Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[Egger4me]

It's great when you can use the entire pallet without having to break it down. I think if you got pallets all the same design and size, then you have more options.

Maybe it really depends on where you get your pallets. My primary source is our local Harbor Freight, and they seem to never get two pallets of the same design or size. Lots of variety in their pallets. To my advantage, I built a garage workbench out of two 6 1/2 foot long HF pallets without breaking them down. Used one for the top and the second pallet for a shelf underneath. Just added additional boards to fill in the gaps on the work surfaces.

The other day, HF threw out some 8 foot long pallets and one 10 foot long pallet. That was like finding gold for me because they had complete 2X4 stretchers without the slots cut out for the forklift. I don't know what I will build with those long 2X4's, but they are practically brand new. Anybody got some suggestions on what to do with 8 and 10 foot long 2X4's?

Yeah give them to me!

 

[MACCanadianCoop]

It's great when you can use the entire pallet without having to break it down. I think if you got pallets all the same design and size, then you have more options.

Maybe it really depends on where you get your pallets. My primary source is our local Harbor Freight, and they seem to never get two pallets of the same design or size. Lots of variety in their pallets. To my advantage, I built a garage workbench out of two 6 1/2 foot long HF pallets without breaking them down. Used one for the top and the second pallet for a shelf underneath. Just added additional boards to fill in the gaps on the work surfaces.

The other day, HF threw out some 8 foot long pallets and one 10 foot long pallet. That was like finding gold for me because they had complete 2X4 stretchers without the slots cut out for the forklift. I don't know what I will build with those long 2X4's, but they are practically brand new. Anybody got some suggestions on what to do with 8 and 10 foot long 2X4's?

A garden bench? Picnic table? Long raised planters?

 

[gtaus]

Yeah give them to me!

As much as I enjoy giving out valuable lumber to others, I was thinking more in terms of using the lumber I got in a pallet project for me. Nice try, though...

 

[gtaus]

A garden bench? Picnic table? Long raised planters?

I like the idea of using my 8 and 10 foot 2X4's in a long raised planter build. Thanks.

I already have a couple nice garden benches, and at least 3 picnic tables, so I don't more of those. But, you can never have too many garden beds.

 

[Egger4me]

As much as I enjoy giving out valuable lumber to others, I was thinking more in terms of using the lumber I got in a pallet project for me. Nice try, though...

 

[Egger4me]

Hey use them to make a green house.

 

[gtaus]

Hey use them to make a green house.

I live in northern Minnesota. I don't know if I would trust these pallet 2X4's to hold any amount of snow load. We usually have to build our roofs with 2X8's or 2X10's to meet building code. Obviously, a green house does not have to be built to those standards, but I don't want to build something that I suspect will not last through the winter.

I have wanted to build a green house for a number of years. That would be great. Thanks for the suggestion just the same.

 

[samanthaoverton]

Great job on resourcing all that free material for your builds. It really adds up fast.



I'd be burning up with the house at 80F degrees in the winter. I don't have a wood burning stove, so I have to pay for my off peak electricity to heat the house. We keep the thermostat at 63F in the winter - but we wear sweaters and socks in slippers in the winter.

I wonder if some pallet wood would make good firewood in a wood burning stove? I have lots of pallets that look like they have not been treated with any chemicals. They just have the stamp HT for heat treated. I would think those cutoffs and bits and ends you don't want to keep would be good in the wood stove.

Whoah 63. I don't think I'd like that, 70 is ok though I know what you mean by peak. My Tennessee magazine says electricity is most expensive in the morning when people are getting ready for work and right when they come home. People use the most electricity During these times so that's when it's most expensive. The magazine always has articles written by the electric company. Very informative. We don't have central heat or air. Wood stove and window ac units for us..

 

[gtaus]

I know what you mean by peak. My Tennessee magazine says electricity is most expensive in the morning when people are getting ready for work and right when they come home. People use the most electricity During these times so that's when it's most expensive.

Not exactly. I said "off peak" electricity which we use for our heating, A/C, hot water heater, and dryer. Our "off peak" electricity is metered out at half the cost of normal electricity, but the electric can shut it off or restrict it at any time (like for system demand overloads). The past few years, that has amounted to only minutes of no service outage.

In theory, an outage could last for a lot longer, maybe even hours, so our "off peak" electric furnace has a propane tank backup. If the house calls for more heat, and the "off peak" electricity is not available, then it automatically switches over to the propane backup until the "off peak" electricity is back online.

The other appliances just have to wait if the off peak is temporarily unavailable. But, like I said, in the past few years that has been only a few minutes of no service. Essentially, we never worry about it.

Using the "off peak" electric for heating is cheaper for us than using propane, which is why I have the dual source furnace.

More in line with this thread, I have a wood burning cook stove out in storage in one of my garages. I have been thinking of maybe getting that installed so I could use it. Would be nice to burn the pallet cutoffs and rejects in a wood stove to heat the house than burning the bits and ends out is a burn pit. However, I seriously believe Dear Wife will veto that idea...

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

That was fun looking through the thread!!!

We built our coop outta pallets, and hope to build a few more animal housing units out of them as well!