Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[gtaus]

I need to start getting ready for winter. I have way too much pallet wood in my garage and that needs to be stored elsewhere for the winter. I have to get our second car in the garage in the winter. Last winter, I had the garage cleaned out enough to park the car in the garage in bad weather, but I was able to put the car outside and work on projects if the weather was nice. That's my goal for this year as well.

Some of you may remember that I had my garage floor heat fixed last winter. So, I can set the temp at something like 40F-45F which will be more than enough to keep the cars parked in the garage warm. If I want to work on some pallet projects, I have a Mr. Heater propane heater that will kick up the temp to about 60F in no time...

I used less than a full 15-pound BBQ propane tank for the entire winter using the heater only to boost the heat in the garage when I actually work on my projects. That's pretty cheap.

Yesterday evening I counted all my raised bed and the protective cages I have built and/or upgraded from my other garden. I only have one more cage to build at this point to cover all my raised beds. So, I have met my goal in that respect.

I had hoped to make all my protective cages the same size, but my older raised beds used 4X4 posts in the corners and they are 53X53 inches compared to my newer pallet wood raised beds which are 48X48 inches. So, I had to make different sized cages. And I am not completely satisfied with any one cage design. I guess I will have to see how well they work to keep out the deer next year, while allowing me access to the beds to maintain the soil and plants. That is still a work in progress.

Today, I started building another pallet wood raised bed v2.0 because I need to use up some of that wood in the garage. That will reduce the amount of wood I will have to transfer into storage for the winter. Also, from my previous pallet projects, I once again have buckets and buckets full of off cuts and junk wood. That can be used as hügelkultur filler in my new raised bed. I would rather dump those pallet wood bits and pieces into a new raised bed as filler than just burning them in my fire pit.

I wish I had a wood burning stove, furnace, or fireplace in the house. Then all those pallet wood bits and pieces could warm the house in the winter. I had a wood burning barrel stove in my old garage and we used that all the time. That would be a perfect use of those pallet wood off cuts.

Well, I had a great summer building pallet projects. Getting ready for winter is always a bummer, but I hope to do some smaller projects if I can. As always, I hope others in warmer states can post some inspirational pictures of their projects over the winter.

 

[Sally PB]

Yeah, I find this time of year to be bittersweet. It's nice to "be done" with the garden -- it is a lot of work! But I sure do miss it come December/January/February when I also miss the warmth of the summer.

 

[avjudge]

I had to look up those Simpson hex-head screws, as I am not familiar with the name...
I have no idea how much those hex-head screws cost. The main reason I use drywall screws for most of my pallet wood projects is because drywall screws are so cheap compared to other options. But I am going into town tomorrow, so I'll have to look at Menards to see if they have any. I looked online and could not find any. But maybe they are sold under a different name?

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look into them.

The Simpson Strong-Tie people make all sorts of those useful brackets for fastening framing lumber and these screws are effectively an accessory item. They come in 1 1/2” to go straight into 2x lumber and 2 1/2” to go at an angle or into a double thickness. And in #9 & #10 diameter — I just saw this as my local hardware store carries #9. I’ve always seen them in boxes of 100 in mid to upper teens $$, so 14–20¢+ each. For example:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Simpson-St...-2-in-1-4-Hex-Drive-Mech-Galv-100-Qty/3242494
I generally don’t go through many except when I am actually doing construction, but I keep a box of each size on hand were those uses where they really are better.

Like you, I salvage every usable screw I come across, and check what I have before buying. But sometimes it’s worth a dollar or two to have the right screws!

 

[gtaus]

I have some Simpson hex-head screws on hand...

I have no idea how much those hex-head screws cost. The main reason I use drywall screws for most of my pallet wood projects is because drywall screws are so cheap compared to other options. But I am going into town tomorrow, so I'll have to look at Menards to see if they have any. I looked online and could not find any. But maybe they are sold under a different name?

No luck on finding any of those Simpson hex-head screws in town today. Closest thing I found was hex-head cement anchors, but they cost about $1.25 each! I even asked some of the store people if they had them, but they had no idea what I was talking about. I guess if they don't carry that item, they don't know anything about them.

As I said, I had not seen them in the local stores, so I had to look them up on the internet. Oh well, I ended up buying a couple more pounds of drywall screws that were on sale this week. Those drywall screws are still my main go-to screw because they are the cheapest and best "good enough" choice for most of my pallet projects.

 

[gtaus]

I finished building another pallet wood raised bed today. I'll have to put it out in the garden area tomorrow. Although I did use up some of the pallet wood in my garage, you cannot see much of difference. I still have lots and lots of wood and it looks like I will have to start to transfer it to winter storage in my out sheds. At least I will be able to dump the 4 or 5 5-gallon buckets full of pallet wood off cut bits and pieces into the bottom of the new raised bed to act as my hügelkultur filler. That will help with the garage clean out.

 

[avjudge]

No luck on finding any of those Simpson hex-head screws in town today.

How odd that they are so easy to find around me! I have picked them up at my local Ace Hardware store/building center (where they are stocked next to the Simpson brackets) and at the nearest Home Depot when I was in that town. I wonder f it’s regional or something else.

Closest thing I found was hex-head cement anchors, but they cost about $1.25 each!

Though I do know that’s not an outrageous price for a specialty fastener. It’s just outrageous for a simple wood-to-wood conventional-strength fastener.

 

[gtaus]

How odd that they are so easy to find around me! I have picked them up at my local Ace Hardware store/building center (where they are stocked next to the Simpson brackets) and at the nearest Home Depot when I was in that town. I wonder f it’s regional or something else.

We have an Ace Hardware on the other side of town. Next time I am out that way, I'll have to take a look to see if they have any Simpson hex-head screws. I could not find any at our Home Depot. But like many things, sometimes you need to ask the right person before you get a good answer.

Speaking of which, I needed a water heater element that was 1-3/8-inch threads. The standard elements in most heaters use a 1-inch thread. I went to all the stores on my side of town and nobody had any. So, I called Ace Hardware and a guy checked their shelves and said they did not have any. So, I went online and did a search thinking maybe Amazon or eBay.

But Ace Hardware showed up in the online search. I checked the stock number, and it said it was in stock locally at the store. I called Ace Hardware back up again, told a different guy that I found the element online and it was supposed to be in stock at the store, I gave him the stock number, and he found it hidden behind an element of the wrong size.

Believe it or not, the element in stock at our local Ace Hardware was $7.00 cheaper than the element listed on Amazon! That does not happen too often.

I always stop at Ace Hardware when I am on that side of town. If nothing else, I just get a free popcorn. Having said that, the "free" popcorn usually costs me more than expected because I seem to find something on sale that I need.

 

[Sally PB]

That will help with the garage clean out.

Like the space of 4-5 buckets!

When I feel like a space is a mess (the kitchen counter, for example), I look at what I can "put away." It's amazing how much space there is when stuff is where it should be, instead of just left somewhere else.

 

[gtaus]

(Probably) Last Raised Bed Build for the Year?

I finished my last planned pallet wood raised bed v2.0 build for the year. Here it is loaded up on my trailer being towed by my small riding mower...

I have mentioned it before, but I built that pallet wood cargo box to go on top of my high hitch setup that I bought this year. I use that cargo box all the time. I mainly use that small mower for towing wagons around the yard. It's my everyday work horse.

Also, you will notice that I have my pallet wood "mobile workbench" on top of the wagon. It's just a normal pallet with some 2X4 runners on the bottom to fit it to the frame of the wagon and so it does not slide off. But it really comes in handy because I can work on things up off the ground. I use it a lot because my old back does not like bending over to the ground to work on stuff anymore.

Today, it came in handy for me to load up that raised bed by myself and move it from the garage to the back yard garden area. Without that pallet top, the raised bed would just slide off the wagon top when I moved it. I had to have Dear Wife hold on to the raised beds and walk along with me as I moved them. But with the pallet on top, the wood on wood prevents it from slipping and I was able to move it myself. Very nice!

I found a spot for the new raised bed. There is a slight slope in my backyard, so I had to dig out a little topsoil on one side to level it off. I don't know if raised beds need to be perfectly level, but I guess it helps the water to soak the bed evenly...

One of my main reasons for building yet another raised bed was because I had about 3 or 4 5-gallon buckets full of pallet wood off cut bits and pieces that I wanted to use as filler in the bottom of the new raised bed. I am into the hügelkultur method for my raised beds. I loaded up 4 5-gallon buickets of off cuts, then as I was cleaning, I found more and more. All in all, I ended up loading 9 5-gallon buckets of bits and pieces that I dumped into the bottom of this raised bed...

That should be a great filler. I think it's a better use of that wood than just burning it the firepit. I still had room in bottom for more wood, so I did some yard cleanup of branches that got blown down from heavy winds a few days ago. I cut up those branches and dumped them into the raised bed as well...

I had planned on not putting any soil in that raised bed until next spring. The idea was to keep it open so I could dump pallet wood off cuts into the raised bed all winter long. However, with the branches I cut up and added, the bed is already full. So, I am thinking maybe just top it off with lots of chicken run compost and let it settle over the winter, top it off in the spring with fresh compost and topsoil, and plant something good in there.

I have some 8-foot-long 2X4's I salvaged from my pallet wood pickup runs into town, so I might use them on this bed to make a trellis system. If not, I'll have to build another cage for anti-deer protection. For the most part, I am done with project as well.

 

[Knobby]

(Probably) Last Raised Bed Build for the Year?

I finished my last planned pallet wood raised bed v2.0 build for the year. Here it is loaded up on my trailer being towed by my small riding mower...

View attachment 3961655

I have mentioned it before, but I built that pallet wood cargo box to go on top of my high hitch setup that I bought this year. I use that cargo box all the time. I mainly use that small mower for towing wagons around the yard. It's my everyday work horse.

Also, you will notice that I have my pallet wood "mobile workbench" on top of the wagon. It's just a normal pallet with some 2X4 runners on the bottom to fit it to the frame of the wagon and so it does not slide off. But it really comes in handy because I can work on things up off the ground. I use it a lot because my old back does not like bending over to the ground to work on stuff anymore.

Today, it came in handy for me to load up that raised bed by myself and move it from the garage to the back yard garden area. Without that pallet top, the raised bed would just slide off the wagon top when I moved it. I had to have Dear Wife hold on to the raised beds and walk along with me as I moved them. But with the pallet on top, the wood on wood prevents it from slipping and I was able to move it myself. Very nice!

I found a spot for the new raised bed. There is a slight slope in my backyard, so I had to dig out a little topsoil on one side to level it off. I don't know if raised beds need to be perfectly level, but I guess it helps the water to soak the bed evenly...

View attachment 3961675

One of my main reasons for building yet another raised bed was because I had about 3 or 4 5-gallon buckets full of pallet wood off cut bits and pieces that I wanted to use as filler in the bottom of the new raised bed. I am into the hügelkultur method for my raised beds. I loaded up 4 5-gallon buickets of off cuts, then as I was cleaning, I found more and more. All in all, I ended up loading 9 5-gallon buckets of bits and pieces that I dumped into the bottom of this raised bed...

View attachment 3961679

That should be a great filler. I think it's a better use of that wood than just burning it the firepit. I still had room in bottom for more wood, so I did some yard cleanup of branches that got blown down from heavy winds a few days ago. I cut up those branches and dumped them into the raised bed as well...

View attachment 3961681

I had planned on not putting any soil in that raised bed until next spring. The idea was to keep it open so I could dump pallet wood off cuts into the raised bed all winter long. However, with the branches I cut up and added, the bed is already full. So, I am thinking maybe just top it off with lots of chicken run compost and let it settle over the winter, top it off in the spring with fresh compost and topsoil, and plant something good in there.

I have some 8-foot-long 2X4's I salvaged from my pallet wood pickup runs into town, so I might use them on this bed to make a trellis system. If not, I'll have to build another cage for anti-deer protection. For the most part, I am done with project as well.

I have about 175 pallets collected, with hopes of being able to build a few raised beds for next season, but never seem to have the time. I do, however, continue to visit this thread so-as to gain inspiration for when I do get the time to do some building. Keep up the great posts!