DIY PVC Pipe Ball Pit: Make Your Own Easily!

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.

I’m so excited to share my quick tutorial for an easy DIY PVC pipe ball pit made from items easily purchased at a local hardware store.

This ball pit is easy to make, and the materials won’t break the bank either.

Plus, my kids have loved playing in the pit, and I love that they’re self-contained!

Why I Made a DIY Ball Pit

When my son was 18 months old, my aunt bought him a blow-up indoor basketball ball pit.

It was the coolest ball pit ever, and I cannot count the number of hours we spent playing on that thing. He would run, jump, fall, etc.

However, after all of the love that ball pit acquired, it quickly broke at the seams. And, the patch kits that came in the box didn’t work well enough to patch those stubborn holes.

Now, these ball bits aren’t the most expensive things in the world, but they also aren’t the cheapest either–especially when you have to buy them over and over again once they have been played on a lot.

So, I went a while without buying another one.

A couple of months ago, I took the kids to an indoor play park and my son fell in love with the ball pit. Again.

Because of this, I was on a mission to get him his own ball pit.

I also wanted to make a DIY ball pit that could be used for babies, since my daughter was 6 months old at the time.

Ultimately, I decided to create a 3 ft X 2 ft X 1.5 ft DIY PVC ball pit using white PVC from Home Depot, which was super convenient because Home Depot cut it in-store for me! (If you would rather cut it yourself, the cutting tool is pretty inexpensive.)

PVC Ball Pit Materials

Here’s exactly what I used to construct this ball pit. 

• Ten 1.5-foot PVC pipes (1/2″ pipes)
• Twenty 1-foot PVC pipes (1/2″ pipes)
• 8 three-way elbow connectors (depending on the connector, you might need an adapter)
• 12 tee connectors
• 3-4 pool noodles (Dollar Tree! Although they are only available over the summer there.)
• PVC pipe glue
• 60-120 zip ties (Dollar Tree!)
• 3 yards utility netting (I got mine from JOANN’s and cut it in half horizontally)
• Ball pit balls (you need A LOT, but thankfully they weren’t too pricey on Amazon. I also reused balls from my failed store-bought ball pits.)

Total Time Required

This took me less than an hour to make and has made for way more than an hour of fun for the kiddos!

So, totally worth it, and decently cheap!

How to Make a Ball Pit Out of PVC Pipes

First, begin by connecting all of your PVC pipes together and then gluing them.

Two of the sides will be three one-foot pipes connected as shown in the picture above.

The other two sides will be two 1-foot pipes connected, which makes the ball pit a total of 3 feet x 2 feet. Use a connector also.

Now, the height of the ball pit is 1.5 feet, so this is where those ten 1.5-foot pipes will come in.

Now, if you look at the picture above, you can see the dimensions and orientation of the PVC pipes a little better.

Next, once you’ve made the PVC pipe frame, secure the netting using zip ties around the exterior of the ball pit (on the top and bottom pipes).

I placed mine pretty close to one another.

In the end, I went back and placed the extras where I felt I needed them the most.

At some point around your kids’ ball pit, the utility netting will overlap. I used zip ties to secure the overlap also, but if I were to make this again, I’d tie it with ribbons or secure it with something less hard and plastic

Once you have completely secured the netting around the ball pit, clip the zip ties so they are not sticking out. No one wants a hurt hand from them.

Last, add the pool noodles, and cut as needed to fit.

Another Fun Option

Our gymnastics location has a ball pit filled with foam blocks that the kids love.

Thus, another great, but more expensive idea, is buying some of those pit foam blocks and putting them in. (You can find them on Amazon.)

 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial for constructing a DIY ball pit using store-bought and easily accessible items. Let me know how your construction went or if you need any additional clarification on the steps!