Adventures in PVC

Email sent to Manda early in the a.m.:

Sorry about all the typos. I think I sent it at like 6 in the morning after crocheting a painting all night.

Txt sent to Manda early this evening:

So I have this dream idea of what I want my booth for Renegade SF to look like. I had a few options. Buy an already-made set-up and customize it (for more money), or try to build one from scratch (for less money). Manda and I got really ambitious one day and decided to try starting from scratch. At this point, I feel like maybe this was not the best choice…but… we are 2 weeks out from the event, and I think we have to stick with the plan!

I am going to buy fabric to make walls tomorrow, so I wanted to try to put up the PVC frame in the backyard and trim everything that needed to be trimmed.

On the internet it’s like, “PVC is awesome and you can just cut it with a saw!”

I found it really difficult! We are using 1 1/4″ pipe, and after trimming 8 poles, I never want to saw through PVC ever again! I didn’t have a great set up, though. I was on the ground in the yard, sticking the end of the pole over a dirt ditch, sawing with my right hand, holding the pole with my left hand, kneeling on my right knee, using my left foot to step on the pole to stabilize it while I sawed. I wish I had a photo for you guys, but I was by myself!

I tried putting the frame together.

And realized that 8 feet tall is REALLY REALLY TALL, so I trimmed the vertical poles down to 7 1/2 feet so I could at least reach the top on a step stool.

However, I couldn’t figure out how to put the whole thing together alone without having poles fly everywhere. At some point, I tried to roll it over on its side, and all the poles started going every which way, and, as I mentioned above, some of it crashed into the lemon tree. At this point, I decided to stop!!!

So I still have no idea how strong or how weak this thing is. I don’t want it to come crashing down on people at Renegade!!! We’ll keep working on it!

18 Comments on “Adventures in PVC”

  • GabbyAnne

    says:

    Wow ambitious Twinkie! I saw the video of you at the Renegade SF, and it looked so exciting!! 8 feet is so tall!! Bibi is so cute, and I love that shes in almost every house shot! I can’t wait to see what your booth is! Have you gotten my pink envelope yet?
    Gabby Anne

  • Angela

    says:

    Ah! I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

    • TwinkieChan

      says:

      OMG I hope we actually succeed!!! But worst case scenario is that I just use my old set-up 🙂

      • Angela

        says:

        Your last set-up was pretty awesome! I regret not taking a picture of it. I’m going to take a ton of pictures of everything this time. =)

  • ha lii

    says:

    if the corner fittings are snug you’re ok… better it be a bitch to take back down than slip apart with a little jostling. yes, I spent too much of my childhood building portable greenhouses & other structures with a crazy parent.

    • TwinkieChan

      says:

      I think it’s cool to have experience building things!
      I was wondering if I ought to buy a mallet or something to make sure all the pipe is in there!

      • ha lii

        says:

        Tapping the pipe in is a good idea with help but then you get the fun of other joints coming loose {prolonged re~hammering}. If you anticipate setting up alone maybe findina a hardware store with a threader to have the ends finished would save time & trouble in the long run {have them test on scrap cut pieces first?}. The structures we made & worked with were from 8x12x8 up to 16x50x20 with built in furnishings/utilitarian features. Adding functioning features on a portable structure can be a total pita~ labeling pieces, exact measures, slipping in ‘jointed’ dowels as safety measures INSIDE the pipes… sounds complex but can be a lot of fun too. A little like playing with life~size tinker toys only with occasional blood blisters.

        • TwinkieChan

          says:

          Did you build with PVC? The guy at Home Depot mentioned that PVC wouldn’t hold up for outdoor use.

          • ha lii

            says:

            Maybe he was thinking permanent structures {endless sun & heat would def. be bad}. The portable greenhouses & animal shelters we used as needed for shows & fairs but the larger ones stayed 6 months to a year and were changed with the summer {or move}. Farming was interesting in the 80’s.

  • Jules Chan

    says:

    Bloody good luck to you.. I love the face pulling!!!

    • TwinkieChan

      says:

      Hahah thank you! By the time I took that photo, I was super sweaty and really hating sawing!

  • Caz

    says:

    ooooo I can’t wait to see what you come up with 😀 I wish you luck!!

  • in my fairly limited experience, i am pretty damn sure whatever insane efforts you put into the construction of a really unique booth will be TOTALLY validated by the comments you get from people at the shows. so hang in there!

  • Oh yikes, no hand saw. You’ll hate life. Can you borrow an electric saw from someone? That will be the best thing ever.

  • Oh geez. AMBITIOUS! Can’t wait to see this epic 7.5-foot structure in all of its completed glory. Kinda hoping it will look like some kind of dessert. =P

    • GabbyAnne

      says:

      Me too!! I Was hoping it would be food themed!! Didn’t Twinkie make a refrigerator display case one time?

  • Good Lord Woman! I cant even imagine! I hope you’re writing all this down and videoing so you can sell the tutorial 🙂

  • Kimi

    says:

    My man recently constructed a PVC sign holder for his booth. He did massive research & trial/error so if you still need help doing it, shoot me an email and we can pick his brain!

Leave a Comment to TwinkieChan Cancel

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

To top