CAH-IA	Posted 02-09-2003 at 13:27:41       [Reply]  [Send Email] Has anybody used pallets to build a shelter or small building? Did they work well. i am trying to re-use a bunch of pallets and thought I could attach them together to build a storage shelter/barn.
Mary	Posted 11-10-2008 at 22:35:49       [Reply]  [Send Email] Yes you can use pallets for building a small shelter and ect,.I'm using them to build rooms onto a camp house,we're using them for the sub floor,walls. I have heard of people using them for the roof frame but we didnt try that.We also recycled wood from larger pallets for framing.As all of this is coming together our little house is coming out to be very cost effective,we've recycled old windows,trim,older wood from old churches and homes.We are very proud of our progress.If you would like more info on this please e-mail me, ill be more than happy to help.
Ron Cook	Posted 11-15-2007 at 18:57:08       [Reply]  [Send Email] Yes,you can build a great little lawn mower shed or chicken house or compost bin with pallets. Most pallets around here (oklahoma) are saw mill oak and very good for building. COMPOST BIN: I put concrete blocks onto the ground to keep the wood from dirt and termites first, then I used three pallets to form a three sided box with just about any kind of wire to close the fourth side, this becomes a compost box for leaves and grass clippings and kitchen scraps. TRACTOR SHED: Or frame one 48" wide pallet on top of another 48" wide pallet to make an eight foot wall section. Nail these sections together to extend the wall around three sides of a tractor shed. nail 2x4 perlins across the top and put on a tin roof. CHECHEN HOUSE: Lay 48" pallets end to end, frame with 2x4s to make wall sections, nail sections together to form walls 6 pallets long by two pallets high to form long side of chicken house. Use two pallets nailed end to end framed with 2x4s to set on either side of a door way to create both ends of the building. Build door on either end, set 2x4 perlins across hip roof, nail on tin roof and you have a chicken house.
John MacDonald	Posted 09-20-2004 at 01:53:31       [Reply]  [Send Email] Have a look at http://summerville-novascotia.com/PalletShed/ http://summerville-novascotia.com/PalletFence/ http://summerville-novascotia.com/PalletWoodShed/ They all are still standing and serve the purpose they were built for.
pat	Posted 02-09-2003 at 21:38:47       [Reply]  [No Email] you can thats for sure you have to be creativce in the way that you attach them all together. I made a quick one out of shipping pallets from snowmobiles, I attached them with 2x4's and then nailed them together,, the shed is ugly and my wife hates to look at it but it lasted a while, the roof is the same pallets, i can maybe get a picture up if I can figure out how to post it,, the thing will probably come down in a yr or two, as i saw it the other day it is starting to lean because of all the snow we have had in NY,, but it still standing and holding my lawn mower and a bunch of other "nicer" pallet wood I use for building crafts and repairs on the farm pat
markct	Posted 02-09-2003 at 19:55:53       [Reply]  [No Email] i never used pallets for too much building,but ever since i was little my father used to bring home shipping crates from the tubing mill where he worked at the time. these boxes were ideal for salvaging for lumber since most of them were around 10 ft long, that was the length of most of the tubing they shipped and recieved, so you could saw the ends off and have nice 8 ft or so boards with a minimal amount of nail pulling. most of the wood was 1 inch rough sawn lumber. its hard to look around our yard and not see a shed,wagon or some structure without writing on it.as ya can see in the attached pic of my goat, there is writing on the wall since that shed is built almost entirely from box lumber. all this talk about lumber reminds me that i gota go try to find some box lumber to build a hay wagon soon
Bob(WI)	Posted 02-09-2003 at 15:48:29       [Reply]  [No Email] I used to live in town and stored my 4 wheeler and Bolens walk behind garden tractor in a shed made with three 8'x4' pallets with an old truck topper set on top of them, the side walls and door where made out of cheap tarps from the local discount store.
Paddy	Posted 05-02-2007 at 00:57:32       [Reply]  [Send Email] I recently constructed a floor platform with carefully selected oak pallets. It is just over 400 square feet. I started with one pallet and added on with post and knee brace construction. I bought a roll of Simpson strapping and cut it to 8 inch lengths and used it to connect each new pallet to the other pallets. I used one-inch all whether screws to bridge the strapping to the next pallet. A four foot level was needed to maintain the correct height. I used a board with many 1/2 screwed in screws as a prop to keep the pallet in place while I measured, cut and assembled posts and knee braces. A cheap plastic "speedguide" made cutting 45s and 90s with an 18v "skill saw" very simple. I chose heavily galvanized decking screws to connect the posts (4x4) and knee braces (2x4) together with the pallet. These screws required a square tip bit that reduced wrist wear and tear. Because of the possibility of extreme weather (huracanes) there is a lot of metal. The site is located in the middle of the most recent lava flow and the terrain is black lava rock. After getting the post plumb, with the help of a $6 fence post level, I squirted white chalk-line chalk along the edge of the (outside parameter only) post were it came in contact with the rock. Then I removed the post and used a hammerdrill to drill 6 inches into the rock. I used canned air to clear the hold of dust before filling it with Simpson structural apoxi and a special post bracket with a 5/8" threaded rod. All total I used about 25 of these brackets that should keep the posts ancored to the ground. To anchor the knee braces to the posts, and them to the pallet, I again used 8 inch cuts of Simpson strapping. I put down a plywood skin and found that the pallets have a four foot lenght that is the sameas the plywood's width. This allowed me to screw the sink screws along the length of the plywood directly into the meaty outer rails of the pallet, rather than the thin planks. Benieth the floor I built three separate platforms to hold 300 gallon Rubbermaid water tanks. I built them with 2x4s and attached them directly to the posts. When they are full of water they should add almost 5000 lbs of weigh to keep the structure held down during high winds. Also, it will be necessary to catch rainwater from a roof gutter because there is no access to municiple water (or electric, or cell phone). Initially, my plan was to build the entire structure from pallets. But because I want picture windows I decided to build the walls and single pitch roof by conventional building materials / methods. My concern was that by cutting into the pallets (for window openings) I would lose structural integrity. Also I prefer single wall construction because there are rats in Hawaii that tend to find there way into walls. As finances allow, I will erect a 16x15 room off of one of the corners. I will have an L shaped deck with a view of the ocean and a view of the world's most active volcano. When I finally had the 400 square foot square completed, I added three pallets off of the oposite corner (also in an L configuration). These pallets serve as additional decking while providing a blank space for steps. I will make the steps from 4x10s. The runners will be screwed into the posts on each side, and the steps will be lagged into the runners. I have been collecting 1 inch diameter guava wood at 4 foot lenghs for use as pickets along the decking. I decided to use 2x4s for the decking posts, which I will lag bolt to the outside parimeter floor posts after installing an 8" hardy panel belly band to hide the scabby edge of the pallets. The railing header will be made from 2x6s. I will install louvered jalacy windows along the top of the walls, just below the extended roofline; so windblown rain will not blow in. Gathering and assembling the pallets was very labor intensive. It may not have been necessary to place a post at the corner of every pallet, and screws don't go as fast as nails, which would not grab the 1" pallet planks. Oak has really paid off because some of the pallets have been exposed to the subtropical elements for over a year now; with no signs of rotting. There are a lot of pine, mahogony, and ucalyptus pallets available for the taking, but they are volnerable to rot and splitting. Oak is very durable and takes screws well. In retrospect it was an extreme amount of labor just getting the floor platform near completion. The conventional materials including 2x4s, 4x4s all weather screws were not cheap. The nice thing is that I was able to purchase materials in cash ($70-100 per tranaction, as I went along). If I had chosen conventional construction it would have been necessary to purchase all of the supplies at once. Also, the site location required that I carry all materials and tools almost 2000 across rugged terrain. The relatively small size of the component materials (pallets, etc.) made it possible for me to carry them by myself. When I began the project I had a car rather than a truck, and I was able to fit one pallet at a time into my trunk. This limited capacity was fine because I was seldom able to find more than one great oak pallet in one day anyways. Mostly I worked after dark, with an LED headlamp. It is much cooler in the darkness and I never got a sunburn. I happened to have about 20 extra pallets that I found were B grade. Last night I invited friends and family to a gathering at the building site and they made an excellent bon fire. punapaddy@yahoo.com
Spence	Posted 02-09-2003 at 15:30:57       [Reply]  [No Email] I go to 3 plants to pick up my pallets for my wood working. You gotta use the good wood between the nails holes which give you short planks for jewelry boxes and other small stuff. Mostly boxwood,red oak,beech,and birch but occasionally birdseye maple. Saw a small shed made from pallets. You have to cross-brace it and also the wood could be anywhere from 1/2in to 3/4in thick. You have to cover the outside with tar paper before siding as the bare planks don't look that good.
bill b va	Posted 02-09-2003 at 15:03:05       [Reply]  [No Email] wish i had taken some pictures of my pallet shed which has now been replaced by a pole frame buildig .... where i worked received supplies from one of their supplier that all the pallets were identical 30"X30" oak ... the company was more than glad to get rid of them and i collected them until i had enough to start my project .... by running long 2x4s through the pallets and staggering the splices i made a wall 30" high and as long as i wanted . to make the wall higher i did the same thing with the next row of pallets on top of the first row ....all of this was lag bolted together with 5/16 lag bolts ...after i got three walls up i brought the open front in a couple of feet on each side using the same material and design so i could lay a beam across the front...( pine log ) .. next i ran rafters and sheeting for the tin roof . the first shed was about 8' X 15' with a couple of feet over hang front and rear for storage under the roof...i later extended the shed another 10 feet in length . ... why did i do this ? i had built a new house and had to move my tools and junk when i sold my old house and refused to borrow the money to build a shop ..... oh yes there was no posts used in this bulding and the roof materials was latter used in the pole building......
Dave	Posted 02-09-2003 at 13:51:56       [Reply]  [No Email] I use them for building quick pens for separating hogs and stuff like that. I once made a crate out of 4 pallets. I used metal angles that I got from Lowes and wood screws. I used it to haul a 250# hog that I bought. Just took along my cordless drill and once we got her in attached the last side. I have also built a temporary shelter out of pallets covered with a tarp, but never a "shed" that would take two rows vertically. What do you plan to cover the outside with?
CAH-IA	Posted 02-09-2003 at 14:02:27       [Reply]  [Send Email] I have access to 100's(every week) of the large tin cans food comes in. I am going to experiment with cutting the top and botton off, cuting up the center and flattening to make metal shingle. I was hoping to make around a 8x16 building. Not sure how tall yet.
Salmoneye	Posted 02-09-2003 at 14:16:34       [Reply]  [Send Email] Very Kool! stack three pallets for 120" or 10 foot to the eaves...Fasten them all together with strapping on the inside...The outside will be held together with the sheet metal overlapping the joints...Bet it would be pretty rugged...Still trying to picture the roof area with pallets...Will think some more ;-) I bet that if you put the outside (lithographed side) of the can out to the elements, that your shed will outlast us all... Wish I had access to those cans...I would side everything in site...I know a few sheds around the state that are fully sided and roofed with old license plates...They are windproof and dry...
Hal/WA	Posted 02-09-2003 at 17:27:42       [Reply]  [No Email] The only real down side of using can tin is that the plating or coating is not very thick and after awhile, they rust pretty bad and don't look good. Years ago I had access to a whole bunch of large rectangular civil defense supply cans, for free. These were full of soda crackers that were packed in the 50's as emergency rations, but were never used. I used the somewhat rancid crackers for hog feed ( a true misadventure!) and used the cans to side the back of a shed I built. I was really poor at that time and it seemed like a good idea. Well, the wall never leaked, but is not too good looking now. I suppose I could paint it. On another shed I used aluminum offset press plates for siding over plywood. I had to pay for these and they were messy to work with, as they had ink and residue on them. But those plates look just fine after more than 20 years. These plates are the size of a single page of a regular sized newspaper and are about the thickness of a razor blade. They cut easily with scissors. I used screws with rubber gaskets to secure them and used enough so that the wind could not move them at all. They didn't cost much, like about a quarter apeice. Probably most large print shops that have a web offset and print newspapers would have them. A guy I worked for had built the walls of his sheds with the tin that had been on billboards. I don't know how he happened to get the tin, but it worked very well. He painted the outside with battleship gray paint (probably that he scrounged from surplus somewhere) and the pole buildings looked great. He used new, conventional metal for the roofs. For a couple of years I stored firewood in a setup I made out of a bunch of pallets, some scrap lumber and cheap blue tarps. It kept the wood dry, did not take long to build or tear down and was almost free, but it sure was BUG UGLY! As soon as I could, I replaced it with a pole shed with conventional metal. I know of a place that has been fenced with pallets around about 10 acres. The hogs there seem to stay in fine, but the fence really is bad looking and really makes that farm look junky. I have some pride of ownership in my property and would never build any kind of a permanent structure out of pallets if it would be possible to see that was what I had done. But just my opinion.