Recycling pallets

[Jimmy]

General alloting often requires wood for things like compost bins or currently for me a chicken coop.
Being a scrooge I refuse to pay for wood.
I guess I might get some via the re-cycle web, "wood" need to look into that in the future.

Anyway, I usually get my wood from recycled pallets.
I often spot them when driving around. I always ask if I can have them as some have deposits!

They vary in construction but usually use serated nails and are very difficult to dismantle without destroying them.
I aquired two short crow bars (Jemmys) from the pound shop, cost me a pound each, bah-humbug.

With a bit of care and a lump hammer you can get them appart but usually the nails pull through the wood.
Giving each nail a thump before you start sometimes helps. Even though it might drive it deeper it loosens its grip.

You can usually get the nails out the main timber with a crow bar nail remover.

I recently tried a new ploy. An old rotary lawn mower blade and a lump hammer. The blades are very hard. With a bit of work you can get the blade between the wood onto the nail and then give it a good thump with the lump hammer. This cuts the nail clean and doesn't rip the wood. It has the disadvantage the the nail bits are left in.
But it seems more successful.

I recommend thick gloves !

Anyone any other ideas

Thanks
Jim

[Alexx]

Hey Jim, I absolutely agree! I recently built a new garden fence out of pallets (12ft long by 6ft tall), only had to buy fence posts. Saved myself a lot of money, not to mention the planet.

My local bathroom supply store usually have a pile of broken pallets at the back and are always happy to give them away. They are a pain to pull apart but the result is well worth it. The wood is nice and sturdy as well.

[jacob marley]

What i do is i have 2 big wooden wedges wider than the gap between the top and bottom of the pallet stand the pallet on it's edge and drive the wedges in the gap and they part enough to be able to use crow bars in it works for me the easiest way i have found yet jacob marley

[hawthorns]

ive made my greenhouse staging out of pallet wood. i also made some wooden troughs from them

[terrier]

Put the pallette on end and wallop the 'feet' with a lump hammer, they usually come off pretty easily, then you can knock the nails through the thinner wood of the top of the pallette.

[shirlthegirl43]

Hey Jim, I absolutely agree! I recently built a new garden fence out of pallets (12ft long by 6ft tall), only had to buy fence posts. Saved myself a lot of money, not to mention the planet.

My local bathroom supply store usually have a pile of broken pallets at the back and are always happy to give them away. They are a pain to pull apart but the result is well worth it. The wood is nice and sturdy as well.

Can you post piccies of your fence please? We need to renew our garden fence and we are on a zero budget so ways to build a 6 foot high fence from pallets would be great.

[Jimmy]

Come on, you must be able to dream up a fence from pallet wood.

Generally the outer wood is nice small planks and the centre wood is chunky lengths ideal for short posts.

The basic idea "wood" be to nail the planks onto the posts to produce the fence you require. However more snazy designs could be possible, look round you estate for inspiration. Diagonal planks or what ever takes your fancy.

Use wood preserve and possible leave each post standing in the tin over night !

And if you don't like them they were free so dismantle and start again.
Note if you want to do this use screws not nails !

[dandy]

The best pallets to use for fencing are the double size ones. I used these to make my double bay compost bin and you get lots of wood off them. Admittedly they are a right pain to get home as they don't fit in the car (!). We carried about 8 back from the town centre over the course of a month when a shop was being refurbed there - a distance of approx a mile and a half. Lot of effort but worth it in the long run.

[Jimmy]

Roof rack ??

[Snadger]

Decking for a chook run!

[dandy]

Haven't got a roof rack Jimmy. Also the big pallets are probably almost as long as my little car! Mr Policeman may not have been happy to see us driving through the town centre with something that big on the top, even if it was only a five minute drive.

[Jimmy]

Castors ?????

[Alexx]

Can you post piccies of your fence please? We need to renew our garden fence and we are on a zero budget so ways to build a 6 foot high fence from pallets would be great.

Basically after pulling the pallets apart, I ended up with planks of two different lengths, some were around 4ft while the others around 3ft long. I then nailed them in an overlapping pattern. Because of this I had to use four transverse planks instead of three.

(The section behind the shed is yet to be completed)

[Polly Fouracre]

I have a good supply of pallets and will attempt (with nothing up my sleeve!) to make a pig house from pallets.
(I will also attempt to show you the results--much more difficult!)

[Snadger]

Basically after pulling the pallets apart, I ended up with planks of two different lengths, some were around 4ft while the others around 3ft long. I then nailed them in an overlapping pattern. Because of this I had to use four transverse planks instead of three.

(The section behind the shed is yet to be completed)

That's really pretty good Alexx! I bet you went through quite a few pallets though?