We live in a little old farmhouse - in the quasi-wilderness - and "little" would be the operative word here. My husband had brought home pallets from work from time to time and had built some amazing furniture we needed. A kitchen side table, a counter of sorts, a telephone stand from a half of a log, a coffee table, etc. Pallet wood is mostly pine these days but there are oak and other hardwoods used. I was very pleased because he was able to make functional and attractive things we needed - it fit right in with my obsession with reuse and conservation! Therefore, when we realized we needed more covered space to store our bicycles and camping gear the choice to use the pallet wood was an easy one. The idea was easy - the execution was another thing!

You can see the "raw" materials on the bank to the left of the building. Taking the pallets apart with minimal damage to the boards was quite a job. We had a few more pieces of firewood than we would have liked! The floor of the building was two pallets of exceptional quality. Boards close together and made from hardwood. The floor pallets were butted together and anchored. Next came the walls. the upright pieces came from the base for the pallets then spliced together to make the height.  The cross pieces were the top boards of the pallet. Trusses were also pieced and mitered with scrap pieces to connect at the peak.

Here is another shot of the raw construction! The finished product is covered in a tarp - the roof was also tarp until last fall when two sheets of chip board with rubber roofing added. The boards were also rescues from the job sites! The initial project was completed in a weekend - and a few blisters and splinters - but it was well worth it! Yes, that's a buffalo hide hanging on the side of the house!

Pallets can be found at most construction sites. If you are a blue collar worker like Dean, well, just ask for them - most of the time they are sent to the dump or burned. If you aren't a construction worker - make friends with one!!!! They are good people too! And you can always just go ask at factories, markets, anywhere stuff is delivered wrapped in pallets. The quality of these will vary greatly - but things can be made from most of them with need and a bit of imagination! Will be posting more reuse projects as we get them scanned! Stop back!