I see this question a lot lately on the Internet.
What is the importance of knowing the standard pallet size?
Well the number one reason is so you can calculate how many pallets you need to complete your project!
A standard pallet measures four feet (48”) x forty inches (4o”) x six and a half inches (6.5”) tall.Pallets will have slats on both sides and the number can vary depending on the width of the slats. If they only have slats on one side they are actually referred to as skids and not pallets.
The great thing, both can be used when it comes to applying repurposed wood for your projects. The project I am going to concentrate on in this article is the Pallet House using other than standard size pallets.
Following is a Pallet House built by: Walt Bentley of Ellaville GA and Schley County (Pronounced as sly)
Walt got his standard pallets mostly from dumpsters where businesses throw them out. What a great way to save money!
The Cabin is a 12’ x 12’ and Walt said he used approx. 18 pallets. Now keep in mind Walt’s pallets were not the standard size but were mostly 8 – 10 foot in length and 4 feet wide.
You need to take this into consideration when figuring how many pallets you need. So my estimation would be at least 36 – 40 or a little more of the standard pallet size would be needed for this size house.
The siding came from a friend who was remodeling his deck and from dumpsters also! This is a complete repurposed project as far as the wood goes!
He is also building an addition to house his smoker and has built a great Barbecue Pit beside his Pallet House. I think this is a terrific project for anyone who has access to pallets of standard size or otherwise!
He still needs to get his door framed in. He said he had to hang it temporarily to keep his chickens out. They were making it their home and laying eggs in there! Hey, I can see a pallet hen house in the future for some of you!
Below is a gallery of pics Walt took as he built his cabin. You can see how it progressed over time!
To begin with you need some tools if you are serious enough to build a Pallet House of any kind
These are just some of the basic tools needed for building almost anything. With these tools you should be able to tackle your Pallet House or hen house.
Remember to keep in mind the standard pallet size of 4 feet x 40 inches when figuring how many pallets you may need. I would get a few extra just in case. You can always use them for another project if they aren’t needed on your Pallet House.
I have also included a video of the progression of the house being built.
I hope you have enjoyed this article on how to build a Pallet House from standard pallet size pallets!
My thanks again to: Walt Bentley of Ellaville GA and Schley County (Pronounced as sly)
The video belongs to Walt and he has given us permission to use it here on our blog.
Since we published this article Walt has finished his Pallet Cabin. Following is the process he followed and a nice finished product anyone could be proud of!
I have done a lot since your last post. I have installed a front door, a floor, and a lean 2. All made from pallets and reclaimed lumber.
This is the framing for the floor, I then added a plastic barrier and Advantech flooring. I stained the frame with used motor oil to deter moisture and termites.
I then added plained ¾ inch pallet wood down to ½ inch and put it on top of the Advantech flooring.
I used cedar from a local sawmill for the ceiling.
I’m using rough cut pine from a local saw mill for the inside walls.
I built a lean 2 from wood of a large pallet and lumber from a dumpster. I found 2×6’s and I cut them down to 2×4’s with my table saw.
I also added a table under the lean 2 that you can fold down and up with folding legs.
I have installed a rain barrel to collect rain water for my apple trees, blue berry bushes.
I am currently writing an ebook about the Pallet Cabin. I have had a lot of requests for plans, so I decided to tell the story. I am also creating t-shirts that will be out very soon. I will be done with the inside walls with in the month. I have a website www.thepalletcabin.com. On the website people can register for a free tshirt and ebook that will be awarded on August 26. Please mention my facebook page: www.facebook.com/thepalletcabin. From my website, I have all my social media icons people can click on (Twitter, Instagram, and facebook). I also have a blog. Thanks again for all your support and please let me know if need anything.
Since our original post Walt has done a lot of work at the Cabin! He is continually adding and changing things to make it a better and more enjoyable place.
As Walt adds and changes his cabin, we update the blog post. So, be sure to check back often.
This time he has worked on keeping his chickens safe! Walt lost a bunch of them to hawks last year and he dos’t intend to loose more this year!
In Walt’s own words!
I lost all of my chickens last year to hawks. This is what I’ll be building very soon. It will surround a beautiful garden inside what once was a large chicken coop.
Re-roofed my chicken coop. Got the inside ready for my new Chicks! Burned the area off for my garden. I’m going to set up some chunnels (chicken tunnels) around my garden along the fence line. Hawks decimated my flock last year. They will be well protected this year. I went and bought 9 Rhode Island Red’s from a hatchery today. They are 20 weeks old. Almost ready to start laying. I got 8 hens and 1 rooster.
Below is the Original coop.
As you can see, Walt had an excellent Waterer and Feeder in his Coop. These can be changed and replenished vey easily! I really like this set up. You can find a similar Chicken Waterer Here. You can find his Chicken Feeder Here. Always try to make it as clean and easy as you can for you and your chickens.
As you can see, there is nothing fancy about this coop but it is very efficient inside and out!
Started laying out the chunnels (Chicken Tunnels) this morning. I hope to have the motley crew in them by this afternoon..
The Chunnels are looking great and I doubt if the chickens will have a hard time learning their way around them! A look from the inside a view from the chickens perspective!
A birds eye view from the outside. (No pun intended 🙂 )
Got the chunnels done. Their curious animals. By the end of the day they’ll learn them.
Just stuck them in the ground. I bought 48”inch x 100 ft of re d brand welded wire with 2”inch x 4” inch holes. I counted 30 holes and I cut the 30th hole in half leaving about a 2” inch wire to dig in the ground. I also used landscaping staples to help hold it. I had to buy 2 roles of wired. I have about 1/3 of the second role left. I connected them with UV protected zip ties.
I didn’t think they would have a hard time getting used to those chunnels! What a great looking flock!
March 17th 2018
Started on the pen behind the coop today. They need a place to stretch their wings!! It will have wire over the top also. I bought the 4×4 posts. I had an old screen door I bought from the flea market. I also had some red oak lumber I had purchased from a local Saw mill. I will be putting the wire on the pen sometime this week. This is a great shady area once the leaves come back on the trees.
The holes are dug and ready for the poles!
Now to plum the poles and add the wire, door and other necessities!
Looks like some wire and a roof and Walt and his chickens will be enjoying the outside this spring!
Walt will be adding a solar powered automatic chicken door opener. It will open up to the chicken tunnels.
We have followed Walt since he started his cabin way back when? He completed his cabin and added the lean-to and the smoker and now the Chickens coop and run.
What will be next? We can only wait in anticipation as he continues to improve his property and add on the necessities! You can always find Walt over on the Pallet Cabin Facebook Page.
Check out Walt’s official trailer:
Remember, all the standard pallet size are four feet (48”) x forty inches (4o”) x six and a half inches (6.5”) tall.
Everything you need to know about the Standard Pallet Size can be found on Wiki.
If you have a need to build any pallets you can find out how they are built in the video below.
Thank you for stopping by Back Roads Living again!
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