Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[gtaus]

We did start out random but it was way too time consuming.

Yep, that's what I thought.

The 2 walls have an Osb backer then covered with tar paper so that any unforeseen gaps would be black.

I have seen some people just paint the backing wall board black. I did not know you could use tar paper inside the house. I have only used tar paper for roofing. No bad smell to the tar paper inside the house?

Thanks for the compliments. It was all her design. I just swung the hammer.

I'm sure you did more than just swing the hammer. It may have been her design, but it looks like you helped to make it a reality.

Reminds me of projects I did with my father. We would have to think of a design, and then figure out how to get it done. Took both of us thinking and doing to get some jobs done. But those are some of the best memories I have working alongside my father. I'm sure your daughter has the same feelings.

Anyways, it's a fantastic job. Thanks for sharing your remodel project and all those photos. Loved it.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Yep, that's what I thought.



I have seen some people just paint the backing wall board black. I did not know you could use tar paper inside the house. I have only used tar paper for roofing. No bad smell to the tar paper inside the house?

Nope, no smell at all. It's an older house so it's got its smells regardless ie. musty basement.
I added some input and tried to steer away from the really complicated parts of it but in the end I usually lost them discussions...

Thanks again.

 

[fuzzi]

Yes, each row is the same width. But some rows are different width all the same and continue on second wall to match at corner. Different thickness of course. I ripped whatever she needed to finish a run. We did start out random but it was way too time consuming. The 2 walls have an Osb backer then covered with tar paper so that any unforeseen gaps would be black.

Her kitchen was a lot of work. Gutted to the studs, new electrical and completely insulated. Plumbing stayed where it's at.
If you noticed the ceiling that's her floor joists acting as beams. Had to run a ledger board on each side, then cut drywall to fit in side each one. Then made custom boxes for her can lights.
Thanks for the compliments. It was all her design. I just swung the hammer.

Daddy loves his little girl.

 

[gtaus]

Not too much to say lately. Here in northern Minnesota, we have been getting some snow for about a week now and the temps are dropping to -6F at night. So, this is the funky time of the winter where we put on our cold weather gear and ride out the next month or so of the dead of winter.

One of my goals this coming summer is to build a pallet wood shed. I have been watching YouTube videos looking for a design that will work for me. I am thinking of having a plain dirt floor so I can drive in my riding mower, or two, and store them for next winter.

Anyways, working by myself, I thought I had better invest in a framing nailer for the project. Looks like a lot of guys use those framing nailers to speed things up. In my case, I could hold the pallet in place with one hand and drive the nails in with the nailer with the other hand.

I picked up a brand new 21 degree framing nailer from Harbor Freight on sale this month.

I don't know the first thing about framing nailers, but this one has good reviews on the HF website....

Of course, HF had some other specials for me at the same time that made me pick it up now. As an HF Inside Track Club (ITC) member, the price was reduced from $99.99 to $79.99. I also had $20 in HF Cash Rewards that expires in January, so I used that as well. Additionally, the weekend I bought the nailer, all ITC members were able to pick up 3 more items for free with any purchase of $24.99. So, I got a step bit set, some wrenches, and a pack of batteries for free. That's about $26 in free gifts with the purchase of the nailer.

I don't know if I'll use any of those free gifts on my pallet projects, but they will get used. Just made the framing nailer purchase a little sweeter.

Best thing, however, was that Dear Wife gave me some money as a Christmas gift. So, I used some of that for this purchase. I guess I'll be thinking of Dear Wife every time I use the nailer. Even got some money left over to buy a box of nails. Just waiting for a good sale. Don't expect to use the nailer until this spring at the earliest.

 

[gtaus]

Talked to a guy I know a few weeks ago. He is building a man cave and using pallet wood planks as his inside wood walls. Looked pretty nice. I saw that he had a pallet buster out there with the pallets and asked him how well it worked for him. He did not have much good to say about his pallet buster. Like me, he discovered that the pallet busters only seem to work good on a few special pallets. Unless you have those special pallets, you end up breaking and splitting a lot of the pallet planks.

I have a DIY pallet buster but only use it on maybe 1 out of every 10 pallets. If you have the right pallet, the pallet buster is a great tool. But mostly, for the pallets I pick up, the pallet buster will just break or split the planks and you end up with firewood.
Paradoxically, most pallets are built with low quality wood that will easily crack or break, but they use the some of the strongest holding nails with spiral shanks (some with barbs) to hold everything together.

If you are considering buying a pallet buster, consider watching this (negative) YouTube short video on what you might actually get in performance....

But I don't want to leave you on a negative note, so let me show you a more positive short video on pallet breakdowns and still use that pallet buster if you have one.

If I need to save most of the length of the plank, that is what I will do. You only lose a couple inches of board on both ends that way. It's a very fast way to break down a pallet.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Not too much to say lately. Here in northern Minnesota, we have been getting some snow for about a week now and the temps are dropping to -6F at night. So, this is the funky time of the winter where we put on our cold weather gear and ride out the next month or so of the dead of winter.

One of my goals this coming summer is to build a pallet wood shed. I have been watching YouTube videos looking for a design that will work for me. I am thinking of having a plain dirt floor so I can drive in my riding mower, or two, and store them for next winter.

Anyways, working by myself, I thought I had better invest in a framing nailer for the project. Looks like a lot of guys use those framing nailers to speed things up. In my case, I could hold the pallet in place with one hand and drive the nails in with the nailer with the other hand.

I picked up a brand new 21 degree framing nailer from Harbor Freight on sale this month.

View attachment 3724205

View attachment 3724204

I don't know the first thing about framing nailers, but this one has good reviews on the HF website....

View attachment 3724206

Of course, HF had some other specials for me at the same time that made me pick it up now. As an HF Inside Track Club (ITC) member, the price was reduced from $99.99 to $79.99.

I have the same nailer but IIRC mine is 30 degree.
I threw it around a couple job sites when I first got it and it's held up so thumbs up there. I did notice after some abuse the screws holding the plastic cover guard on the nose kept working loose. A dab of blue threadlocker solved it.

So maybe give yours a once over before putting it into service. Mine will be coming out in the spring also, got coops/breeder pens to build and I'm gonna build a pallet shed also, my barn is 100' feet from the house and a pain when your toting tools and such back and forth.

Good luck on your projects

 

[gtaus]

I have the same nailer but IIRC mine is 30 degree. I threw it around a couple job sites when I first got it and it's held up so thumbs up there.

Good to hear. The nailer I bought has good reviews, but I don't put a whole lot of confidence in online ratings anymore. I know for a fact that some companies pay people to submit positive reviews on their products without ever even purchasing the unit or trying it out. I know a young man who had one of those review gigs. They send him a list of keywords they want to see in the review and pay him for positive reviews on Amazon.

As for Harbor Freight, I have submitted a few 1-star reviews on products that I thought were junk and my negative reviews were posted just the same as my 4- or 5-star reviews. Although HF may sell some lower quality tools, they seem to be at least honest in posting both good and bad reviews of their products.

I'm gonna build a pallet shed also,

If you have any links to plans, videos, etc... that you think might be helpful, please post. Thanks.

Good luck on your projects

I have to find a pallet shed design that I like, then I have to figure out if I can build it myself. I have enough pallets ready on hand. I used to do a lot of these type of construction projects when I was younger and could work with my father on these projects. Many things are just so much easier with a second set of hands to help. But I have always built sheds and such using store bought lumber. Trying to build a shed out of pallets is something new to me.

I'm hoping everything will come together.

 

[electrycmonk]

Talked to a guy I know a few weeks ago. He is building a man cave and using pallet wood planks as his inside wood walls. Looked pretty nice. I saw that he had a pallet buster out there with the pallets and asked him how well it worked for him. He did not have much good to say about his pallet buster. Like me, he discovered that the pallet busters only seem to work good on a few special pallets. Unless you have those special pallets, you end up breaking and splitting a lot of the pallet planks.

The nailers have a solid purpose built use window. I have a finish nailer in this design of tool only. The structural building side of my brain stepped away from nails in college working in set design, tech theatre… screws are so much more re-usable and adjustable with a screw gun.

So if I do a pallet shed or Lean-to … it will be with the t-25 star bit screw gun screws.
From 1 5/8” up to 4” screws are such an invaluable tool *for me* that I have not bought any nails in likely 15-20 years? Well, aside from the finish nails on a couple interior fixes several years ago.

 

[wrathsfarm]

The nailers have a solid purpose built use window. I have a finish nailer in this design of tool only. The structural building side of my brain stepped away from nails in college working in set design, tech theatre… screws are so much more re-usable and adjustable with a screw gun.

So if I do a pallet shed or Lean-to … it will be with the t-25 star bit screw gun screws.
From 1 5/8” up to 4” screws are such an invaluable tool *for me* that I have not bought any nails in likely 15-20 years? Well, aside from the finish nails on a couple interior fixes several years ago.

For a diy'er. The star bits are a game changer. But they also sacrifice tensile strength over nails.Construction uses framing nails for strength and cost reduction over screws which are thinner.

Myself at home for a coop as an example... I frame all my floors,walls and roofs with 16d framers and then screw walls together using 3" t-25's. Just for ease of relocation in the future, or temporary supports.

On the job site I use what I'm told to....

 

[gtaus]

The structural building side of my brain stepped away from nails in college working in set design, tech theatre… screws are so much more re-usable and adjustable with a screw gun.

Since I have battery powered drills and impact drivers, I have not really used any nails in many, many, years either. Most of the stuff I build I like to use screws because I can easily take it apart if I want.

I do have an 18v Ryobi 18-gauge brad nailer that I use all the time to quickly hold something together. Works great and gives me time to drive in screws for real holding power. Also, I use the brad nails on my pallet wood raised beds to nail the planks to the inside of the framing. That goes really fast.

So if I do a pallet shed or Lean-to … it will be with the t-25 star bit screw gun screws.
From 1 5/8” up to 4” screws are such an invaluable tool *for me* that I have not bought any nails in likely 15-20 years?

Those T-25 star screws are great. I used a lot of them when I built my chicken coop. For years I used cheap drywall screws for lots of projects, but the drywall screw heads can ream out fairly easily. The T-25 screws don't ream out. In fact, I cannot remember once reaming out a star head screw.

However, I'm not sure screws are considered as good as nails in some aspects of construction work. Seems to me I watched a video on something like shear strength, which nails are the better option. Construction is not my business, so I usually ask the guys at the "Pro Desk" what is needed for any big projects. Given the choice, I prefer screws.