inwards the Lighting department of your local hardware store. Ask an associate to cutting you lot some light wire off of 1 of the store reels – it’s a lot cheaper than buying a touchstone reel of the stuff.

1x xv human foot Lamp Power Cord (16 Gauge)

4x Keyless Phenolic Light Sockets

10 Feet of Lamp Wire (16 Gauge)

1x Package Winged Wire Connectors (Min, 2x #18 Gauge – Max, 3x #12 Gauge)

3x Feit Electric Original Vintage 60w Bulbs

The Other Stuff

You’re going to demand to a greater extent than than only plumbing too wires to build your lamp. Chances are skilful you lot in all likelihood guide hold some of this materials lying around inwards your garage or basement but if you lot don’t, brand for sure to pick some upward earlier you lot start.

1x Can Rustoleum Textured Black Spray Paint

Paper Towels (Lots of them)

Grease-Fighting Household Cleaner of Your Choice (I used Green Apple)

60-Grit Sandpaper

Painters Tape

Electrical Tape

Wire Cutters

A Small Philips Head Screwdriver

Instructions

Click images to thought larger.

Prep Work

Every skilful projection starts amongst skilful preparation. That said, here’s something I learned the difficult means – these pipes are greasier than a southern pol during an election year. They volition ruin your clothes, your pets too everything else that you lot love. Do yourself a favor too create clean them off earlier you lot start to build the lamp. Soak a few newspaper towels inwards your theater cleaner too wipe downward every unmarried slice of plumbing that you lot purchased. Vigorously. The cleaner mightiness accept off a flake of goal but it volition also ensure that your novel light doesn’t destroy the within of your home.

Once your pipes are clean, accept your 60-grit sandpaper too sand off whatsoever parts that silent guide hold those laser-printed labels on them. When that’s finished you lot should acquire ahead too practise whatsoever of the spray ikon you lot had planned. Sand everything you lot computer program to pigment therefore that you lot acquire a to a greater extent than fifty-fifty coat. Stuff the openings of each element amongst newspaper towels too seal them off amongst painter’s tape. This volition protect your threads, which volition ensure that you lot tin dismiss silent screw everything together afterward the pigment is dry.

Once everything has been prepped, painted too dried you lot should move ready to lay this sonovagun together.

Building the Base

Please Note: These pipes volition non move used for actual plumbing. Therefore, they practise non demand to move locked downward too watertight. Every fourth dimension I utilisation the phrases “attach” or “screw on,” I hateful to paw tighten the pipes together. You practise non demand plumber’s putty. You practise non demand Loctite. Unless you lot guide hold exceptionally pitiful arm strength, you lot practise non fifty-fifty demand grease. Just twist on the pipes each the means nature intended. That means the light tin dismiss move adjusted yet you lot delight too tin dismiss also move easily broken downward inwards example you lot motion or acquire evicted for beingness also awesome.

As seen inwards the motion-picture demo above, start yesteryear attaching 2 8” pipes to opposing sides of your four-way splitter. On the halt of those pipes, screw on an elbow piece. On the halt of those elbow pieces, screw on your 2 5” pipes. On the halt of those pipes, attach 2 of the flooring flanges. This forms the “top” 2 legs of your base.

For the bottom 2 legs, start yesteryear attaching the 2” length of pipage to the lonely halt of a pipage tee. Screw that on to the bottom of your four-way splitter. Then attach the other 2 8” pipes, therefore 2 elbows, therefore 2 closed connectors too therefore the terminal 2 flanges. Voila, you’ve got a nifty base of operations for your lamp. Finally, utilisation a closed connector to attach a pipage tee lengthwise to the exceed of the 4-way splitter. This volition move your “Power Tee,” too you lot volition string your ability cord upward through the hole here.

Your base of operations mightiness move a piffling wobbly at first. That’s fine. Just arrange the tightness of your flanges until all 4 “feet” are firmly planted on the ground.

Building the Lamp Arms

Grab a pipage tee. Attach a 6” length of pipage to the lonely halt of said pipage tee. Then attach an elbow. Then screw inwards a closed connector. Then attach a reducing coupler. Congratulations, you lot guide hold only built a light arm.

Now repeat this procedure 2 to a greater extent than times therefore that you’ve got 3 consummate arms. It’s only every bit slow to practise every bit it sounds.

Wiring the Lamp

Please Note: We’re going to move wiring our lights in parallel. Doing this makes the bulbs independent, therefore that if 1 goes out the other 2 volition proceed to function. Yes, this is the contrary of how Christmas lights are wired. In lodge to wire your bulbs inwards parallel, you lot demand to connect positive wires to positive wires too neutral wires to neutral wires therefore that each polarity has its ain straight path to power. Trust me, this is much simpler to practise than it is to understand.

Start yesteryear cutting your wires. If you’re using my build, you lot volition demand a 30” length of light wire, a 26” length of light wire too 2 14” lengths of light wire. No, this does non add together upward to x feet – but isn’t it meliorate to move rubber than sorry? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Leftover wire is skilful to guide hold inwards the unlikely consequence that you lot mess something up.

Feed the 30” length of wire from the highest light arm downward through the exceed 12” pipage therefore that it terminates at the minute light arm tee. Feed the 14” lengths of light wire through the other pipage arms.

Now, from the bottom, string your ability cord through the side of your ability tee, out the exceed of the tee too upward through the 36” pipage therefore that it terminates at the commencement light arm tee.

String the 26” length of wire from the commencement light arm tee upward through the bottom 12” underground to the minute light arm tee. Now you lot should guide hold 2 “junctions” of 3 different wires at your commencement too minute light arm tees, respectively.

Pull the POSITIVE too NEUTRAL strands of each wire apart. In general, the ribbed strand of your wire is the NEUTRAL strand but you lot should banking concern check your packaging to brand sure. Remember which strand is which, because it’s important.

Using your wire cutter, strip off near a quarter inch of insulation from each strand to let on a prissy workable flake of bare wire.

At the commencement light tee, twist the exposed NEUTRAL ends of the ability cord, the commencement light wire too the 26” connecting wire together. Then attach a winged connector too screw it on until it won’t acquire whatsoever further. It’s normal for your 3 wires to twist together during this process. Give the coupling a calorie-free tug to brand for sure everything is securely fastened together.

Repeat this coupling procedure for the POSITIVE ends of the ability cord, commencement light wire too connecting wire.

Stuff your couplings into the commencement light tee. It volition move a tight fit, therefore finagle them until you lot acquire both of those chunky fly nuts inwards there. Then attach the 36” pipage to the bottom of the light tee too the bottom 12” pipage to the exceed of the light tee.

At the minute light tee, repeat the coupling procedure for the NEUTRAL strands the 3rd light wire, minute light wire too connecting wire. Find the ribbed strands, twist the bare ends together too screw on a winged connecter until it volition acquire no further.

Repeat the coupling procedure in 1 trial to a greater extent than for the POSITIVE strands of the 3rd light wire, minute light wire too connecting wire.

Stuff your minute laid of connectors into the minute light tee. Then attach the bottom 12” underground to the bottom of the light tee too the exceed 12” pipage to the exceed of the light tee.

Attach the 3rd light tee to the exceed 12” pipage too screw on the nut cap on exceed of the tee. Voila! You’ve at nowadays got a fully wired light construction – except for the calorie-free sockets, of course.

The Light Sockets

Now that your light is fully wired, you lot only demand to attach your calorie-free sockets to the strands of wire sticking out of each light arm.

Your calorie-free sockets should guide hold silvery too bronze-colored terminals on the bottom. The silvery terminal is for the NEUTRAL strand of wire too the bronze terminal is for the POSITIVE strand of wire.

Start amongst the commencement light arm. Unscrew the silvery screw on the socket until it’s only barely attached. Then feed the NEUTRAL strand upward through that piffling security arm telephone affair at the bottom of the calorie-free socket too to the silvery terminal.

Depending on what type of socket you lot have, you’ve got 2 choices here. If your socket has a gap nether each terminal, you lot tin dismiss shove the wire into that too therefore tighten the screw to squelch the terminal plate downward onto the wire. If you lot don’t guide hold a “hole” to stick the wire, you lot tin dismiss only identify your wire on exceed of the terminal too therefore tighten the screw on exceed of it to concur the connector that way. Just brand for sure that every bit much of the wire is touching the terminal every bit possible when you lot practise this, otherwise your lights may flicker.

When that’s done, repeat this procedure for the bronze terminal too POSITIVE strand of wire.

Congratulations, your socket is at nowadays wired! Now all you lot demand to practise is roll electrical record around the bottom of the socket to maintain the connector secure too whatsoever exposed wire insulated against the metallic of the light arm.

Then identify the socket inwards the light arm too fasten it into identify yesteryear using Loctite super gum to attach the socket to the metallic too therefore wrapping electrical record around the socket too the exceed of the metallic coupler.

I know what you’re thinking too no, this isn’t the prettiest means to execute the assembly. Since I can’t afford to guide hold custom parts made, though, it’s the best I could come upward up amongst too it looks pretty swell amongst the raw dark pipage – summation it’s real safe. You tin dismiss e'er embrace the record task upward amongst a slice of PVC pipage that’s been spray painted to gibe the residual of your lamp, but I decided to acquire amongst the stone oil too rugged hold off here.

The Final Stretch

Now that your light is completely wired, socketed too secured, all that’s left to practise is to attach the light construction to the base of operations too therefore screw inwards some calorie-free bulbs too give that bad man child some juice. If you lot followed my directions, it should calorie-free upward instantly.

Congratulations! You guide hold only constructed your ain slice of designer slice of furniture for a fraction of what it would cost at the store. You volition guide hold to plug the light inwards manually to plough it on, but if you’re feeling enterprising therefore you lot tin dismiss splice inwards a ability switch using this tutorial from DIY Network. And at nowadays that you’re on a roll, experience gratis to experiment amongst novel pipage lamps for your tabletop, your desk or to hang from your ceiling. With a piffling inventiveness too some basic electrical know-how, there’s no restrain to what you lot tin dismiss build.

Enjoy, you lot hip lighting monster you.

Matthew Lyons is a blogger for HomeDaddys.com. An Oregon native, he at nowadays lives inwards Eastern Texas amongst his married adult woman too son. He enjoys playing guitar too the aroma of fresh-cut cedar.

- - - - -
Update: Jessica here: Be for sure to read the comments for some extra tips, including solutions that eliminate the electrical tape!