Kieran and I conceptualized and built a DIY Galvanized Pipe Mudroom for our home for $171. Since we built the mudroom ourselves we were able to customize and build the space to fit our exact specifications. We’ve achieved storage for our outerwear as well as Homie’s (our GSD puppy). I adore our mudroom because it’s the perfect juxtaposition between the rustic and industrial style we’re going for.

If you read my Kitchen Renovation Update post, you know the main level of our home underwent a massive transformation. Kieran and I, with the help of some friends, tore down the wall between the dining room and kitchen when we first moved into our house over a year ago. The old flooring in our kitchen was disgusting so we hired a company to fixer up.

Our house is almost void of furniture and we have next to nothing hanging on our walls. Now that the heavy construction on the main level is out of the way, Kieran and I can focus on the fun stuff, building furniture, shelving, and other fun projects to finally make our house feel like our home.

The list of these fun projects is enormous, almost overwhelming so. Our house was built in the 1930’s which means it didn’t come equipped with the storage needs of 2018. I think we have 2, maybe 3 tiny little closets that hold next to nothing. We have a little coat closet in the front of the house that we hardly use because we predominantly enter and exit the house through the french doors in the dining room.

It’s no secret it rains a lot in the Pacific Northwest. Rain or shine we have to take Homie for a walk numerous times a day. We often come home soaked. Before we had the mudroom we slung our wet jackets over our dining room table chairs so they could dry. Homie’s leash, treats, outside toys, and drying towels were stuffed into a box situated on top of an end table. The lack of storage and the constant mess was driving me bonkers. Even though we didn’t originally plan to put a mudroom in our dining room, we desperately needed one.

Here’s how Kieran and I conceptualized and executed our DIY Galvanized Pipe Mudroom. Note, we repurposed an old coat rack the previous owner left behind so our focus was fabricating a storage shelving unit around the coat rack.

Design And Measurements

Right off the bat I knew we needed a coat rack, a towel rack, and shelving to store our and Homie’s belongings. I scoured Pinterest and furniture websites to hone in on designs that were attractive to me. I showed Kieran my favorite ideas then we sketched different designs that could potentially fit our needs. We worked and reworked the sketch until the design was able to accommodate the functionality and style we wanted to achieve.

Using painters tape, a level, and a measuring tape, we marked off the areas on the wall where we wanted the shelving and coat rack. The above photo shows an example of this. This helped us visualize the placement of the coat rack and shelving to ensure we like the end result.

Tip – be prepared to keep certain aspects of your project flexible.

Starting out, we had initial measurements for the depth of the shelves (7″), the length of the pipe towel rack (18″), and the space between the shelves (8 1/2″).

After we returned home from Home Depot, we discovered the length of the galvanized pipe, with its connecting components, was longer than we planned for. You would think the pipe’s fittings screw all the way down the threads but that’s not the case. The fittings only went about halfway down which added an additional 1 1/2″ of space between the shelves.

For the shelves, we found wood called common board which was inexpensive and had some character because of the knots in it. Home Depot sold 1″x8″ boards (actually 3/4″ x 7 1/2″ boards) which were close enough to our original 7″ depth design.

We were flexible and resigned the shelving with the new measurements of the pipe and wood in mind.

Materials Used

Wood:
(2) 1″x2″ 8′ Common Board @$2.72 = $5.44
(2) 1″x8″ 6′ Common Board @$11.46 = $22.92 – a single 10-foot board would have done the trick, but it wouldn’t fit in our car, that’s why we went with 2 6″ boards. 

*Be sure to try and find some straight boards in the bunch by eyeballing it from the edge.

Pipe (all Black in 1/2″ size):
(5) Elbow 90 degrees @$2.65 = $13.25
(6) Floor Flange @$5.53 = $33.18
(1) Tee Connector (comes in a pack of 2) @$3.86 = $3.86
(5) 2″ Pipe @$1.47 = $7.35
(6) 8″ Pipe @$3.27 = $19.64
(1) 10″ Pipe @$3.85 =  $3.85
(18) Coupling @$1.74 =  $31.32
(3) Connector (comes in a pack of 4) @$3.33 = $9.99

Other
Doormat $12.97
Dark Walnut Stain $7.98

Total $171.75

Tools And Hardware Used

Flexible drill bit extension (this is optional but helped make drilling easier in tight spots)

Cut, Drill, And Dry Fit

This section is written by Kieran

First, I assembled the pipe fittings together to build the towel rack. Note, galvanized pipe is greasy when you buy it, so you might want to wipe them down with a paper towel while assembling.

Next step was to cut the shelves and ledger boards. We needed 4 shelves total. 3 shelves that were 18″ and one that was 44″. I cut these using a jigsaw, but a chop or miter saw would have been good for this.

Next was cutting the holes in the shelves for the pipes. Using some of the assembled pipe pieces, I created a template using a sheet of paper.

Tip – if you are new to building shelving I recommend practicing cutting holes on a scrap piece of wood. I found this helpful because:

 A) The edges of the wood splintered the first time I attempted to cut a hole. I fixed this problem by placing my wood on top of another piece of scrap before drilling.

B) I had to test which hole cutting drill bit would be the best size for the bit. I found the 3/4″ hole cutter was too small, and the 1 1/4″ was too big. The 1″ hole cutter ended up being perfect.

I dry fitted the cut pieces of wood together with the pipe to ensure everything was lining up correctly. Unfortunately, it wasn’t but it turned out to be an easy fix.

In the photo below, can you see how the ledger board is angled upward instead of laying flat on the table? That’s because the assembled pipe fittings weren’t long enough to clear the ledger. The round flange pieces and the ledger board touched which prevented the ledger board from laying flat. The ledger board must be flat against the wall when we hang the shelves. To solve this problem I traced where the flange was hitting the ledger board with a pencil then cut out the traced line with a jigsaw. I probably could have trimmed the ledger board shorter too.

Now with most shelf installations, it’s probably best to mount the ledger board to the wall, then the shelves to the ledger board. I ended up attaching the ledger boards to all the shelves first. They were glued, clamped, then screwed together.

Stain

At this point, we were ready to sand (by hand), stain, and seal! We tested stains we already owned on scrap wood and discovered we didn’t like them. So back to the hardware store we go and we picked out a nice dark walnut stain.

You can adjust how dark you’d like the wood to be by how much stain you put/leave on. We put on a coat and wiped it down with paper towels to pick up the excess. After letting it dry for a day we did a coat of polyurethane to seal it.

Assembly

I found it easiest to assemble all the shelves and pipe as one unit on the floor before mounting it on the wall. Do you see the elbow pipe on the right side of the top shelf? I’m glad I got extra fittings for the elbow pipe while at the store because when I first assembled this, the ledger board got in the way. I was able to add an extra coupling and connector piece to the pipe to get enough extension.

Tip – rotate the round flanges so you don’t have any screw holes directly behind a pipe when mounting the unit to the wall.

At this point, the shelves were assembled and ready to mount. This is definitely a 2 person job. I normally install wall anchors, but using the stud finder I found that there were 2 studs that could hold on to this thing. With painters tape, we marked off the height we wanted and where the studs were. We propped a level on one of the shelves and while Christina held it against the wall, I drilled pilot holes and 3″ screws into the studs. After I drilled 3 of the screws in, it was enough to hold the shelves so I could finish drilling the rest of the screws into the wall.

After that, I hung the coat rack and the mudroom build was finished! I passed the buck to Christina for the final touches.

Final Touches

Hey everyone, Christina here! After Kieran and I hung the coat rack and shelving unit, I had the fun job of adding the final touches. We needed storage options for our gloves and Hoime’s belongings. I headed to the thrift store to see what I could find.

I bought two identical wire baskets, a large woven basket, and 3 glass containers for around $7. The wire baskets store gloves, poop bags, our headlamp, and Homie’s balls. The glass containers store Homie and Myron’s (our cat) treats. The large woven baskets stores (and hides) extra treats and poop bags.

Overall I deem this project a huge success! Now when Kieran and I come home from walks we have a place to hang our jackets and store Homie’s stuff. The towel rack on the bottom is perfect for hanging towels to dry Hoime’s wet paws. I finished off the mudroom by buying a doormat so we have a place to rest our wet and muddy boots.

Besides getting the storage we desperately needed, my favorite aspect of this project is the overall style. I love the juxtaposition between metal and wood.

Neither Kieran or I am DIY experts yet Kieran always finds a way to make it work. I’m so impressed with the work Kieran did on this project, I’m so proud of him!!

Alright, that’s a wrap on the DIY Galvanized Pipe Mudroom post! Kieran and I have a lot of fun projects planned for 2018, we hope you stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by,

Christina

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