Building a Backyard Grape Vine Trellis with Pipe and Wire

As the founder of Simplified Building, you might say that I've got a thing for Kee Klamp pipe fittings. I've used them all over my house and my backyard is no exception. The house that we live in has a beautiful grape vine in the backyard. It used to cover the entire driveway in the backyard, but a previous owner trimmed it back substantially because the old wood structure was becoming unstable. The grape vine is enormous, and I know it has the potential to grow back to its original size.

What I wanted to do with this project was to create a grape vine trellis that would do two things: 1) I wanted to support the existing vine so that the remaining wood structure could be removed or at least not bear the weight of the vine. 2) Secondly, I wanted to build a structure that would allow the grape vine to extend out and over the driveway again.

My plan was to build the basic structure from Kee Klamp pipe fittings and galvanized pipe. The grape vine would then be supported by galvanized wire rope that spanned between the supports. In the end, the project came out just as I expected. Below are the steps that I took to build my backyard grape vine trellis.

Gather Parts for Assembly

As I stated before, I am using Kee Klamp pipe fittings to connect the pipes together and to the garage.

Additional Supplies

• 2 x Wire rope clamps
• 100ft of 3/8" Galvanized wire rope
• 12 x #10 Screws - To mount flanges to the wall
• 4 x Masonry Anchors (not the mounting screws pictured above) - Used to attach the 62-7 base flanges to the driveway

As far as tools, you'll need an allen wrench, a cordless drill, level, crescent wrench and some electrical tape.

Layout Parts and Pipe for the Grape Vine Trellis

Layout all the pipe and fittings in their locations.

Connect the Fittings to the Trellis Frame

Using an allen wrench, tighten the Kee Klamp pipe fittings on to the grape vine trellis support pipes.

When you assemble the trellis "on the ground" it will look like the picture above. I left out the middle bar and attached that after I attached the trellis to the garage.

Attach the Grape Vine Trellis to the Garage

With a little help I lifted the grape vine trellis into place, checked it's level, and then attached it to the side of the garage by screwing the flanges into the wood.

I then attached the middle pipe to the trellis after the main structure was up.

Attach the Trellis Structure to the Ground

Using masonry anchors I attached the flanges to my asphalt driveway. This keeps the grape vine trellis structure stable. This is not a necessary step. If you're mounting directly into the ground you could use stakes or other methods of securing the flange to the ground.

String the Support Wire through Holes in the Pipes

I drilled holes in the pipe at 2ft intervals.

I wrapped the end of the wire in electrical tape (to keep the wire from fraying) and threaded it through the holes in the pipe.

At each end of the wire I placed a wire clamp to keep the wire tensioned on the trellis. I only drilled through the end pipes and not the middle pipes. I made the wire pass up and over the middle pipe.

Tension the Wires

I tensioned the wires by pulling down on each section and then tightening the wire clamp on the end of the system.

Attach the Grape Vine to the Wire Rope

Using twine I pulled the vine up onto the wire rope to encourage it to move across the wire instead of hanging down on the ground.

Wait for the Harvest!

Now that the backyard grape vine trellis is complete, we can sit back, let the sun do it's work and wait for the harvest!

Closing Thoughts

This whole project came together in just a couple of hours. The Kee Klamp fittings you can buy right here at Simplified Building. You can also get your pipe from us or at a local building supplier. The rest of the materials are readily available at most hardware stores or home stores. If you have questions about the project, please feel free to post a comment and I'll try to respond promptly. Share other ideas that you might have for building a similar grape vine trellis with Kee Klamp and pipe.

This project is just one of the many structures that can be constructed using Kee Klamp pipe fittings. Please see our Project Gallery for a huge list of projects.