Building an Inexpensive Wine Rack Part 1: The Construction

As is typical with most wine drinkers, our wine collection grew unexpectedly. A few trips to local wineries, a few preparations for future dinners, and suddenly we had over 100 bottles in a corner of our basement. Sure, they were cool and on their side, at the appropriate humidity and temperature, but they were a royal pain to choose if you wanted a bottom bottle. What to do ...

We came up with the idea of using PVC pipe and wood frames to build an inexpensive rack. If you go to your local HQ or Home Depot, you'll find a vast array of pipe styles available. There are pipes with small holes, pipes of varying diameters and thicknesses.

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Choose a diameter that will fit most of the bottles you own. It should be thick enough to maintain strength over the height you choose to build, but thin enough to let heat escape easily.

Now, for the calcuations. Calculate a box that will fit these circles, including each thickness, snugly but not too tightly. You don't want to pipe to be able to bow, but you also don't want to strain the pipe walls by squashing them into the box.

Fit the box together with recessed screws and fitted edges. You can get as fancy or plain as you want, but you certainly don't want the box springing apart and letting your beloved wine smashing on your floor.

Part 2: The Painting and Finishing
Appendix: Our Actual Measurements
Frequently Asked Questions about the PVC Winerack Project