Building a 4 Bulb Plant Fixture Frame

I was gifted a T12 4 bulb fixture on BuyNothing a couple years ago. I was glad to get it because I had a window seat bench under the roundtop window. I could put 4 trays on it, but my 2 lamp light fixtures weren’t wide enough to provide proper light. This new 4 lamp one was just right.

I use shelving standards on the sides of the windows and would hang the light fixtures from a board laid across the shelving brackets set into the standards. This was not going to work with the new fixture for 2 reasons. 1. It was wider than the brackets that would hold it. 2. It was too heavy for them.

That meant it would have to have a stand alone frame. So I started trying to figure out how to do a frame that would fit in the space there.

I originally wanted iron pipe as it was strong enough, small enough to fit in the space, and would look cool. This was quickly vetoed by the builder because it required tools he didn’t have, and it was pretty expensive.

Wood would not work. It was too heavy, would be hard to brace and work around, and too big to fit the space.

So we thought for a while and my builder remembered he had an excess of PVC pipe that his fishing rod blanks are shipped in. (He builds custom deep sea fishing rods.) It was 1½” I.D. We’d just have to buy some of the fittings and screws. I wanted to be able to store it flat and using screws on some of the couplings would allow that.

Materials List:

4 4’ x 1½” pieces of PVC
Several pieces of varying lengths*
4 90° Elbows
12 T’s
4 End caps
PVC cement
Box of short sturdy screws

*We were trying to make the stand fit a specific area, and allow for opening the doors under the windowseat. You will want to make these smaller pieces work for your situation.

To put it together, we decided 3 braces evenly spaced across the top would be strong enough. The center one would be the weight bearing one. This took 6 T’s and little pieces between them. Note screw holes in T’s for removing the top braces. At the ends would be 2 90° elbows.

There would also be a brace between the side legs, on both sides. Because this had to fit around the windowseat, there could only be a brace across the front, high enough to open the doors under the windowseat. This front brace was removable, as were all 3 top braces. This took 6 more T’s. The bottom of each leg was given an end cap that had had its surface flattened and smoothed.

The upper T is for the front horizontal brace, the lower for the side brace. Note screw hole in upper T, for taking it apart.

The finished plant stand

Total cost: $33.99

To work underneath the fixture, I put a chain with a hook on each end of the support brace. I lift each end of the fixture up and hook it on the chain.

This stand is also sturdy enough to stand alone anywhere it is needed.

This year from BuyNothing I was gifted 3 more 4 bulb fixtures, this time T5 bulb size. I plan to try to use 2 of them on the bottom shelf in the East window. You can see it’s wider than the upper shelves. The trays could be turned perpendicular and I could get 6 – 7 trays on there.

Now to figure out how to support the heavy light fixtures, as the shelving brackets won’t. I’m thinking something that runs as a brace under the bottom shelf, supporting it, and also running above it, supporting the fixtures.

Directory of Steemit Posts
Community Forums”