Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[gtaus]

Those types of pallets have great potentials. You can flip them over, so now the floors are roofs, use some to store excess pallet wood or for additional storage containers...possibilities are endless.

@Matejka, And if a person wants to cover the gaps in the pallet slats, I would suggest considering using the board on board style....

It might not be completely airtight or waterproof, but it's pretty darn good at keeping the weather out. If you have a slanted roof, just make sure the grooves are on the down slant so the water is funneled off the roof. As siding, it keeps out most of the weather.

The best thing about this board on board style is that it is super easy and fast with minimal cutting required. In fact, if you are breaking down pallets and want to use the slats for this type of board on board covering, you can just use a reciprocating saw with a metal or demolition blade to cut the nails off the 2X4'. That is one of the easiest and fastest ways to break down a pallet, and in this case, you don't even want to punch out the old nail heads.

 

[Matejka]

That's fantastic. I like that idea.

 

[Matejka]

What a find! I could think of so many projects to build with them just as they are.

Question.... If you cut those wrapping bands, do all the side panels and bottom come out separately? If so, lots of other possible uses for those full panels.

If you are into gardening, those pallet panels would make an excellent raised bed. I love using raised beds with the square foot gardening method.

Here is a picture of some pallet wood raised beds from Google pics....

Here is a picture of one of my (unfinished) pallet wood raised beds I made late last summer. In this picture, you see how I filled the bottom up with wood. This spring, I will be adding the 6-8 inches of topsoil/chicken run compost mix for planting. Those boards on the corners are only temporary to keep the raised beds in square when I moved them from my garage to the backyard. Some people like to add a trim board on the top edge, but I usually don't.

View attachment 3389242

My pallet wood raised garden beds are 16 inches high, but that is because that is about how long the pallet slat pieces are after I cut them off the 2X4s. But I did have some old wooden fencing that was 48 inches high, and I cut them in half to 24 inches high to made some raised beds out in the main garden.

When you have raised beds that high, you don't have to bend over to maintain the plants. Much easier on my back then in ground planting, at my age.

If I had your pallet bins, I think I'd just make the garden beds 24 inches high. But you could certainly cut them down to 12 inches high (for example) and have twice as many raised beds. In either case, I highly recommend using the hügelkultur system for raised beds. That is where you fill up the bottom portion of the raised bed with wood logs, branches, wood chips, some greens, and then top it off with about 8 inches of a topsoil and chicken run compost mix 1:1.

The wood in the bottom portion obviously acts as a filler, but more importantly, the wood acts like a sponge, retaining water, and releasing it to the plants as needed. The older and more rotted the wood, the better the sponge factor. Over time, the hügelkultur bed should get better and better. Another benefit of the wood is that as it rots underneath, it turns into a rich black soil that feeds your plants even more. It's like a timed released fertilizer that works over years.

Because the wood in the hügelkultur raised beds decays, your raised bed level will fall a little bit each year. I have to top off my garden beds with maybe 2 inches of fresh compost or compost/topsoil mixture every year. But doing that also increases the natural richness of the raised bed. As the wood in the huglekulture portion breaks down and releases its nutrients into the soil underneath, your fresh compost added every year to the top also adds more nutrients. You enrich the raised bed from both the bottom and top every year. That's a really good system.

Sorry to drone on about raised beds, but this pallet wood project thread actually spun off one of the gardening threads. So, I'm a bit biased on my pallet projects. Having said that, if you are on a chicken forum, chances are you also garden and use your chicken poo to enrich your compost. If not, please consider doing it!

If you cut those wrapping bands, do all the side panels and bottom come out separately?

I haven't cut bands yet-its been raining here since yesterday. However, the bands ARE fairly loose. Also, these are very heavy, but, held together with staples, not nails, so will be easy to dismantle. The walls are all "made" then stapled together, if I separate at the right spot (corners), I should get full panels. Waiting for a dry day.
I am also considering turning 1 on side as a doghouse.
Flowerbed ideas, brooder boxes,.


SO MANY OPTIONS AND IDEAS!
I may need more...

 

[gtaus]

I have been enjoying a thread called What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks? You might find that thread interesting as well. Anyway, today I posted a thought on that thread that I think also fits well in this pallet wood project thread. So, I copied and pasted it for your consideration.

Here is a frugal tip to consider - CULL wood carts.

Today, I was in the Home Depot and decided to look into how much panel boards cost these days. They are still expensive, but nowhere near as expensive during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown days. I was talking to one of the young men working in the lumber section, and told him I was looking for utility shelving board about 1/8 or 1/4 inch thick.

He showed me some new 4X8 wood sheet panels, but suggested I check out the "CULL" wood pile because he just put a nice 4X8 sheet of pressed board on the cart for only $2.00. He told me that it had been used as a shelf liner, and was in great condition. And, it was just like new. Since I was driving the old Camry, not my pickup, I had them cut up the sheet into 2X4 foot sections. That should be perfect for a number of projects I can think of.

A new sheet of that wood panel costs $12.98, but I took it home for only $2.00.

The CULL wood cart at our Home Depot marks down the lumber by 70%, sometimes more. He showed me some 12-foot long 2X4's that were tossed into the CULL cart because they had a bend or bow at one end. You could still get a nice 8 or 10 foot cut out of that wood for the 70% off the 12-foot $4.54 price, or $1.36 after the CULL discount.

I do a lot of pallet wood projects, but those pallet 2X4 pieces are 4 foot long normally. Every once in a great while I might find an oversized pallet that is 6 or 8 feet long, but that is rare. Of course, the advantage to CULL wood is that you don't have to disassemble the pallet and that there are no nails or screws in the CULL wood to worry about if you need to cut the boards. So, check out the CULL wood cart to see if you can find any treasure in there and save yourself lots of money.

Pallet wood, reclaimed wood, CULL wood. I look around for the best deals I can find and don't discriminate too much.

I was looking into that 1/8 inch panel wood to make removable shelving for my small parts storage cases. I am thinking about building a storage shelf inside one of my modular workbenches. Here is the concept of the shelf...

And another link (for any new readers of this thread) to the modular workbenches I have been building using pallet wood and reclaimed lumber from the design on this video...

I really like my modular workbenches. I built 2 of them before winter. I think I'll build another 2 modular workbenches in the spring - when I don't have to park my car in the garage for the winter. Plus, it's just too darn cold in the unheated garage to do anything. (-23F outside this morning, +28F in the garage, but still too cold for my old bones).

 

[NanaK]

Amy pallets

I read this as "Army pallets" I thought you had picked up pallets from the military! Funny typo!

Yep, at my junior high school, back around 1975, if you wanted to take Home Economics as a guy, you were told that was not an option. Ditto for any girls that wanted to take a shop class. I graduated in 1979. My younger brother by 5 years, was able to take Home Economics. So, things started to change, IMHO for the better, somewhere in the late 70's or early 80's. I think that is wonderful.

I graduated in 1982 in a very small town. I had already learned to cook, can, freeze and sew so was not interested in taking Home Ec. I was not allowed to take auto shop either. BUT I was allowed to take wood shop. They taught us how to safely use lots of tools. We had a table saw, drill press, band saw and lots of hand held tools. It was a great class and so much fun!

I don't think they offer wood shop at my old high school anymore. Sad!

 

[gtaus]

I graduated in 1982 in a very small town.

My town's population was 300. I think it has gone down since then. Small towns struggle to survive. I know I could not wait to leave there, and I never looked back, as did almost all my classmates. No opportunity in those small communities for the most part.

I had already learned to cook, can, freeze and sew so was not interested in taking Home Ec. I was not allowed to take auto shop either. BUT I was allowed to take wood shop. They taught us how to safely use lots of tools. We had a table saw, drill press, band saw and lots of hand held tools. It was a great class and so much fun!

If you have a parent that is able to teach you those skills, you are way ahead of the curve.

I often think the best thing I learned from shop class was how to safely use tools. We had to take, and pass, a safety test on each and every tool before we could lay hands on it. I think that's important. I have seen too many young people operate tools they should not be allowed to handle. They just don't know how to protect themselves, or others, because they were never taught.

I don't think they offer wood shop at my old high school anymore. Sad!

That is sad. I wonder if Home Economics was also cut back. Those life skill classes are valuable and I hate to hear they are no longer offered.

 

[Matejka]

Hmmmm
Got crates broke down. Now to use.....
I kept 1 crate.

 

[gtaus]

Hmmmm
Got crates broke down. Now to use.....
I kept 1 crate.

Looks like you were are to keep full panels intact. That might really be an advantage for you.

BTW, is that a 4-wheeled Gorilla cart in the picture? I recognize that handle that can be used for pulling behind by hand or converted into a tow behind handle for towing behind a riding mower. I got my cart from Menards, so, it's not "Gorilla" brand, but it's the same thing just $50 less at the time. Love those 4 wheels on the cart because I can manage much heavier loads with much less effort compared to my old one-wheeled wheelbarrow. For me, it was worth every extra penny I had to spend on it.

 

[Matejka]

Looks like you were are to keep full panels intact. That might really be an advantage for you.

BTW, is that a 4-wheeled Gorilla cart in the picture? I recognize that handle that can be used for pulling behind by hand or converted into a tow behind handle for towing behind a riding mower. I got my cart from Menards, so, it's not "Gorilla" brand, but it's the same thing just $50 less at the time. Love those 4 wheels on the cart because I can manage much heavier loads with much less effort compared to my old one-wheeled wheelbarrow. For me, it was worth every extra penny I had to spend on it.

I got it on sale at tsc about 5 years ago. I paid $79 for it. I use that cart for everything. Rolled the wheels off of it and need to replace tires. I'm getting older, and hard to pick up heavier stuff to move, so I load it on cart and away I go. Also, I live on a steep hill, soooo I HAVE to go uphill one way or another. So I use my cart . It's usually in most of my pics

 

[Matejka]

I got it on sale at tsc about 5 years ago. I paid $79 for it. I use that cart for everything. Rolled the wheels off of it and need to replace tires. I'm getting older, and hard to pick up heavier stuff to move, so I load it on cart and away I go. Also, I live on a steep hill, soooo I HAVE to go uphill one way or another. So I use my cart . It's usually in most of my pics

It's actually in all 3 of pics, a tire in one, handle in one, and cart (hole in corner is a bullet hole, I missed critter)