Adjustable Photo Backdrop Made Using PVC

My wife needed a proper photo backdrop for all of the pictures she's been taking lately. We have four children and that adds up to a lot of pictures; between pictures of the kids themselves and all of the clothes that are constantly coming and going. She selected this backdrop: http://a.co/8Zk6YCG and this is the stand that I made to go with it. This stand is easy to take apart and store; and best of all, it's adjustable (from 4' to 7' tall).

Materials Needed:

I've included the item numbers for the following parts at Lowe's (#)

• Four 10ft tubes of ¾ in. PVC (Charlotte Pipe 3/4-in x 10-ft 480-PSI Schedule 40 PVC Pipe). #23971
• Six ¾ in. PVC L-Joints (LASCO 3/4-in Dia 90-Degree PVC Sch 40 Slip Elbow). #23868
• Two ¾ in. PVC T-Joints (LASCO 3/4-in Dia PVC Sch 40 Tee). #23874
• Two ¾ in. PVC I-Joints (LASCO 3/4-in Dia PVC Sch 40 Coupling). #23850

Tools Needed:

• Tape measure (at least 10ft)
• Marker
• Safety Glasses
• Work Table or Open Workspace
• Clamps
• Cutting Fixture (miter saw for example)
• Hacksaw
• Glue (optional)

Time Needed:

• This project should take no more than 2 hours to complete.

1. Before starting, be sure to bring your materials to an open location for construction.

2. With your safety glasses on, proceed to place one of the 10ft. Sections of PVC pipe onto your work table.

3. Ensure the pipe is properly secured to the work table, or the optional cutting fixture, with clamps.

1. Using your tape measure and a marker, measure out and mark a 6ft section of the pipe.

2. With your saw in hand, proceed to cut the 10ft section of pipe at the mark you just made in Step 5

3. Repeat three more times, to have a total of four 6ft sections of PVC pipe. You will cut one of the 6ft sections later. (Make sure that you keep all sections of pipe after each cut).

1. Take one of the 4ft sections you now have from the previous cut, and place it on the work table/cutting fixture, ensuring it is clamped down.

2. Using your tape measure and marker, make a mark 2ft from the end of the pipe. (This should be ½ of the length of the pipe).

3. With your saw in hand, proceed to cut the 4ft section of pipe at the mark you just made.

4. Repeat one more time, to have a total of four 2ft sections of PVC pipe.

1. Take one of the 6ft sections you have, and place it on the work table/cutting fixture, ensuring it is properly clamped down.

2. Using your tape measure and marker, make a mark 3ft from the end of the pipe. (This should be ½ of the length of the pipe).

3. With your saw in hand, proceed to cut the 6ft section of pipe at the mark you just made.

4. You will have a total of two 3ft sections

1. Once you are completely done cutting, you should have all parts pictured.

2. The second picture includes the parts needed to adjust the height of the backdrop.

3. The remaining pictures show a close up of the L, T, and I-joints you will need.

1. Grab the four 2ft sections of PVC pipe, four L-Joints, and two T-Joints, and place them in an open area.

2. Put one end of a 2ft section of pipe into opening 1 of a T-Joint.

3. Put one end of a different 2ft section of pipe into opening 3 of the same T-Joint mentioned in Step 2.

4. Rotate this assembly so that opening 2 of the T-Joint is facing upwards.

5. Attach one L-Joints to the end of each 2ft section of pipe. (Make sure that the opening of the L-Joints are positioned like the ones shown in the figure above).

6. Repeat Steps 2 - 5 to mirror the already constructed assembly.

1. Using two 6ft sections of pipe and the assemblies made in Steps 2 - 6, construct the rectangular base.

2. Check to ensure that you have a base that looks like picture 2.

1. Grab the remaining 6ft section of PVC pipe, both 4ft sections of PVC piper, and two L-joints.

2. Attach one L-joint to each side of the 6ft section of pipe.

3. Attach one 4ft section of pipe to each remaining opening on the L-joints.

1. Insert the open ends of the 4ft sections of pipe (from upper part of backdrop) into the upward facing openings on the T-joints (from the base).

2. You should now have a complete backdrop frame that looks like the picture.

3. If you wish to adjust the back drop to make it taller, you simply add the 3 feet sections of pipe between the 4ft sections and the upper bar using the I-joints you have left.