Using a cordless drill to attach a piece of vinyl downspout a wall stud.
Joe Truini attaching a piece of vinyl downspout to a wall for storage.

Here’s a tip to keep wooden dowels, short pieces of pipe, or small molding neatly organized and ready for use in your shop using a short section of vinyl gutter downspout.

DIY Downspout Dowel Holder:

  1. Drill a 1/2” diameter hole near the bottom of an 18” long section of vinyl gutter downspout.
  2. Insert a drywall screw in the hole and attach the downspout vertically to the wall about 18” from the floor.
  3. Attach the top of the downspout to the wall with a second screw.
  4. Fill the downspout with dowels, pipe, or small moldings.

Watch the video above to find out more.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Joe Truini: I was at the home center store recently and I noticed that they sell a 15-inch-long section of plastic downspout. These are used to extend the longer downspouts that carry the water away from your house.

I was looking at it and I thought, this would be able to solve a problem I have in the workshop. And that is how to neatly store all the wooden dowels, small sections of wooden molding, small diameter pipes that I have in the shop.

I don’t want to just lay them on the floor, because I’ll trip over them and they’ll be hard to find. So I thought I’d take this and screw it to the wall, and use it to store the dowels.

The first thing I did is drill the half-inch-diameter hole near the bottom, and that’s just to allow access for my screw driving bit. Then I’m going to mount it to the wall right here on the front of this wall stud about 18 inches up off the floor. That’s a perfect height for most moldings and wooden dowel rods.

Put one screw in the bottom. These are just one-inch drywall screws. At the top I don’t need a hole, I’m just going to drive it in at an angle through the top edge right into the stud. There, perfect.

Now you can see, I just take the small diameter pipes, wooden molding, stand them right up there. We’re neatly organized. You can see them, so you can tell what you have. And if you need one to take to a project, just pull it out and off you go.


Further Information


Editorial Contributors
avatar for Joe Truini

Joe Truini

Radio Show Co-Host

Joe Truini is a contractor, author, and the host of “Simple Solutions” on Today’s Homeowner TV and the weekly Today’s Homeowner radio show. He has worked on both large commercial projects and residential remodeling, and has written for national publications such as This Old House and Popular Mechanics. He has also written eight books, including three best-selling shed-building books. Joe lives in Connecticut with his family and enjoys hiking, traveling, and baseball in his spare time.

Learn More