Furniture You Can Make With Old Pallets
Building furniture is a skill that can take a lifetime to perfect, but it can also be a cheap and fun DIY project. Wooden pallets are a great material for inexpensive, homemade furniture, and you can often get them for free. If you’ve always wanted to build a piece of inexpensive furniture using wooden pallets, you'll want to know which pieces to build and where to look for free pallets.
The best type of furniture you can make using wooden pallets include bookshelves, desks, tables, and outdoor furniture. Some places to find cheap or free wooden pallets include grocery and hardware stores, garden shops, and construction sites. When working with a wooden pallet, look for an HT stamp to ensure it is safe to use, remove all nails, and sand the surface thoroughly before you start building.
If you love DIY projects but are short on funds, consider building with pallets. These wooden platforms are often already cut to your specifications. Before you start creating your first masterpiece, think about where to find the material and the type of furniture you want to build.
Five Places To Find Old Palettes For Little Or No Money
1. Grocery Store
This place is often the best choice to find pallets. For one, it's constantly receiving orders, and larger stores receive shipments several times each day. The result is a large stack of pallets that they often give away. Even the smallest towns have a local grocery store, which makes this a great option for those living in rural areas with few other options.
2. Garden Shop
If you have a green thumb and are often frequenting your local garden supply store or nursery, consider asking them if they have extra pallets. Many large orders, including bags of soil and compost, are delivered on wooden pallets. You can ask them to keep leftover pallets aside for you, and then pick them up on your next supply run.
3. Warehouse And Wholesale Club
Wholesale clubs like Costco are famous for their pallets. Many products in the store sit on these wooden structures, and giant warehouses receive tons of products daily. While each facility and outlet has its own policy, you should be able to find one that will allow you to take some unwanted pallets off their hands.
4. Hardware Store
Hardware stores, especially large ones, often have pallets stacked in the back. If you’re at your local hardware store on the hunt for cheap and free materials for your next project, consider asking customer service if you could have any of their wooden pallets.
5. Construction Site
Many construction sites are a great source for free scraps, including wooden pallets. Consider dropping by a site to see what leftover materials they have. A friendly conversation can lead to large savings on your next DIY project.
Seven Types Of Furniture You Can Make With Old Pallets
1. Book Shelves
One of the most popular and easiest pieces of furniture you can build using wooden pallets is a bookshelf. For one, shelves come in handy in nearly any household. They help add functional storage to the home, and you can place an assortment of items on shelves. The right angles and simple design make bookshelves a great first project for those working with pallet boards.
2. Couch Or Day Bed
For a challenge and a great way to save on new furniture, consider building a couch or daybed with old pallets. A new couch can cost more than $1,000, but building your own will cost much less. You can also build a custom-sized daybed, a great project to fill a specific or awkwardly-shaped nook in a room.
3. Headboard
If you have a bed frame but no headboard, you can use wood from pallets to create a beautiful headboard alternative. Simply stack boards in whatever design you like. Sand the wood beforehand, so it’s soft to the touch. You can then stain it to match the room's colour palette.
4. Coffee And End Table
Coffee and small end tables are another easy DIY project if you're working with wooden pallets for the first time. These useful pieces of furniture are small, and the design is relatively straightforward, with clean angles.
5. Outdoor Furniture And Swing
Outdoor furniture can be expensive. If you aren’t interested in paying a a lot of money for outdoor seating that may not last for many years, use free wooden pallets. You can build swings, chairs, couches, and even a picnic table and bar using wood from pallets. Remember to treat the wood and use plenty of waterproof stain to help it last.
6. Garden Bed
If you’re gardening on a budget, you might think raised garden beds and wooden fencing are out of your price range. Luckily, it’s quite easy to build various garden beds and decorative fencing with wood from pallets. If you want to improve the way your yard and garden look this year but don’t have any extra money, this material can be the answer.
7. Desk And Dining Table
If you have a lot of wood and are looking to build a true statement piece with pallets, onsider creating a large dining table or a desk. Doing so can add a rustic, natural touch to any room.
Five Tips When Working With Pallet Boards
1. Wear Protective Gloves And Eyewear
This kind of wood isn’t always the cleanest, and it is often filled with exposed staples, nails, and splinters. Always use thick protective gloves to prevent serious injury to your hands. Eyewear is also important, especially when you are pulling apart the pallet or sanding it down.
2. Look For An HT Stamp To Ensure It’s Safe To Use
One lesser-known but very important tip to remember when working with pallets is that some are not safe to use. Look for an “HT” stamp somewhere on the pallet, which indicates it's heat-treated. The HT stamp also ensures the wood is non-toxic and often more durable and pest-resistant. Never use wood with an “MB” stamp, as it may be toxic.
3. Sand The Wood Well
Wooden pallets are rarely smooth and it’s easy to get splinters when running your hand across a piece of wood. Regardless of the project, thoroughly sand the wood. This will make it safer to handle, give it a cleaner appearance, and, in turn, make the furniture look more professional and expensive.
4. Add Sealant And Stain
After the wood is sanded, prepare it to be stained or sealed. These products give your wood a vibrant depth and make it more visually appealing, and can also extend its lifespan. Since you are spending many hours building a piece of furniture, you want it to last for many years.
5. Have The Right Tools
Just because you got your wood for free, it doesn’t mean you should wing it when it comes to constructing furniture with wooden pallets. Use a hammer or a crowbar to carefully remove all nails and staples. Purchase the correct sandpaper, and all the necessary additional materials to construct your project safely.
Summing Up Furniture You Can Make With Wooden Pallets
Wooden pallets are easily available, and you can often get them for free. You can find them at grocery stores, warehouses, construction sites, and garden stores, and you can make all sorts of items with it. For those looking for an easy project, consider a bookshelf or end table. You can also build outdoor furniture or garden beds. For for a more involved project, consider building a couch, a daybed, a desk, or a dining table.
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Tom Gaffey is an expert writer who currently resides in Washington D.C. Tom has a passion for real estate and home improvement writing, as well as travel and lifestyle writing. He lived the last twelve years in Hawaii where he worked closely with luxury resorts and event planners, mastering his knowledge of aesthetics and luxury products. This is where he found his passion for home improvement and a keen interest in DIY projects. Currently, Tom resides in Washington D.C, and also working on his debut fiction novel.
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