Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[gtaus]

We are currently working on a bigger chicken run.

Wow! That's look really big! Are you going to cover it with a roof or something? Looks like the side walls are about 7 feet tall.

Also, since you are putting pallet on top of pallet, do you use additional supports inside the walls to hold the pallets in place so they don't blow down in a strong wind?

 

[Poultrybonkers]

This ugly thing was mine built in 2016 I since burned it as i used it for seramas then after those it was a quarentine coop for newly bought birds and im pretty sure those birds had mg so wasnt taking chances after I culled all those. Id never make another one as getting the boards off was more work then buying either wood to make a nice one or a prefab coop.

 

[Mamatomany123]

Wow! That's look really big! Are you going to cover it with a roof or something? Looks like the side walls are about 7 feet tall.

Also, since you are putting pallet on top of pallet, do you use additional supports inside the walls to hold the pallets in place so they don't blow down in a strong wind?

We have more run on the other side of the coop that is covered. This one is going to have a netting roof but I'm still doing research on that as we do have hawks. It's hard to see but we have post cemented in the ground the the pallets are attached to. So far its held up to 50mph winds.

 

[gtaus]

This ugly thing was mine built in 2016 I since burned it as i used it for seramas then after those it was a quarentine coop for newly bought birds and im pretty sure those birds had mg so wasnt taking chances after I culled all those.

Well, I imagine the chickens don't care too much about the looks of their coop. More important that it keeps them dry and out of the weather. Thanks for the pics. Love it when people post pallet projects that were useful, but maybe not their end goal. Nothing wrong with a temporary solution that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg.

One of the things I like about using pallet wood in my outdoor projects is that when it has served its purpose, I can either tear it apart for a different project or break it down for burning without shedding tears about the cost of wood going up in smoke. Sounds like a smart choice to burn the wood after a possible infection.

Id never make another one as getting the boards off was more work then buying either wood to make a nice one or a prefab coop.

Pallet wood may be free for many of us to pick up and use. But breaking down pallets for the wood might be a challenge for some. I have posted a number of tools I use to make that part of the process easier. And we have discussed different methods of breaking down pallets. Lots of people use the pallets without breaking them down at all.

I certainly can understand the ease of buying new wood for a project. Until last year(s), that's all I ever did. But our lumber prices went through the roof due to COVID-19 and still have yet to return to "normal" pricing. A 4X8 sheet of OSB cost me less than $7.00 when I built my coop, but that skyrocketed to over $45 per sheet last year! A 2X4 stud went from about $2.00 to over $8.00! Anyways, I wanted to build some other wood projects but NOT at those prices.

So, I fell into picking up free pallets and making stuff out of them. I really don't mind breaking down a pallet - which takes me about 5 minutes with my tools - and recycling pallet wood for my projects. I made a number of free pallet wood raised garden beds whereas I figured the cost buying new lumber would have been between $150.00 to $200.00 each.

I made some smaller planters for Dear Wife using free pallet wood and my brad nailer. Those planters would cost ~$40.00 each at the big box store.

I also made 4 pallet workbenches, of different sizes and designs, that sell for about $200 each, or even more, in kits from the big box stores.

For me, it's not only saving lots of money, but I also enjoy making things. And, at my skill level, if I screw it up or the project was a bust, I don't feel too bad because the pallet wood was free.

Also, I'm at a stage in my life where I can take the time to use reclaimed or salvaged wood, pallet wood, etc... and give it a second life as something else. Ditto for turning junk mail and old newspapers into paper shreds for the coop litter. All my grass clippings and leaves get cycled through my chicken run compost system, as well as everything else organic from my yard cleanups. There was a day when I used to fill up my trailer and haul everything out to the landfill. Now, nothing organic leaves my property. It's just my small way of trying to be more environmentally friendly in my old age. Pallet projects fits into my current mindset.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to hear from you again.

 

[chickengr]

I will probably use pallets for geese and ducks only. the reason is mites. I found them in my silkie coop again. luckily I had to move my silkies to another coop and made 2 roosts out of mites free wood.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

Well, I imagine the chickens don't care too much about the looks of their coop. More important that it keeps them dry and out of the weather. Thanks for the pics. Love it when people post pallet projects that were useful, but maybe not their end goal. Nothing wrong with a temporary solution that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg.

One of the things I like about using pallet wood in my outdoor projects is that when it has served its purpose, I can either tear it apart for a different project or break it down for burning without shedding tears about the cost of wood going up in smoke. Sounds like a smart choice to burn the wood after a possible infection.



Pallet wood may be free for many of us to pick up and use. But breaking down pallets for the wood might be a challenge for some. I have posted a number of tools I use to make that part of the process easier. And we have discussed different methods of breaking down pallets. Lots of people use the pallets without breaking them down at all.

I certainly can understand the ease of buying new wood for a project. Until last year(s), that's all I ever did. But our lumber prices went through the roof due to COVID-19 and still have yet to return to "normal" pricing. A 4X8 sheet of OSB cost me less than $7.00 when I built my coop, but that skyrocketed to over $45 per sheet last year! A 2X4 stud went from about $2.00 to over $8.00! Anyways, I wanted to build some other wood projects but NOT at those prices.

So, I fell into picking up free pallets and making stuff out of them. I really don't mind breaking down a pallet - which takes me about 5 minutes with my tools - and recycling pallet wood for my projects. I made a number of free pallet wood raised garden beds whereas I figured the cost buying new lumber would have been between $150.00 to $200.00 each.

I made some smaller planters for Dear Wife using free pallet wood and my brad nailer. Those planters would cost ~$40.00 each at the big box store.

I also made 4 pallet workbenches, of different sizes and designs, that sell for about $200 each, or even more, in kits from the big box stores.

For me, it's not only saving lots of money, but I also enjoy making things. And, at my skill level, if I screw it up or the project was a bust, I don't feel too bad because the pallet wood was free.

Also, I'm at a stage in my life where I can take the time to use reclaimed or salvaged wood, pallet wood, etc... and give it a second life as something else. Ditto for turning junk mail and old newspapers into paper shreds for the coop litter. All my grass clippings and leaves get cycled through my chicken run compost system, as well as everything else organic from my yard cleanups. There was a day when I used to fill up my trailer and haul everything out to the landfill. Now, nothing organic leaves my property. It's just my small way of trying to be more environmentally friendly in my old age. Pallet projects fits into my current mindset.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to hear from you again.

Wood prices are outrageuos. And i actually broke a crobar trying to get the wood apart at the time. I also have a coop where the frame is made out of bed frames. And also found a neighbor throwing out a prefab coop i was waiting for them to do as it was just sitting rotting in their yard fixed it up and am using that now along with coops built but i have enough coops now so i dont need to buy wood or make new ones.

 

[gtaus]

And i actually broke a crobar trying to get the wood apart at the time.

I have bent a few cheap crowbars, but I have never broken one! In any case, I don't use a crowbar to break down pallets.

One the easiest methods to breakdown a pallet is to use a demolition blade in a reciprocating saw and just cutting off the nails between the plank and the 2X4 stretchers. Takes only a few minutes per pallet, and works great if you don't mind having the remaining nail parts in your wood.

And also found a neighbor throwing out a prefab coop i was waiting for them to do as it was just sitting rotting in their yard fixed it up and am using that now along with coops built

Free coops would probably be the best option for lots of us. Nice catch.

i dont need to buy wood or make new ones.

That's great. This thread is about all kinds of pallet projects, not just chicken coops. I made a number of garden beds and garage workbenches out of pallets this past summer. I use them a lot. Next spring, I intend to build a few more pallet wood raised garden beds to expand my backyard garden. Long term goal is to build a pallet shed. Like you, I have already built my chicken coop and I don't need another.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

I have bent a few cheap crowbars, but I have never broken one! In any case, I don't use a crowbar to break down pallets.

One the easiest methods to breakdown a pallet is to use a demolition blade in a reciprocating saw and just cutting off the nails between the plank and the 2X4 stretchers. Takes only a few minutes per pallet, and works great if you don't mind having the remaining nail parts in your wood.



Free coops would probably be the best option for lots of us. Nice catch.



That's great. This thread is about all kinds of pallet projects, not just chicken coops. I made a number of garden beds and garage workbenches out of pallets this past summer. I use them a lot. Next spring, I intend to build a few more pallet wood raised garden beds to expand my backyard garden. Long term goal is to build a pallet shed. Like you, I have already built my chicken coop and I don't need another.

I thought about a raised garden bed with old deck wood from someone as i cant plant anything in the ground due to a black walnut tree

 

[gtaus]

I thought about a raised garden bed with old deck wood from someone as i cant plant anything in the ground due to a black walnut tree

Although the title of this thread is about Pallet Wood, I also include any reclaimed or salvaged lumber in the same breath. It's all good.

I live on lake, and my ground soil is absolutely terrible for growing food. Over the years, I migrated to using raised beds where I could mix my own soil and get much better yields. Not only do I have much better results with my raised beds for growing the food, but, at my age, I don't have to bend over nearly as much as tending plants in the ground.

My "normal" raised beds are 16 inches high. I typically fill in the bottom 8-10 inches using the hügelkultur concept. That is, I line with bottom of the raised bed with logs, then sticks, twigs or wood chips, and then a layer of green organics such as grass clippings. For the top 6-8 inches, I mix some good quality black soil with chicken run compost 1:1. Most of my plants don't have deep roots, so a good layer of 6-8 inches of high quality top soil is all I need.

Picture of my latest pallet wood raised beds before it was completed...

I have also built some elevated garden beds on legs. Those 2X4 foot planters are about ~30 inches tall. I used the sub-irrigated method in those planters and those are my best producing planters because they have a built-in water reservoir of 15 gallons. But they are also my most expensive planter builds due to the cost of pond liner, PVC pipe, and perforated drainpipes used in the build.

Picture of my elevated sub-irrigate planter full of beans out on the back deck last summer....

Picture of the elevated sub-irrigated fill pipe which goes down to the 15-gallon water reservoir...

When I built my elevated planters, I was experimenting with designs that would be more accessible for people with limited mobility, such as in a wheelchair or for those people that cannot bend over enough even for a "normal" raised garden bed of say 16 inches tall. I really liked my end design of the elevated planters, but they do cost more to setup than my hügelkultur raised beds.

Anyways, both those raised beds and elevated planters could be built using reclaimed or pallet wood and save a lot of money over buying new lumber at the store. Plants don't care if you use expensive redwood lumber or free pallet wood. I prefer to save money.

 

[gtaus]

I need a little help...

Late this summer I built some pallet wood modular workbenches for the garage. They work great. I like how I can bolt them together in a number of patterns depending on what I need. Also, they have room for storage underneath. Here is a picture of one of those workbenches....

I am now working on adding shelves, drawers or bins for storage inside these workbenches rather than just a big empty space. I think I could organize and store more things.

It occurred to me that there is a lot of potential wasted space wasted directly under the workbench top. I am thinking that I could put some type of hinges on the workbench top to lift it up and use some pallet wood to make a bottom for the top 2X4 frame. That would make a nice little storage bin for lots of stuff.

I am hoping that someone may have a suggestion for the type of hinge I need to be looking for on this modification. The hinge should not go on top of the workbench at all, as the goal of the workbench top was to have a smooth worksurface without anything to catch on. Because the workbenches bolt together tight and flush, I can't really have a hinge that extends beyond the 2X4 frame. I don't know if you call that a hidden hinge, or what, so I am hoping someone might have a suggestion or two.

Or, if there is another option for opening up the top as needed, I am open to all suggestions. Thanks for any feedback.