In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

Pallet buildings

Discussion in 'The Wood Pile' started by sirbuildalot, Nov 10, 2020.

  1. sirbuildalot

    sirbuildalot

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    The current availability and prices of lumber are out of sight!!!

    I have the itch to build something, but the finance committee has placed a ban on future spending for awhile. I have loads of pallets, some free used lumber from a neighbor, and enough metal panels to do the roof. I'll have to buy a few things like screws, and maybe some rough sawn 2x4's, which I can barter from a friend. Looking to build maybe a small building up to say 12x20 to house a splitter and split wood. Possibly also a garden tractor.


    Looking for inspiration and pics of pallet structures others have done.
     
  2. WinonaRail

    WinonaRail

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    I'll be following. This is my plan for a small shed to house a trailer and future log splitter purchase.
     
  3. brenndatomu

    brenndatomu

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    Last edited: Nov 10, 2020
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  4. rainking63

    rainking63

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    The "Pallet Palace". Still a work in progress.

    IMG_20200520_175014.jpg
     
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  5. LordOfTheFlies

    LordOfTheFlies

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    That looks amazing! Well done sir!
     
  6. LordOfTheFlies

    LordOfTheFlies

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    I'm considering doing something on a smaller scale. Furniture - maybe like matching end tables.....using pallet wood....but that would entail getting a planer......
     
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  7. Yawner

    Yawner

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    Rainking63, that 'pallet palace' looks great. Curious, why is the slope of your roof so much?

    Would be great to see more pics of your palace. Kind of unusual, what with the cinder blocks for a floor base. Cinder blocks... maybe those are called concrete blocks these days, lol.
     
  8. rainking63

    rainking63

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    Thanks for nice comments.

    The crux of the whole project was to try to use material I already had and not spend a lot. I built it a month into quarantine and I was out of work, so being economical was paramount. I had built a raised bed garden for my wife with the "keyhole" footprint and figured I could apply it to the shed. If needed the keyhole is pallet-sized so I could fit another one in there to stack more wood on. As far as the slope of the roof... eh, I dunno. I just picked an angle and went with it. My father has some roll-on roofing for me that will be going on before the snow really hits.
    It holds roughly 2.5 cords, and that's about what I burn in a season. And it's about 10 feet from the house, so running out in the rain or snow, if need be, isn't too uncomfortable.

    Here's a couple more pics. IMG_20200423_123739.jpg PANO_20200520_175132.vr.jpg
     
  9. Yawner

    Yawner

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    Rainking63, glad you came back, your place looks great, your wood stacks are nice. I see a holzhausen that looks great. If you have pics of that, please post!
     
  10. sirbuildalot

    sirbuildalot

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    The design I'm envisioning will be pretty straight forward.

    A 12'x20' rectangle box. Base will be sheet plastic with crushed stone on top. This should prevent weeds and moisture from coming up trough the ground. Walls will be 8 feet tall. Two rows of 4x4 pallets locked together at the fork slots with rough sawn 2x4's. Walls will be anchored to the ground on top of 4x4 runners which will be attached to the ground with long sledge driven nails. This means pallets will be a few inches off ground, so hopefully no rotting. Roof pitch will be about 3/12. Gable style. Small diameter trees for ceiling ties and rafters. High spots drawn down with draw knife. Purlins will be used 5/4x6 deck boards. Any low spots in the natural tree rafters I can shim under the purlins to make straighter roofline. Roof sheathing will be leftover panel panels from RI. Door will be approx. 8x8. Would like a way to make it lock/somewhat secure, as contents are valuable.


    [​IMG]

    As you can see should hold a small tractor to tow the splitter and a cart around, the splitter, some hand tools, and about 7 full cords of splits which will be on pallets resting directly on the crushed stone.

    It will be nice to not have to tow the splitter out there every time I want to split.
     
  11. SilentHatch

    SilentHatch

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    I like that idea of the pallet palace! I will keep that in mind for the future.

    I don't have a fence except on the other end of the yard by the shed, so for now the wood is on pallets underneath the deck. It's snug with just a cord underneath.

    Editing to add that I like the plan, sirbuildalot and I am interested to follow along and see how you make out. Hopefully you take many pictures! :ithappened:
     
  12. sirbuildalot

    sirbuildalot

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    This will be a nice place to store all the Red Oak from my SIL's.
     
  13. billb3

    billb3

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    Weeds often grow in the dirt, pollen and dust that accumulates on top of the sheet plastic. With a roof though, except for around the edges, it will be too dry to support life.
     
  14. sirbuildalot

    sirbuildalot

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    I got some pallets today to use on the pallet building. The place I go to is 6 miles from my house. They have a ton of different pallets. All different sizes. Originally I was going to do 4x4 pallets, but they had an abundant amount of 4'x8' pallets with full 2x4's. I loaded up the truck. Didn't take the trailer as there is limited room to turn around there, and last time I went there I got a screw in my tire.

    Load #1

    The pallets will be stood up on end on top of the PT runner (still need to locate cheap or free 4x4's, 4x6's, or 6x6's)

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Note the plastic pallet I scored. Its the nesting style which I'm not a fan of, but it was free. Normally they don't have any plastic pallets. I also scored a bunch of 2x3 "stickers". They range from 3'-4.5' in length. I almost didn't grab them, but I'm glad I did, because when I returned for load #2, an older gentleman was loading up his Subaru with the remaining stickers.

    Load #2

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I ended up with 23 pallets. Most are 46.5" x 96", some are slightly shorter and some slightly longer. I will probably take the shortest one and cut them all that length. Once on top of the runner and a 2x plate on top, I should have my full 8 foot walls, if not a hair more.

    I think this is where I will build it. I'm not sure on the size, it will be around 12' x 20', possibly up to 16' x 24'.

    [​IMG]
     
  15. jrider

    jrider

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    Can’t wait to see this build in progress
     
  16. sirbuildalot

    sirbuildalot

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    May be awhile yet. Still scrounging materials. Once I have them all it will go up quickly.
     
  17. billb3

    billb3

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    You can make your own ground contact runners .
    Screen Shot 2020-11-11 at 2.54.34 PM.png
     
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  18. Yawner

    Yawner

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    Wow, now that is a score of pallets, wish I could find those like that!
     
  19. sirbuildalot

    sirbuildalot

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    I did a couple quick sketches.

    This is what the building will look like

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Few small changes:

    *Original design was 12'x20'. Decided to change to 12'x24'. I'd go deeper than 12', but that will require longer rafters and more metal roofing. At 12' wide, a 8’ rafter is about maxed out. So two 8x24 roof sides will require about 52-2'x4' roof panels. I have 56 not including what's covering my open stacks, so 12' wide it is. I don’t want a low wall, so no shed roof on this building. The wider width will open up more options such as parking the dump wagon in there, or the bigger Ford tractor, instead of just a GT and the splitter. More room in general is always good

    *Door will be increased from 8'x8' to 7'x12'. The wider opening will need a substantial header to support the roof load. Header will be a dbl. 2x12. Even the Kioti will fit under a 7' high opening, so no worries on height

    *Corner posts will be 4x4's for added strength and easier attachment of pallets at corners

    *Roof pitch will go from a 3/12 pitch to a 7/12 pitch. That will utilize the full 8' rafter size and still allow for a 10"-12" overhang. I may actually do a 6/12. Either way, it will shed water and snow better and I think will look better than the shallow 3/12 pitch would have
     
    Last edited: Nov 11, 2020
  20. sirbuildalot

    sirbuildalot

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    I really, really enjoy building things, but I think half the fun on this build will be the challenge of sourcing cheap or free materials. I’m hoping to do the entire building for no more than about $200. That’d be incredible for a building this size. I have the pallets, stone, plastic, and metal roofing including cap metal. I need to get screws, some 2x stock for plates and purlins, some 4x4’s, and some huge nails to hold the 4x4 runners in place. The 2x12’s I have a source