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How to Build a Bower From Copper Pipe
Completed copper bower One of the hip words these days is "repurposing" -taking an item designed for one thing and using it for another. Take copper supply pipe, for example. It can do a lot more than deliver water. With its handy sizes and myriad fittings, copper's terrific for constructing everything from curtain rods to garden trellises. And, as our leafy bower shows, you can even use it as an architectural element.

Our easy-to-assemble copper bower is made of 3/4-inch copper water pipe and a handful of tees and ells. It will support flowers and vines, and shade you on a summer day. And it gets better-looking every year, as your plantings grow and the copper takes on a rich, green patina. The secret to doing it easily, however, is one-hour epoxy cement, which keeps all the joints adjustable until you've got them just right.

Copper bower frame Our bower is about 5 feet wide, 4 feet deep and roughly 7 1/2 feet tall. Think of the structure as two side frames (pieces A and B) and a top frame (pieces C and B), with the diagonals (labeled E) connecting them. You can vary the bower's width by changing the length of pieces C and E, and the depth by varying pieces B. Pieces D are quite short— just long enough to join tees to ells with no gap between the fittings. If you're working with 3/4-inch copper, as we did, pieces D will be about 1 1/2 inches long. We recommend you keep pieces A at least 4 feet long, to ensure adequate headroom.

Cutting Table
Using a tubing cutter, cut all the pieces first, according to the table above. To speed the process, we used the first pipe of each size as a template to mark off others of the same length. (Because these pipes won't be holding water, there's no need to ream them after they're cut.)

Pieces Quantity Length
A 8 4 feet
B 6 4 feet
C 2 3 feet
D 8 1 1/2 inches (approx.)
E 4 18 inches
Working on a flat surface, glue up the side frames first, using two pieces A and two pieces B for each side frame; connect each frame with four tees. Glue two pieces D to the tees at the top of each side frame. Next, glue up the top frame, using four tees, two pieces B and the two pieces C. Add the four remaining pieces D to the outer ends of the tees in the top frame. Let the completed frames cure overnight.

To complete the bower, cement a 45-degree ell to each of the pieces D on each frame, and align the fittings as shown. Before the cement sets, connect the top and side frames with the four pieces E, gluing them into the 45-degree ells as shown. Lay the assembly on one of its faces, square it up as needed and let it cure overnight. Prop up its sides as necessary. If you have nylon band clamps, use them to hold sections together while the epoxy dries.

Tips on handling epoxy: Mix the epoxy in the corner of a plastic bag, then nick the corner and use it like a pastry bag, squeezing out just a little cement where you want it. This eliminates most of the mess and odor, and keeps your hands clean, too. Place plastic under the joints as you work, to prevent seeping cement from damaging your work surface.
When the bower frame has cured, have a friend help you move it; it will be a little wobbly until it's set in your garden. Bury the legs at least a foot in the ground; 18 inches is better. If the ground is soft, just press the legs into place. If the ground is hard, hammer a piece of galvanized pipe into the ground beforehand to "predrill" holes for the legs.

With the bower in place, just add vines and let nature do the rest. May you have many happy hours of doing absolutely nothing this summer!

Tools

  • Tubing cutter
  • Hammer
  • Nylon band clamps

Materials

  • Twelve 3/4-inch copper tees
  • Eight 3/4-inch, 45-degree copper ells
  • Seven 10-foot, 3/4-inch copper pipes
  • Slow-set (1 hour) epoxy cement
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