Industrial shelving with iron pipe

Black iron pipe can give nearly any space that industrial look while providing a function in that space. I've had the pleasure of making a few of these units now. The idea is fairly simple. Back in the day, you would have some exposed pipe and then lay a plank or board across them to give yourself some shelving in the space. Now, we build housing with all those pipes hidden behind walls and out of sight. For this purpose, the pipes are not in use, so we place them strategically in the space for the soul purpose of creating shelves. The look is simple, the execution however isn't always simple.

Supplies

There are only a few things you need for this shelving. You will need some boards, wood planks or any some what flat surface to use as a shelf. I typically use wood boards, thick or thin, however I have used plywood with edging for the same look without as much risk of warping. If you wanted to get creative, you could use less conventional items for the shelves like, skateboard decks, steel plates or even staves form a whiskey barrel. The pipe itself comes in a variety of sizes, however 3/4" and 1/2" are typical for this application. Its intended use is mainly for natural gas supply lines, requiring air tight joints. Since we are only using them for shelving, there is no need for any additional joining materials like plumbers tape or paste. I do however use acetone and finishing wax on the pipes. Acetone (with protective gloves) and some rags to wipe off all the grease and/or oil used at the factory to protect the product in storage. Then, redundant as it may feel, finishing wax to protect it against moisture. This won't come off everytime it's touched and create a mess like the manufacturing coat. If the pipes are going into a moisture rich environment like a small bathroom or over a stove where there will be a lot of steam exposure; I would recommend a coating of a clear rust inhibiting spray instead of the finishing wax (or just before and in addition to). Lastly, screws to secure it all to the wall. I use simple construction screws, 2-1/2" for a +50% screw bite into stud.

The Build

For the build, studs are important. You could get away with wall anchors in drywall for some small applications like decorative pipe placement. However if these are going to face any weight or use, I would find a stud, if possible. I like to get two of the four screw holes of the floor flange over studs if possible. Most walls have stud at either 16" or 24" spaced on center. If you chose to attach to studs, you will be limited to the spacing of the studs, which can be frustratingly inconsistent enough to cause headaches. When one stud is 17" OC and the next is 15" OC because the framer was feeling a little off that day or just didn't care to double check the measurements, it can ruin a symmetrical look. Maybe you want 28" spaces between supports, or 36", but the studs are 18" OC. I built a peg hook system of pipes that were 9" spaced. I wanted more support than just drywall and the studs are never that close unless its near a window or door, so I got creative. I built a decorative wall plate, painted it the same color as the wall, and anchored that plate to the wall studs and the pipes to the plate. The largest unit I built, a full wall unit, was spaced so each support pipe section was mounted to every other stud for a 32" space between each section of pipe. This wall had every stud spaced at a near perfect 16"OC. The problem was that the wall length wasn't evenly divided by 16, so one stud near the end was spaced about 10" from the wall. Me and the client decided to skip the end studs all together and place a plant in the one heavy corner to balance things out.

Function

I like to build my pipe shelve units with some flexibility in mind. Since the pipes are being mounted to the studs or some other substrate that then gets mounted to the studs, they don't move. For shelves, I like to build a ladder like structure that hangs sideways of the wall with 1 foot spacing between the rungs and each rung in a set mounted to the same vertical stud. I don't mount the shelves to the pipes with anything so they can be removed or moved. For the large wall unit, I skipped every other shelf vertically, so one shelf was placed every 2 vertical feet. I then staggered the shelves, alternating horizontal across the unit. It's important to think about how the unit will be used today as well as later in its life and build to both, as much as possible. The client wanted the large unit built for displaying large items, not as a book shelf. So, I designed the unit with large pieces in mind. These can be a fun build, but require a 3D mindset when designing. You need to think of where the shelves will rest, how it will attach to the wall and how it will all tie together. A good practice would be to try and build a cube out of iron pipe. Start with the first square, how are you going to tighten that last connection? I'll give you a hint, you need to go right and left at the same time.

Watch me build one here