Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[gtaus]

I am proposing this separate thread dedicated to showing off your DIY Pallet Projects and perhaps a little discussion on the topic of pallet projects. I know there are pics and posts about pallet projects here and there on the BYC forums, but some people suggested I start a dedicated thread to the subject so we can all share our pallet projects and maybe pass along some good idea for others.

I'll start off with a simple pallet project I built for the garden. It's a tool holder for hoes, rakes, shovels, etc.. I made one full length pallet to hold my longest handled tools, but I added another pallet cut down 3/4 size and 1/2 size for my shorter handled tools. I connected the pallets with some 2X4's long enough to fit my 5 gallon buckets between the pallets. What I like about this project is that it was super simple to make for a beginner. Secondly, I now have my tools all stored in one place instead of laying all over the garden. Third, the stand is light enough to move wherever I want, but heavy enough not to blow over in a good wind. Here's the pic...

Here is what it looks like on the backside.

 

[gtaus]

A few years ago, I made a compost bin (top left of pic) inside my chicken run. First the pic, then my thoughts.

Originally, I thought it would be great to have a compost bin inside the chicken run where I could toss our kitchen scraps and the chickens could easily jump in and out to eat the treats. It's just a simple design using 4 pallets. I used one pallet each for the back and both sides. The front pallet was cut in half, which allows the chicken to easily jump in and out of the compost bin. I took the other half of the front pallet and placed it on top of the compost bin. It provides a high place to perch during the day, or to rest under its shade when it gets hot from the sun.

The chickens love to jump up and sit on the front pallet, up to the side pallets, and on top where the half pallet is lying. I was really happy with the concept because the chickens use it so much. As time went on, I turned my entire chicken run into a composting system, so the pallet compost bin is really not used for composting anymore. However, since the chickens love using it for sitting on, or hiding in the shade on a hot sunny day, I decided just to leave it in the run.

Other than cutting the one pallet in half, all I did was use scrap wood and screws to connect the pallets together to make the bin. Minimal effort, maximum use by the chickens.

 

[Egger4me]

Chickens coop twenty plus pallets and old fence.

 

[gtaus]

I'm so glad you made this! I hope lots of people share all kinds of useful ideas

Yes. Feel free to post any of your pallet projects and pics you want to share.

I am currently building some pallet planters for Dear Wife and will post pics of them in a few days. Finished 2 planters today and am waiting for Dear Wife to approve the designs, or not.

As you can imagine, first planter was too big, second planter was too small, so maybe I'll get it right on the third attempt.

 

[gtaus]

Just a shout out to some people who I was talking to about pallet projects on the "What Did You Do In The Garden Today" thread. As much as I like that thread, it has so many posts per day that I can't pretend to keep up with it. Anyway, if you guys find this thread interesting, please post some pics, thoughts, or questions you may have about pallet projects for discussion.

@chickengr
@ChicksnMore
@Nodakj
@TJAnonymous

 

[ChicksnMore]

Well...all my pallet wood projects were built about ten years ago. And I have no building skills at all. So please be kind...lol. Thought you might like seeing how pallet wood holds up over time though.

Over ten year old and always in use compost bins...no repairs ever to this.

Storage area for odds and ends. This started as a fence to keep our bulldozer tortoise off the chain link...then when we replaced our garage door ..I changed it to create simple covered storage. Again...over ten years old and my first ever pallet project. No repairs ever needed on it.

The inside of the above storage

Our bulldozer tortoise house was also built from pallets. They're hard to see under all the outside layers ..but it's a u shaped box built from half pallets.

It's in need of repairs...not because the woods failed but because of tortoise digging damage. When I do repair this, I'll add a brick floor a couple feet down. Here's a pic that shows the damage. The pallet wood is holding strong and fully supporting the roof even though the surrounding brick insulation (that used to be filled with dirt) is collapsing

Last is my pallet wood coop and run. Unfortunately I already tore apart the coop because I'm converting this space for ducks. It's my current project I've been working on. But the coop looked almost the same as this one and was made from pallet wood. I'm in the desert and good air flow is an absolute must...warm sheltered sleeping space is in little demand. So my coops are built for laying and so they can sleep out of the wind.

Here's pictures of the damage to the run that was caused by dumping water against it...I don't have before repair pics...but the wooden frame under the pallets is rotting. Again...this is over ten years of dumping water in the same spot... but you can see the wood is rotting. The whole door was crooked and it was sinking down.

My "I don't know what I'm doing" solution is to lift the whole front panel and pop bricks under it to replace the rotten wood. Tentatively I think it's going to work. The first bricks are under so I can start digging and bricking. You can see the pallets used in the front and back in this pic...the low side is also made of pallets. Again, over ten years old and still strong other then the frame in just that one spot.

And believe it or not...I'm actually going to be reusing some of the ten year old pallet wood from my pulled apart coop! Only as siding to tidy up the inside of the run...not as structural wood. Here's some of the old boards I've been setting aside to reuse.

I did build a planting bed that broke years ago. It did have some wood damage but considering it was a watered garden bed...and that I tended to use the sides for leverage when turning the dirt...and I didn't design it well...it amazed me with how well it held up.
Wish I had pictures of beautiful pallet wood projects to share! But at least I can contribute with how well that wood lasts

 

[CaliforniaMountainChicks]

I’m not currently working on any pallet projects but I do have a couple in mind that I want to work on after a few other things are completed! I really like the storage system you made with the pallets!

I want to make a 3 step compost system

As well as some raised beds

 

[gtaus]

Yesterday I made a few pallet planters for Dear Wife...

The first one was too big (24X24 inches), so I made a second planter (16X16 inches), and that was too small.

So, I'll be making another planter, maybe this time 12X24 inches rectangular, and hope that passes her inspection.

What I liked about the bigger 24X24 inch planter is that I was able to find some dark pallet wood and alternate that with lighter pallet wood. I did that on all 4 sides and I think it looked good. Just too big, I guess.

I then made the smaller 16X16 planter, but learned a valuable lesson. The pallet 2X4's in the smaller planter were not all the same size. So, my planter got out of square. I had to cut the final wall piece on each side on a taper, and finish it off with a planer to fit. Not a huge problem to overcome, but the top of the planter was a good 1/4" wider than the bottom. Does anybody care? Probably not. But having to cut the wood on a taper and plane it down to fit burned up extra time. Lesson learned - next time make sure the 2X4's are all the same size.

Benefits to this design is that the 2X4's inside the planter are hidden, so I was able to use the parts of the stretcher that had the cut-outs for the forklift. No waste on those 2X4's with this design. Also, on each wall side, I added the wood from the outside, left and right, and worked my way to the middle. The last piece of wall board will probably have to be cut down to size, but that was easy. Even on the smaller planter that got out of square, the last wall piece just had to be cut down on a slight taper, and planed to fit.

I topped off the planter with 45 degree cut 1X4 planks. I simply took the measurement of the side (24 inches, for example) and added 1 inch for hangover to each side = 26 inches on the long cut. Then I used my miter saw to cut 1 board with the 45 degree cuts, and used that board as a template to cut 3 more exact sized boards. That saved some time and energy as no measuring was required on subsequent cuts.

I don't plan on staining or painting these planters. But would ask for some feedback on that issue. If they only last 3-4 years, that will be good enough for me. I might line the inside of the planter with a plastic garbage bag before filling up with soil, that should help preserve the wood a bit longer.

Any feedback appreciated. Thanks.

 

[samanthaoverton]

Hubby built me two planters..

 

[Sally PB]

I'm so glad you made this thread, @gtaus!

I get a lot of satisfaction out of recycling and upcycling free material. I wish we would do more of that as a society.

Me too! I have some pallet stuff (pics to follow) and something made from scrap wood that DH brought home from work (pics of that too).

The pallet wood may be free, but you have to be prepared to put in some sweat equity into the project because you usually have to breakdown and process the wood before you can use it in many projects. For the home DIY'er, it probably worth the effort.

All I need for motivation to break down a pallet is a trip to the lumber yard, and to look at the prices!

The tortoise is Spud...he's my hubby's pet and loves to chase anything red

How fast can a tortoise go? Sorry, this just made me laugh.

Ok, some pictures. Pine, so fairly easy to work with.

A small table for the chicken run. It isn't this clean anymore!

A lean to shelter for food and water. The metal was a leftover piece from the roof on our house. The back piece was leftover from our coop add-on.

The white paint was left over from painting the inside of the chicken coop.

You know how they say not to let paint freeze? Well, the 5 gallon bucket of paint wasn't totally ruined, but it wasn't nice and smooth any more either. The chickens can't tell. I'll be using that stuff till it's gone. And it gets stored in the basement now, not the garage.

This chicknic table is made from scraps of wood DH brought home from work.

I also built myself a sturdy step stool from wood scraps and pallet wood, but I don't have a picture of it. I didn't bother to paint that white.

DH made a VERY cool foot locker/drawer out of another pallet. (No pics.) That one was oak and put together with staples. He had a lot more effort into reclaiming the wood.

DH retired a couple weeks ago, but may work part time still. I've told him to keep an eye out for good pallets and more scraps!

Tangentially related, since it's reclaimed stuff... He scored (25) 10' long u-channel posts from work. The customer was going to trash them. They now are around my garden. It would have cost $1325 to buy them.