Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[Hedgeland Farms]

Sounds like a good plan. Any wood touching the ground should be treated with something so it does not act like a wick and soak up all that moisture from the ground. I am not familiar with the product you posted, so I'll have to check it out.

My coop is elevated. I build it on an old boat trailer. So, nothing touches the ground on my coop. Your idea never even occurred to me.

Also, I have built sheds and additions in the past. But I have always used cinder blocks on the foundation to get everything level, and then the bottom of the structure was always up off the ground, too. Again, this issue never came up. But I'll have to keep your solution in mind if I build something directly on the ground.

All things I am learning as I go.
So its more to hopefully remedy a potential problem, bc it was something I didn't think abt either. I wanted a dirt floor and that's as far as thought went lol....

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

Sounds like your husband is fully backing your enterprise. Good to have so much support from the minors and the Major!

This man didn't even want any chickens AT ALL!!! He sang the country song "I Cross My Heart" by George Strait in my ear as we danced...
"I cross my heart and promise to, give all I've got to give to make all your dreams come true..." I do believe he meant it .... (not to get all cheesy lol)

Sounds like your husband is fully backing your enterprise. Good to have so much support from the minors and the Major!



I have so many empty feed bags stored in an outside shed that I would be more than willing to donate some to a good cause like yours. After you get your coop wall papered with the bags, you can just start over again with another layer if you want. Or just save a few bags in case you have any rips or tears to repair.

I hope to find a use for my empty feed bags some day.

Definitely save them! I see some recommend not using then as I am for fear of drawing in mice and such. The 2ftx50ft hardwire cloth is going to help that fight. It will be placed around the entire bottom outside the coop.

I plan to continue to save them. As you stated I can either place a new bag over if need be or tear it out and replace if need be.

 

[gtaus]

All things I am learning as I go.
So its more to hopefully remedy a potential problem, bc it was something I didn't think abt either. I wanted a dirt floor and that's as far as thought went lol....

I really love your passion for your projects. And thank you so much for sharing your adventure with us.

I wish I had your energy! Well, there was a time... years ago....

I was helping my grandfather build things before I was in kindergarten, and he taught me pretty much everything I took forward. Mostly conventional construction methods. I always built things up on cinder blocks because that was how I was taught.

Anyways, in your case, I understand wanting a building with a dirt floor. Another option you might consider in the future is using cinder blocks to get everything level. You can dig the cinder blocks down as far as you want into the dirt, leaving just a little gap over the ground. Then, you could just have a sacrificial trim board on the bottom to close the gap and would be easy to replace if/when it ever rotted out.

I mentioned the cinder blocks for the leveling, because, IIRC, you had an issue in the past with building a structure that was not level on the foundation and that presented a few issues to deal with later on. I know from my own experience, if I start out with something not level, I pay for it on the back end trying to "fix" that shortcoming.

FWIW, I even level my raised garden beds, although it's probably not critical in that case. That's just me.

 

[gtaus]

This man didn't even want any chickens AT ALL!!! He sang the country song "I Cross My Heart" by George Strait in my ear as we danced...
"I cross my heart and promise to, give all I've got to give to make all your dreams come true..." I do believe he meant it .... (not to get all cheesy lol)

I thought all country songs were about getting drunk and cheating on your wife. Or your wife cheating on you, so you get drunk. Or you both get drunk and cheat on each other!

I guess that's unfair. I know there are a lot of country songs about your horse getting sick and dying, so you need to get drunk then, too. It's not all about the cheating spouse.

More seriously, I think your husband is doing a great job supporting you and the minors, even if he is not "all in" on having chickens. He might come around on that issue, too.

FYI, I used to play guitar and bass in cover bands years ago. All our country songs were about drinking hard and heavy, spouse cheating, pickup breaking down, or the horse getting sick and dying. Unless, of course, you were already in prison and none of that mattered anyway. True story. I always found those songs pretty darn depressing, but the bar people enjoyed them.

 

[Sally PB]

Do you know what happens if you pay a country song backward?

Your truck gets fixed, your lost dog comes home, your horse gets better.

Hmmmm.... nothing about drinking and cheating spouses... maybe it doesn't work for those.

 

[gtaus]

Came across this ~3 minute YouTube video demonstration on How to Avoid Splitting Wood from Nail and Screw - How to Hide Screw in Wood Tips. If you already know these basic methods on how not to split wood with nails and screws, you might still want to skip ahead to how to hide screws in wood. I had never seen that method.

Personally, I use the drill bit method because I have a number of drills and impact drivers, so I usually put a really small bit in the drill and drive the screws in with my impact driver.

I don't think I would take the time to cut off the ends of each and nail/screw before use. That would take me longer than I want. But a simple drill bit is in and out in no time.

I think some of these tips are all the more relevant to our pallet wood projects because we might not be dealing with high quality wood from the start. Anything that makes our projects better is something worth learning. Remember, a nail does not have much holding power if the wood is split. If you spend the time to build something, you might as well try to make it the best you can so it will last longer. Sometimes you have no choice and will have to replace a board if you split it at the end. So, these tips might save a person lots of time and effort.

Bonus "pro" tip. If you are dealing with wood that is very likely to split when you drive in that screw, put the drill bit in the impact driver and the screw tip into the drill, then use your drill with the clutch set down way low so it stops driving the screw as soon as it meets enough resistance when the screw head is flush with the wood. If you go further, then you dive the wedge shaped head of the screw down into the wood and increase your chances of splitting the wood.

Over the years I have developed a soft touch using my power tools, but I have seen my younger nephews continue to drive a screw almost all the way through the wood, in most cases splitting the wood as well. So, I set them up with a drill and show them how to use the clutch to get more control over their work. Kids learn fast and when things work out better, they take more pride in their work. I guess it's up to us to make sure they have a better chance of being successful.

 

[raingarden]

I use the countersink bits and had never seen the trick with cutting of the tip of the nail/screw. I wouldn't have guessed that could work but I guess is makes sense.

 

[gtaus]

I use the countersink bits and had never seen the trick with cutting of the tip of the nail/screw. I wouldn't have guessed that could work but I guess is makes sense.

I first learned of that trick back in the 1970's. Then, we just turned a nail upside down, with the head on concrete, and then pounded the tip of the nail flat. Yes, it works, but it takes time and I found that using a drill to make a pilot hole was so much easier, and better. I guess it makes sense, because if you look at the tip of a nail, it is shaped like a wedge and we all use wedges to split burning wood.

As I was going through my bucket of saved pallet nails, I found I had a good percentage of nails that had absolutely flat tips. I originally thought that maybe those nails had been cut with my reciprocating saw with the demo blade. Now, however, I think that is just the way those nails were made.

I got my first countersink bits last summer, and they are really nice for projects where you want that screw head to be flush, or slightly countersunk, into the wood. Most of my builds did not require countersinking bits. I mainly use just a regular bit which works fine for my rough projects. I will say that the countersink bits make your project look just a bit more professional and if you have to sand the wood, then you really want that screw head countersunk into the wood.

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

@gtaus as always, such a useful video!!! I appreciate all the tips you share, bc when we build this shed I want it to be the absolute best it can be as far as structurally. I have been learning tons, and you've been apart of that!!


I've been steadily putting bags up and I did manage to redo the nesting boxes and get them in place prior to the massive drop in temps!

 

[chickengr]

MERRY CHRISTMAS!