LisaM Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 As if I didn't have enough excuses to avoid cleaning the house, today my daughter and I bought about $30 worth of PVC and built this play stand (I did draw it out and have a plan ahead of time). Total height is 72" (top perch is 52"). Top bar will have a hook for toys and I'm thinking of changing out one of the connectors on the right for another hanging toy once they get used to the new stand. There will also be another ladder going to the floor so they can easily climb back onto the playstand. I wrapped the perches and ladder steps with tan Vetwrap. Now I just have to get the little buggers to not be afraid of it...They won't go near it. I'll give them awhile of just seeing it across the room. Thanks to you on this forum who have posted pics of yours you've built (and of course you, Joe, who is the master of playstands!). I'd never worked with PVC before, nor had I thought to try to make my own playstand before joining this site! Lisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 Looks nice Lisa, you certainly did a good job with it and of course they will be scared of it at first but soon they will take to it and enjoy it I am sure. Congrats Lisa for a job well done and thanks for sharing a pic of it with us, may give an idea to some of the other members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 Great job! I'm sure they'll enjoy it once they get used to it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 Lisa, that is very nice. And so cheap too! I'm sure they will get used to it, it will take some time though. Be patient! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaM Posted November 4, 2007 Author Share Posted November 4, 2007 Thanks guys! Anyone know what will take the printing off the outside of the pipes? I tried a ton of stuff we have around the house and nothing worked. Lisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WonderMomma Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 Lisa, I have sanded the pipes down to get this stuff off... plus, sanding usually gives the birds a better grip too so you don't always have to use vet wrap. :-) The rougher the sandpaper you use the better. Just be sure to clean the pipes thoroughly to remove loose pieces. Very nice stand you made there, I'm trying to get ideas to make one myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tycos_mom Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 Hi did you try those Mr. clean magic sponges I took permanant marker off my coffee table with one of those theyré good for lots of things that are hard to get off. I love your Playstand I think I'll try and build one for my birds. After all I only have 4 playstands already But one more won't hurt. Looks like a good one for climbing My Amazons a little bored with her Tower maybie something new will give her a bit of get up and go instead of sitting on the top perch and and turning all her toys into toothpick. While I'm at it I buy som untreated wood blocks and some sisle rope and make some new toys for them too. I can't beleive how fast they chew up their store bought toys. I made some toys for Fergie about 6 months ago and she still has lots of chewing left to do on them. I should go cut a few branches off the huge lilac tree in my yard and wash them up for them They love Peeling the bark off and chewing then branches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaM Posted November 18, 2007 Author Share Posted November 18, 2007 Hi all - thanks for the suggestions. I did try one of the Mr. Clean magic sponges and it didn't work (I was actually surprised because those babies seem to work on EVERYTHING!) They do sell a PVC cleaner I guess and I bought some but it is pretty strong so I don't want to use it for fear of not being able to wash it off enough. WonderMomma - I was concerned that sanding it might make it harder to clean in the future? Do you find that it still cleans up nicely when sanded? I have been drawing up several other "designs"...and looking into investing in a table saw or something better to cut it with and that part was the biggest pain. Thanks again, Lisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaggerLee Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 First and foremost, I want to thank the host of this great forum, I find it very useful as a first time caretaker of a grey. I find it hard to believe that no one has any opposition to the use of a rather poisonous plastic in the construction of playstands. Will the bird not chew and "nuzzle" the pvc thus flaking and possibly ingest it? I too desire to build my grey a suitible playstand, however, pvc seems no less harmful then lead and iI surely would not want a loved one of mine around such harmful substances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 StaggerLee, you have brought up some good points about pvc which no one else has even mentioned before. To tell you the truth I just assumed it was safe but in looking it up, I find that it is indeed poisonous and a lot of places no longer sell toys and baby items made with it. I will further investigate to see if I want to invest in building one for my grey, maybe not. Thanks for bringing this to our attention for us to consider further. Why don't you introduce yourself in the welcome room and tell us a little about you and your grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Hi Staggerlee, You bring up a very valid question & i do not have enough knowledge either way to answer it,I do know that the PVC itself isn't toxic or carcinogenic,it's the plasticizers that make PVC soft and flexible which can be toxic and carcinogenic. ( carcinogenic = The term carcinogen refers to any substance, radionuclide or radiation that is an agent directly involved in the promotion of cancer or in the facilitation of its propagation ) I would say to all our members that have made PVC play stands do not go into panic mode, We need more input into this & your experiences please.I personally have made toys from PVC piping & dont have any worries at present & will continue to allow my greys to play with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaM Posted February 27, 2008 Author Share Posted February 27, 2008 I did a ton of research on this awhile back and found some great information. I will look to see what I can find and post it here. As with many things, people have differing opinions and find information to support their position in many cases. If you do not feel something is safe to have in your home for whatever reason, then don't have it. However, making blanket statements such as "PVC seems no less harmful than lead" can certainly cause a panic. It's a good thing to bring up to ensure anyone who wants to use it does research and makes the best decision they can for their birds. Also, I would say that most of us here have done things in the past that we then found out to be unhealthy or even dangerous and then adjusted things accordingly with whatever new information they found that made sense to them. Again, I'll look to see what info I found that made be believe that the PVC piping I used was safe for my parrots. Lisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zooman Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 I too am weary about pvc as well, more so the glue you need to join the pipe more than anything. I have rather chosen to make it out of wood, yes it harder to clean but i feel safer. Its a matter of choice for all of us to use it or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanna Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 hi do you think any colour vetwrap would be okay? can't find tan and are the things you used as feeders part of the piping aswell? Is this the right vetwrap? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350136449263&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:Watchlink:middle:uk Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Yes Deanna that vet wrap is ok to use and in any color as the colors would make it more interesting, if you do a search here on this site you will find other playstands made out of pvc pipe that will give you some other ideas for shapes and so forth. I believe the feeders are part of the piping as well. Why don't you introduce yourself in the welcome room and tell us some about you and your grey if you have one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaM Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 Hi Deanna - yes, the feeders are 4" endcaps. The only glue I used on this entire thing was to glue little 1" pieces on the underside of the endcaps so that they would sit in a 1 1/2" tube (for stability. I let them air out for over a week in the garage before bringing them into the house. I also didn't bother cleaning off the stamping/printing as it was only on the legs of the stand (where my birds won't go) and I figured the stuff you use to remove it was pretty strong. The pieces themselves fit together very tightly. In fact, it was very difficult to take this apart when I wanted to. It was very stable even without the glue. An alternative to vetwrap is using a small safe rope and wrapping it around. I always meant to do that but never did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanna Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 Okay thank you for your reply! have decided to attempt a wood playstand first might be a disaster (DIY Deanna lol) found some of the messages about pvc very worrying! thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brittany Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 that's cool! my bf is a plumber so he can get pvc pretty easily, but he's been lazy !!! i want pepper to have another play area lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranaz Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 HI I am working on a small stand for my bird, with the same material, but in order not to take any risk with PVC, I am wrapping the whole thing with a small cotton rope (3mm). It takes a lot of time but at least I know bird has better grip, can climb on it and it hides away the PVC. Once I complete each stick, I stick the end under the plastic connector and it holds pretty stongly. I will wash the rope wrapped plastic bar with disinfectant that is bird safe and let it dry out in the sun for a while... Lisa...lovely idea...If you get to graw other designs please share with us...Thanks a lot Rana{Nature-00020097}<br><br>Post edited by: ranaz, at: 2009/03/21 12:25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keywe Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 They make CPVC that is used for water for human consumption. That may be safer. It's a tannish yellow color, not white. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranaz Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Sorry but I couldnt attach before, hope it works now The feeding bowl is screwed into the perch and then another bowl goes into it so I can remove and wash every time...<br><br>Post edited by: ranaz, at: 2009/03/24 11:00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranaz Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 {Nature-00020095} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubletefarm Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Potentially stupid question... How do you cut the pvc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 I believe you can cut them with a hacksaw blade, my hubby made a pvc playstand for Josey but he took it to work and cut the pieces on something there, maybe some kind of laser cutter or depending on where you live the place that you go to to get the pvc pipe will cut it the lengths you need. Don't worry about asking potentially stupid questions, we have all been there and done that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayd Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 :cheer: Greetings, Not yet decided about PVC OR CPVC, where they sell PVC pipe they sell a snip like tool for cutting it, fairly cheap. PVC come in Schedule 40, and 80, 80 is stiffer. If I remember right. Jayd:unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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