Sick And Tired Of PVC Warping - Aluminium Window Frames?

[andrew.mille]

Casually preparing for this years display and as I started looking at redoing my window frames I’ve officially had enough of drilling PVC pipe

Every time I use PVC for pixel frames it seems to warp like crazy, especially once you start drilling a heap of holes into it. It works, but it’s honestly such a pain to get everything straight and looking clean.

I used @thewanderingpine / Rob's method for my verticals and they came out amazing, so this year I’m thinking about doing something similar for my window outlines instead of going back to PVC but with bullet pixels.

At the moment I’m looking at either Metal Mate square aluminium from Bunnings or Capral square aluminium. I’m leaning towards the Metal Mate mainly because I can get it in black already, which should look a lot cleaner during the day and means I don’t have to paint anything.

Has anyone else moved away from PVC for window outlines/pixel frames?

Would love to pick everyone’s brains and see what people are using, how you’re joining the corners, whether you pull the frames apart for storage each year, and how they’ve held up over a few seasons.

More than happy to spend a bit more if it means I can build them once, keep them straight and stop fighting warped PVC every Christmas

Metal Mate 25.4 x 25.4 x 1mm x 3m Black Aluminium Square Tube

Find Metal Mate 25.4 x 25.4 x 1mm x 3m Black Aluminium Square Tube at Bunnings. Visit your local store for the widest range of products.

www.bunnings.com.au

 

[thewanderingpine]

bullets in aluminium tubing might be a fun challenge to push through. I'd want to try some test holes/etc before I'd commit to trying that. I guess assuming the back one is large enough, it's just a single layer to push through.

I've gotten some black garden edging from Capral before -- do they not have a black option?

 

[merryoncherry]

This stuff is good, just need to figure out what China factory it comes from so the Aussies can get some. https://www.holidaycoro.com/PixelPipe-Pre-Drilled-Pixel-Mounting-Pipe-p/1800.htm ... light aluminum extrusion with the holes, no drilling, no warping, sun-proof. 3D printable connection points...

 

[Kent]

I did something similar with my roof lines, but with some aluminium U channel. Came in 6m lengths from a fencing supply place that was about 15 mins away from me (western Sydney), available in various colours. Perfect size for square nodes. Still had to drill them though. Will see if I can find the supplier details a little later...

4 new photos · Nov 21âââDec 16, 2023 ð¸

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[andrew.mille]

bullets in aluminium tubing might be a fun challenge to push through. I'd want to try some test holes/etc before I'd commit to trying that. I guess assuming the back one is large enough, it's just a single layer to push through.

I've gotten some black garden edging from Capral before -- do they not have a black option?

Yeah, Definitely would have to try it out first. I have looked on the Capral website and its not showing any of the square Aluminium available in black. Only Mill Finish

 

[andrew.mille]

This stuff is good, just need to figure out what China factory it comes from so the Aussies can get some. https://www.holidaycoro.com/PixelPipe-Pre-Drilled-Pixel-Mounting-Pipe-p/1800.htm ... light aluminum extrusion with the holes, no drilling, no warping, sun-proof. 3D printable connection points...

This stuff looks great, I would love to use this if I can get my hands on it. Saves all the time and hassle of drilling and still having something that looks great with no warping.

 

[andrew.mille]

I did something similar with my roof lines, but with some aluminium U channel. Came in 6m lengths from a fencing supply place that was about 15 mins away from me (western Sydney), available in various colours. Perfect size for square nodes. Still had to drill them though. Will see if I can find the supplier details a little later...

4 new photos · Nov 21âââDec 16, 2023 ð¸

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photos.app.goo.gl

This looks like a perfect idea for my roof as well since we have the same looking tiles. Thanks for sharing. I'd love to find out how you mounted it onto the tiles as well as how you went about drilling them. This may be the way I go for my roof.

 

[Johnnyboy]

This stuff is good, just need to figure out what China factory it comes from so the Aussies can get some. https://www.holidaycoro.com/PixelPipe-Pre-Drilled-Pixel-Mounting-Pipe-p/1800.htm ... light aluminum extrusion with the holes, no drilling, no warping, sun-proof. 3D printable connection points...

oh wow, that stuff looks amazing! Sign me up for 100m

 

[Kent]

This looks like a perfect idea for my roof as well since we have the same looking tiles. Thanks for sharing. I'd love to find out how you mounted it onto the tiles as well as how you went about drilling them. This may be the way I go for my roof.

Xpress - U Channel - 33mm x 30mm - 6M Long - Fences Galore DIY Glass Fencing

Xpress – U Channel – 33mm x 30mm – 6M Long Optional Extra: Only required for pre-assemble installation method. See installation brochure Alloy 6063-T5 6000mm Long 1.55mm side wall thickness, 1.3mm rear wall thickness

fgdiyglassfencing.com.au

Prices seem to be up ~15% since my purchase in 2023.

For mounting them to the ridgeline, I 3d printed some friction fit mounts in ASA.

2 new photos · Tuesday, Nov 22, 2022 ð¸

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Photos are of the original design when I previously used strip. Modified the top bit for the channel. Seemed like a good idea at the time and they do the job, but due to variations in width from the pointing, I'm not sure it is the best option. Perhaps the tried and tested large washer + silicone & magnet could be a better approach.