Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[gtaus]

Never thought of taking pallets & making shingles .I have a pick up load of short pieces I was going to throw away.

In the YouTube video on pallet shingles that I posted, I think he was using pallet boards that were 12-14 inches long. But, I don't think there is a magic length you need to use.

Many of the pallets I have been cutting up with the circular saw method yield pallet plank pieces of about 18 inches long between the 2X4 supports. I think a person might be able to cut a 18 inch plank piece in half and get 2 useable 9 inch pallet shingles.

Since you line up the pallet shingles from the bottom of the board, you could probably even use shorter pieces depending on how much/little overlap you want on your shingles.

I have been cutting down my pallets with the circular saw method, getting my plank pieces ~18 inches long, then I cut them down to 16 inches for my projects. I have a big stack of them now at 16 inches. I think they would make great shingles for either the side walls as siding or as shingles for roofing.

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

I was on pintrest and found a link which linked me back to BYC. This post is old, but they did pallet shingles on their pallet coop!! Such a cool build! Thought I'd share it

Thread 'Our newly finished pallet coop!!' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/our-newly-finished-pallet-coop.734710/

 

[Folara]

You sound like you do builds like me.

Try it , wait and see lol...
I've said previously, I see it in my head and try to make it a reality

I am planning on running my pallets same as you, horizontal. But I am gonna tie the bottom layer in with 2x4s prior to starting the top row, then tie the top in together with 2x4s I did this on the Goat Garage and it made it super super stable!! (Pic, kinda, below)

How did you connect the pallets to each other on the bottom and then on the top?? Is that what you're gonna brace??

I used these flat metal pieces to pull the pallets together pic below of the Hen Hut you can see them at the bottom left. I've used them on everything thus far aside from this hay storage thing-a-ma-jig lol

(Also those are the divas on top of the coop...they apparently were putting on a show for everyone else...look how in sync they were lol I believe that's Loretta, Dolly, and Reba up there bahaha)

100% like you! The wait-and-see has come back to haunt me several times, almost always during a winter storm, but it helps me learn!

The top and bottom pallets I just screwed together the touching 2x4s with 3" screws - so far it's very sturdy especially once the door was framed, and when the roof is secured on top it should be set in stone. I'm wanting to brace the vertical seams on each side-by-side pallet - I screwed in a couple short 2x4 pieces to connect the vertical 2x4s together but there is still some play in these. I'll have to grab some pictures this evening, like you I see it in my head but can't describe it very well!

Something like that, but I want mine to be more transparent so I can look inside and see the chickens in the A-Frame and also transparent to let the sunshine in the A-Frame so the birds get some natural sunlight.

I like that, I secured shower curtains around the run during winter so the birds would be protected from wind but I could still see them. The bonus greenhouse effect meant I spent a lot of time with them - their run was warmer than the house most days!

I'm just speculating here, but in my head I imagine vertical 2x4s spaced pretty close (maybe 12" apart or so?) and secured to horizontal 2x4s on the underside of the verticals, maybe just top and bottom horizontals to keep the middle open for viewing? I imagine snow would slide right down the plastic and still give you a good view. I have vastly underestimated snow before though, so don't hold me to my word!

 

[gtaus]

I'm just speculating here, but in my head I imagine vertical 2x4s spaced pretty close (maybe 12" apart or so?) and secured to horizontal 2x4s on the underside of the verticals, maybe just top and bottom horizontals to keep the middle open for viewing? I imagine snow would slide right down the plastic and still give you a good view. I have vastly underestimated snow before though, so don't hold me to my word!

Pretty much what I am thinking. Vertical 2X4's, horizontal boards to frame it, cover the frame with chicken wire for support, cover the wire with plastic/shower curtains. I might not need the chicken wire over the frame, but I think it would make everything stronger to hold up to any snow loads that will pile up around the A-Frame.

Last year was a typical winter with about 3 feet of snow on the lawn at one point. I think I might need some chicken wire on the A-Frame because 3 feet of snow might be too much for just plastic to hold. Also, I want to set it and forget it for the winter. I don't want to have to go out there and shovel snow in the chicken run. So, my A-Frame has to be strong enough to make it through the winter without failing.

 

[gtaus]

I was on pintrest and found a link which linked me back to BYC. This post is old, but they did pallet shingles on their pallet coop!! Such a cool build! Thought I'd share it

Thread 'Our newly finished pallet coop!!' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/our-newly-finished-pallet-coop.734710/

Interesting to see that pallet coop build. There are lots of pictures on that thread for those who may be interested. I'll copy a few pics so anyone can see if they are interested in that build. He posted a lot more pics than these I copied...

Closeup of the pallet shingles he used on this build.

Unfortunately, OP has not been active on the BYC forums since Jan 7. 2013. Seems he posted his pictures and went on to other things.

NOT to criticize his build, but I would like to point out that the pallet shingles he used appear to be of different sizes on the two side walls shown in the above pic. Someone (@ChickensComeHome2Roost) was thinking about using shorter pieces of pallet wood for their shingles. That is a nice picture of what you would get using shorter versus longer overlaps on the boards.

Personally, I would have picked either size of pallet shingles and done that on all walls. Maybe it's just my past building experience, but when I see siding not matching up on the corners of the build, then it just feels wrong to me. Also, if you snap a chalk line on the wood, you would be able to line up the boards better. It looks to me that he eyeballed the line level, and came close. A chalk line would have been straighter. Of course, none of the matters to the chickens, but I have put siding and shingles on a number of buildings and I would have done it a bit differently even on a chicken coop.

I hope those suggestions did not come off as negative. They were not meant to be negative. However, with a little more planning and no extra work, a person can install siding/shingles on a straight line and ensure the corners all line up. But, I imagine he was using what was available and did the best he could with limited resources. I think he said the entire build cost him about $100.00 (in 2013) for the hardware he used, pallet wood was free. That's a pretty darn good job for his 8X10 coop, don't you think.

 

[MACCanadianCoop]

That coop was actually the original inspiration for mine. I didn't end up going with the pallet shingles because I asked some corrugated plastic I used for siding instead, but the basic structure is what I built mine similar to.

 

[gtaus]

That coop was actually the original inspiration for mine. I didn't end up going with the pallet shingles because I asked some corrugated plastic I used for siding instead, but the basic structure is what I built mine similar to.

I did not see any windows in that build. I think it would be really dark in that coop all the time. Did you put any windows in your pallet coop build? Were any windows needed?

I ask because in my coop build I put in two small sliding windows on opposite walls to provide cross ventilation and some natural sunlight during daylight hours. I don't need any electricity for lights during the day if I need to do some cleaning or maintenance. And the chickens have enough light to wake up in the morning and move about.

 

[McChooky]

I did not see any windows in that build. I think it would be really dark in that coop all the time. Did you put any windows in your pallet coop build? Were any windows needed?

I ask because in my coop build I put in two small sliding windows on opposite walls to provide cross ventilation and some natural sunlight during daylight hours. I don't need any electricity for lights during the day if I need to do some cleaning or maintenance. And the chickens have enough light to wake up in the morning and move about.

This could be constructed fast & be used for chickens.

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

I did not see any windows in that build. I think it would be really dark in that coop all the time. Did you put any windows in your pallet coop build? Were any windows needed?

I ask because in my coop build I put in two small sliding windows on opposite walls to provide cross ventilation and some natural sunlight during daylight hours. I don't need any electricity for lights during the day if I need to do some cleaning or maintenance. And the chickens have enough light to wake up in the morning and move about.

We did not put any windows in our pallet coop. I did, however make the nesting boxes open UP and they latch open so there is a good cross breeze in the afternoon, (I wait till they are done laying to open them...they like it better like that) coop is always 10 degrees cooler in the afternoon than outside. There is no darkness duringing the day in there it's pretty well lit with the doors left open
(Dolly playing in the "window" lol)
("Windows" from inside you can see they lift out)
I don't have any of them lifted i guess lol
Roosts have since been changed out to 2x4s

 

[gtaus]

This could be constructed fast & be used for chickens.

Very nice. I was thinking it would make a great grow out coop for pullets...