UPDATED! Simple DIY Sukkah - Build Your Own From PVC Pipe - Free Standing

Intro: UPDATED! Simple DIY Sukkah - Build Your Own From PVC Pipe - Free Standing

Happy 5781!

Please review the PDF to see how you can build an amazingly sturdy custom-sized sukkah. The stability comes from the way the corners are put together. This year, my sukkah will be 8 feet long by 8 feet wide by 7 feet high. I think that 10 x 10 x 8 should be the maximum size. I RECOMMEND THAT YOU BUILD A SQUARE SUKKAH. SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE BUILT RECTANGULAR SUKKAHS AND REPORTED THAT THE DESIGN IS NOT AS STABLE. YOU CAN BUILD TWO SQUARE SUKKAHS AND PLACE THEM ALONGSIDE IF YOU WANT A BIGGER FOOTPRINT. I used 1.5" PVC for all the pipes.

The photos illustrate each of the steps:

The first two photos show some of the tools I used.

The different pieces necessary for the sukkah are displayed in the next photo. There is also a close-up of what the corner elbow looks like.

The next three photos are devoted to creating the base. One picture shows how the T-shaped connectors are attached to the base. The 4 corners sections are formed by a 90 degree elbow with one foot pieces attached at each end. The base is assembled by tamping the corner sections into the "T" connectors. (Note: the open end of each "T" must face directly upward for it will be receiving the uprights.)

Once the base is created, the following two photos show you how the uprights looked when tamped in. One photo shows the first upright. The other photo shows all 8 uprights connected.

The roof is essentially the mirror image of the base, with the "T"s facing downward.

There were just two of us assembling the sukkah, so instead of building the entire "roof" and lifting it onto the uprights, we did it piece by piece. One photo shows the first horizontal roof piece being tamped into place and the next photo shows the corner section being added once two horizontal roof bars had been connected.

The final photo shows my friend Robin's sukkah, built according to these plans prior to being decorated. I think she found it an easy plan to follow.

To decorate: What I did once for the wall covering was to take bedsheets and sew on straps at the top so the they could be tied onto the head rails. The last time I built it, I bought inexpensive tab curtains, 12 panels in all. The tabs can fit over the PVC before the "T"s are tamped into place. For the roof schach, you can lay bamboo poles or thinner pipes across the top and throw greenery on top of them. If the poles aren't long enough, you can lay them diagonally across the corners. The person who first built this structure stretched fabric across the top and knotted it to the head rails. Greenery can be added on top of this.

I use no glue or cement for my own sukkah. I pound all connections with a rubber mallet and the pressure of the pounded-in sections keeps them tight. I separate all the sections and fittings at the end of sukkas for easier storage. If you want to use glue, Super glue is super and you can also use PVC cement - but get the clear kind.

Comments

[justjimAZ]

I like it.
I think you'd get more views and votes if you actually typed the instructions up an posted them with pictures. Even pictures with the sukkah disassembled would be nice.
I voted for you.

[hairylox]

I'm curious how much the PVC material generally costs. :)

[ESocolov]

Thanks. You are right! I will do that tomorrow when we build the sukkah! Step by step with images is the way to go.

[justjimAZ]

Looking forward. Good luck in the contest!

[ESocolov]

Hi. Added photos - but could figure out how to do the "step by step" version. Maybe I had to do it at the start. Thanks for your comments.

[justjimAZ]

The photos should help you get more appreciation!

[yschoenberg]

I'm thinking of making the foot long connectors 15 inches instead. Do you think that would hurt its stability?

[yschoenberg]

Do you think making some of the 1 foot long pieces 15 inches instead to make one side a little longer would work?

[gavmandel]

Is it difficult to take apart? I am worried about disassembly, as I see you need to hammer the pieces together...

Otherwise, this is great, I'm going to look into this! Thanks!

[DanB345]

I made this Succah this year, 10x10' and about 8'4" high. Never had one before but kids now interested and I found your design, which is cheap, easy (for a DIY Luddite like me), and easy to disassemble/reassemble.
I live in London and it was pretty windy the first two nights after assembly, but it stood up to the battering.
I used translucent tarpaulin to create walls with natural light; bamboo sticks square-lashed together resting on the roof (and tied to the floor) to make a grid to support the branches; I also have a not-very-kosher but removable tarpaulin roof to keep the inside dry.
Thanks for this - it's been great! Much cheaper and more satisfying than a pre-fab, and much easier than wood.
Chag Sameach,
Dan

[ESocolov]

Looks great! Glad it worked out. Happy Hanukah!

[GSz1]

12 x 10 x 8, similar to the photo posted by @YefimK1 - planning on building it tomorrow - now that all the parts have been drawn and calculated. will update on it's success (or failure)

[ESocolov]

I think it might work better as a square - but this looks like a fabulous design with all the extra verticals and horizontals. Let us know how it works out!

[scharfmand]

Hi,

Great plan and design.However, keep in mind that according to halachos, the walls should be sturdy
enough to remain in position when the wind blows.

[ESocolov]

What I did was go to Home Depot and somehow convinced someone there to split their cedar 2"x4"x10fts down the center, making them 2"x2"x 10fts. I got 4 of these and evenly spaced them going in one direction over the roof. I lashed them down with some twine. Then I laid our schach perpendicular to those beams. We used George Cane - a bit like bamboo - as schach. Perhaps the dried out palms do weigh less - but maybe not much less. Luckily, the cedar doesn't weigh that much. Note: if you want to put holiday lights on your sukkah, I would recommend laying the beams, then stringing the lights and tying them down to one of the verticals - closest to your outlet. Then lay the schach on top of the lights. Hope this helps.

[HelloThereHello]

This helps a ton, thank you! Next year it will be so much easier since the work of the PVC assembly is done. The roof will rock! Thanks again. :)

[RaeB3]

[RicaM]

If we use the instructions as published, how much fabric would you recommend using?

[ESocolov]

I ended up buy really inexpensive tab curtains. I think I used 12 panels in all (6 pairs of curtains). Hope that helps. I can't remember the dimensions of king-sized sheets - but those might work fine if you got 4 of them. Hope this helps!

[ESocolov]

YES! SQUARE IT MUST BE! (Not you, that is...the sukkah)