The second life of pallets

Table of contents

They are used primarily for the transport of heavy materials, but not only, for several years now, pallets have been more and more often used by interior and garden designers.As a result, these rough wooden platforms entered home and green living rooms, even the more exclusive ones.

In gardens, on balconies and terraces, we more and more often find simple equipment conjured up from them, e.g. tables, benches, deckchairs, composters, and details such as animal cages, birdhouses, flower beds, boxes for plants. Pallets can also be used to construct more sophisticated elements of small garden architecture: fences, platforms, terrace floors, gazebos, and garden storage compartments.

To cope with such a challenge, all you need is the ability to use carpentry tools that can be found in every home.Necessary accessories include a ball, hammer, pliers, drill, jigsaw and paper abrasive. Now we can go to work!

The most important thing is the idea. And so, a standing flowerbed from a pallet (with shelves and hooks for pots) will serve as a flower wall or a herb garden, and at the same time will obscure ugly corners. Such a screen will work especially in places where there is little space for flowers.In turn, to create a couch for a few zlotys, two pallets pressed together: one for the backrest, the other for the seat.

A set of pallet furniture (table and armchairs) will make any outdoor event more pleasant, provided that we take care of a solid twisting of the equipment and thorough polishing of the table top and seats. And many garden works will be facilitated by a work table from a pallet set on high, strong legs …

Before starting work, it is worth checking if the pallet is in good condition; knock out protruding nails, replace broken boards.Then clean it thoroughly and sand it with a wood file or sander, preferably with a built-in dust collection container.Finally, smooth the whole thing with sandpaper.

The polished palette is painted with a stain in the selected color or a colorless wood impregnation (necessarily for outdoor use). This can be done with a brush or a spray gun that covers the wood with an even layer. If the construction requires it, individual elements are connected with each other with long nails or screws.The places of connections are drilled with a drill driver.

Finally, let's take care of the comfort of use. If you plan to move a piece of furniture frequently, attach strong wheels to its base or legs. Throw soft cushions on the seat and backrest, and cover the table top with a properly cut glass pane.

Use of pallets in the garden

Well-dried and mold-free pallets can be bought in warehouses, construction depots and stores.This is a small expense - we will pay about PLN 25 for one pallet! The cheapest (about PLN 10 each) are of course the recycled ones. Their number depends on our plans, but it is a very efficient material - one pallet is usually enough to make a table for two.These practical plank decks are available in two sizes: 80 × 120 cm and 100x120 cm.On small balconies and terraces, one piece can be cut into two parts to create a smaller piece of furniture.

The pallets are not high - the standard height is 14 cm. To make the furniture made of them more comfortable, and therefore higher, you can put them on top of each other; the first pallet will be used as a table top, the second one as a heightening base.

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