Pro tip: my PVC planter project went south fast until I switched to ABS pipe

I spent a whole Saturday building a vertical planter out of 3-inch PVC for my herbs on the balcony. The glue joints kept failing under the weight of wet soil and I lost half my basil plants. A guy at Lowe's in Portland told me ABS pipe has better grip with the cement, and after redoing it with 4-inch ABS last week the thing is solid as a rock. Anyone else had better luck with one type of plumbing pipe over another?

3 comments

3 Comments

mary_kelly2mo ago

Did you sand the PVC first or just glue it straight on?

elliotjenkins2mo agoMost Upvoted

lol yeah @mary_kelly I just hit it with some sandpaper real quick. Didn't bother making it perfect though, PVC is sticky enough on its own.

oliver_fisher1mo ago

sandpaper and PVC glue is a classic combo honestly, i've done worse. one time i just slapped some superglue on a cracked pipe and called it a day, held up for like 3 months before it started leaking. yours is probably gonna outlast the actual joint half the time anyway. if it works it works right?