Even if you don’t have a design idea in mind involving wooden pallets, saving them from the dump and stockpiling a lot of them will prove useful someday. Take this family as example. The members stored a bunch of these for up to a year and a half with one great DIY project in mind. The result was outstanding! You too could make a beautiful floor out of wooden pallets. It might look like a lot of effort and work at first, but the result is worth it. It takes a bit of adjusting and finishing the rough form of the boards, but after the installation your room will be truly transformed. Check out the color variation the final floor has. It is quite impressive! Now that’s a project worth stockpiling wooden pallets for. Follow the tutorial provided and make your own!
Some of the near 9000 nail heads we removed. Each required back punching and then pulling.
After, all the boards were ready to be taken to be machined down.
They sliced the boards down to half an inch thick.
Check to make sure your pallets aren’t full of harmful chemicals:
1001pallets.com/pallet-safety/
I would like to give all considering this a STRONG WARNING if considering working with pallet wood. FROM A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE THAT SENT ME TO THE E.R.(Hospital) Often times these pallets are treated heavily with pesticides and anti-mold products. also be advised that all types of chemicals can be spillt on them and absorbed into the wood. Sometimes shipping crates and pallets from South America can contain parasites and or be made of wood that is highly allergenic. I was once sanding on some dark pallet wood that looked like mahogany i broke out in a terribly painful rash developed breathing problems and had to be put one Steroids. ( i work with domestic wood all the time I don’t have wood allergies )
Helpful information, Thank you.
They are all treated with chemicals proof are burned stamps in wood for custom
I would like to give all considering this a STRONG WARNING if considering working with pallet wood. FROM A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE THAT SENT ME TO THE E.R.(Hospital) Often times these pallets are treated heavily with pesticides and anti-rot products. also be advised that all types of chemicals can be spillt on them and absorbed into the wood. Sometimes shipping crates and pallets from South America can contain parasites and or be made of wood that is highly allergenic. I was once sanding on some dark pallet wood that looked like mahogany i broke out in a terribly painful rash developed breathing problems and had to be put one Steroids. My clothing had to be thrown away. ( i work with domestic wood all the time I don’t have wood allergies )
How do we check this out, find out what’s in them, and would heavy layers of varnish cover the other stuff up??
Umm..okay..
Ummm…..Okay?
I wanna know how you attached them once they were laid on the floor since there’s no tongue n groove??
There are attached directly to the padding/sub-flooring with laying nails….
That is not cheaper, easier, safer or greener/eco friendlier than buying real hardwood flooring.
Either you are incredibly stupid or are trying to promote lumber sales in private stores where you get a kickback for your efforts. Pallet wood is the easiest and cheapest lumber to acquire, it literally costs usually absolutely nothing to possess because of its abundance in America. And pallet wood is often stock piled by manufacturers that use said product to transport their goods, because of such an abundance most companies will gladly give away unlimited amounts of said wood due to hazards of nature and or to much of product wood becomes a nuisance and a fire hazard to any company that has more than they need. By recycling this wood product in diy projects we are helping the planet and it’s numerous trash dumps from accumulating said wood. And we are also saving our atmosphere and air quality by not burning this excess of wood that usually ends up on the side of the road or stock piled in excessive amounts behind local convenient and department stores. This is an awesome idea to recycle this product. And To Think Or Say Anything Negative Is Completely Crazy Thoughts Of Self And Planet Destruction. Stop being part of the problem and join the solution.
Consider that ensuring wood is safe is one way to serve the environment as well as your own health. They aren’t exclusive.This was one person’s experience that was shared to be of service. There were two posts that encouraged having the wood checked. Failing to ensure that they were putting safe products in their home is unlikely.
And if you go to most websites that discuss pallet flooring they give tips on how to avoid poor quality wood – https://www.profloortips.com/hardwood/pallet-wood-flooring-guide/ “only use wood pallets that contain an IPPC logo and avoid ones that have reference to “MB” (Methyl-bromide) or “CT” (Chemically Treated). I also recommend skipping colored pallets as they often contain formaldehyde.”
Just fyi…
Your response was intelligent and on point. I thank you for the information and your ability to do so in a kind fashion with no rudeness or sarcasm.
Unlike others who answered with snide remarks and name calling I thank you for being an intelligent adult.
Why can’t we just disagree without insulting or being disrespectful to others? It’s just sad.
Well said xchenya!!
If it’s so dangerous wouldn’t it affect those that work with it on a daily basis?? If it is sealed properly and maintained I see no.problem with it. I certainly plan on doing something like this!
While the chemical concerns are legitimate, since most pests introduced to North America are brought in the shipping pallets, my main concern is moisture content. In order to fight that either they are chemically treated or preferably kiln dried (pesticide is cheaper so guess which is more common)…
Anyway one of the main concerns as a flooring contractor is the moisture content of the wood. Given these sit outside or are poorly stored it is unlikely that they will be dry enough to use. The moisture content should be 6-8% (drier in areas like Alberta and Colorado) so that it doesn’t shrink or warp after all your hard work. As long as you don’t consider your time worth money this will save spending money directly.
You can surface nail or glue this with a good urethane glue (full trowel – expensive) or do a combination. It is never a good idea to use solid wood below grade or in concrete slab on grade situation.
The comment on free pallets is wrong. Most companies keep pallets because they never have enough pallets to ship their own products. The cost of new pallets are expensive besides nothing in this world is free.
So where do you get their width adjusted? Or do you have to own the equipment to do so yourself?
Nice idea, but getting them cutdown and sanded by machine will cost a bit. May be cheaper to just buy flooring .
Great job, it’s a lot of work, you had an idea and went for it. It looks terrific.