raised beds from pallets

[Jimmy]

I thought I would do a little web page on how I made my raised beds.

I priced up various options , timber , sleepers and scaffolding planks etc. After a few utterances of "bl%%y how much" I opted for the following solutions.

See link

http://www.jlearmonth.f2s.com/RaisedBeds

For many years I did my little plot as a flat plot, I wished I had discovered raised beds a long time ago, brilliant !


Hope it's of use.
Jimmy.

[Snadger]

Thats really very proffesional looking Jimmy! Well done! (Where's the photographic evidence though?)

[chris]

jimsbeds

Some there!

[Snadger]

Excellent!!

[leah]

Thank you for your post, you have just inspired me to make my own My oh reckons that they are too brittle to split (I think it's just that he is rubbish at splitting them ).

Do you have any tips for seperating them?

Just got to look for some pallets now

[Jimmy]

There was a post a while back on the merits of various methods of dismantling pallets.

It is true that some do split but then you do get some good ones.

One method was to use a thin blade down the gap and try and hammer the nails in half.

Or another was to use a hacksaw blade to saw the nails off. This gives good results and clean wood but no nails to use!

My prefer method is as follows

I aquired a couple of "jemmies" from the pound shop.
You also need big strong screwdriver and a lump hammer.

First go round all the nail areas and give the nails a good hard whack with a lump hammer (not so hard as to break things). This may knock them in a bit more but what it does do that is very important is loosen them from their rusted in holes.
Then with a screw driver, jemmies and some patience try and get each end of the planks to lift up a bit from the main beams.
Then knock the planks back down and hopefully the heads of the nail will stand clear.
It should be simple to leaver them out with your jemmy.

The main thing is patience and a grim determination that "that nail is my nail" and no matter what I am going to get it out and re-use it so I don't have to "pay" for nails.

[smc999]

I've found that the best method to dismantle them is a rubber mallet from the pound shop and a normal hammer. Hit the planks where they are joined with the nails and they come apart very easily, then hammer the nails back through the wood from the point end with the normal hammer and tease them out with the hook end. No split wood and the nails can be reused (some may need hammering straight again though).

[Jimmy]

Another point to mention is that there are lots of differnt types of pallets.
Some have good wood and some not so good.
Some are easy to dismatle and others are complete b%$&^%s

Some seem to have special nails, the nails have gnurled shafts so they grip. They are a pig to get out and often the head breaks off.

Jimmy

[vegnut]

Them pig ones are the ones i always get

[leah]

thank you for the advice on splitting them Just got to find som now

[chris]

Couple farm shops near me sell them.. £2.50 each, not sure on the other place. One of them has a HUGE stack of them. There must be a lot of demand for them around me

[Jimmy]

Got to watch you don't get into a manical mind set.
Every where I went in the car I used to spot them and dash out and ask if I could have them and if so strap them on my roof rack.
Keep your eyes open and don't forget to ask !
You can use other things such as old flags or those concrete bottoms to fence panels.
Jimmy

[leah]

I'll have to look when my oh is driving, I've had a few near misses while looking at skips and building sites

[leah]

wahooo, I have some pallets, all broken down ready, I'll need quite a few more though! I'll have to do mine 3 or 4 deep, to stop my dopey dog walking on them! Can't wait to get going with them

[Jimmy]

wahooo, I have some pallets, all broken down ready, I'll need quite a few more though! I'll have to do mine 3 or 4 deep, to stop my dopey dog walking on them! Can't wait to get going with them

Good stuff, how about some pictures once you get them finished.
Jimmy