We build buildings for summer cottages from wooden pallets

A dacha is a piece of land with a number of different buildings, both residential and utilitarian. All structures can be made from a wide variety of materials, depending on the purpose, preferences of the owners and many other factors.

But they can be divided into two broad categories: reliable, but expensive and cheap, but less resistant.

And if the first type of materials is most preferable for residential buildings, then the second type is suitable for various outbuildings, storage rooms and other functional buildings. To create them, almost any improvised materials can be used.

One such resource is wooden pallets. They can often be found on the site nowhere unused, and are also quite cheap. Therefore, the summer resident may be interested in the construction of buildings for summer cottages from wooden pallets.

back to index ↑

Features of structures from pallets

The use of wooden pallets as materials for summer houses is due to several significant advantages. But they also have obvious disadvantages.

Advantages:

• Their availability, which was mentioned above;
• Application variability. There are a lot of ideas for buildings for summer cottages from wooden pallets.

• Ease of creation. The material for the construction is wood, which does not need to be carefully prepared for use in advance, and nails or self-tapping screws are suitable for connecting boards and pallets. Unlike brick or masonry, which requires a cement mortar for bonding.

• Possibility of decoration. Wood is easy to process, paint, varnish, and various types of carvings. Thanks to this, the building can be made not only functionally practical, but also beautiful in appearance.

• Solution non-standard. Such buildings will cause positive surprise, both among the owners and guests of the cottage.

Flaws:

• Low reliability. The tree does not tolerate weather disasters. A little rain can cause the process of decay, and a strong wind can break the integrity of the structure.

• Safety. The construction of such materials is not sufficiently stable without additional reinforcement.
• In view of these shortcomings, wooden pallets are suitable as a material for non-residential buildings. But, some of them are quite easy to get rid of. For example, apply a water-repellent layer that will save from rain. And you can strengthen the structure with a metal base on which the pallets will hold.

• Thanks to such actions, seasonal extensions can also be made from them, in which it is safe for people to stay.

back to index ↑

How to build buildings for summer cottages from wooden pallets

Before you start creating a building, you should consider its design, as well as the future location. For small structures, it is permissible to do everything for the eyes. For large buildings, it is necessary to calculate in advance all the dimensions of the parts, the load. Approximate calculations are undesirable, as they may affect reliability.

The process of creating buildings can be divided into two main parts: the preparation of materials and the assembly of the structure. Also, at any of the stages, decoration, painting, varnishing and other decorations of the tree can be carried out.

Pallets - assembled pieces of wood. Therefore, the process of building buildings from absolutely the same as in the case of using boards. However, in the end, there are more possible variations.

Preparatory stage

Wooden pallets should be prepared for subsequent use. First of all, they should be examined for the presence of various defects, the possibility of obtaining splinters and overall integrity. In which case, get rid of negative factors that may affect the safety of the structure.

If part of the pallet is rotten, then separate it from the whole part. Use a hammer and a double-sided crowbar or nail puller to pull out all the nails and screws. Align all the roughness with sandpaper.

The preparatory stage is completed by shaping the wooden pallets for assembly. It all depends on the final design of the building. A power tool is best for preparing the workpiece, but a simple saw will suffice.

Assembly

The assembly of elements is the main stage in the construction of a building for a summer residence from wooden pallets. The further service life and reliability of the structure will depend on its quality, as well as the thoughtfulness of the plan.

For each structure, the assembly process is individual. But, there are also similarities. The main will be the methods of fastening pallets.

The easiest option for joining is to use nails or self-tapping screws. Pallets are simply fastened to each other with them. In particularly thick places, hammer in nails or screw in screws at an angle.

A more difficult option to implement is remote connections. With this type of fastening, additional materials are used. For example, metal fittings or wooden bars. They are superimposed on the place of articulation of the pallets, and then attached.

The first method is less costly in terms of materials and easier to perform, but provides low reliability of the design. The second method will make the structure more resistant and strong, but requires additional materials.

Treatment

At any of the stages, additional processing of wooden pallets can be performed. This can be done both for the purpose of decoration, and with the intention of increasing the life of the building.

First you need to degrease the tree, as well as remove microcracks. This is done by grinding the surfaces of the pallets with sandpaper. It is not necessary to process all the faces, only those that will be visible on the front and inside of the building are enough. This is necessary in order for the paint and varnish to last longer.

After the tree has already been processed, the next stage begins. It is painting the pallet. One layer will be enough. Suitable and enamel, and oily, and spray paint. It will take a day to dry. After or instead of the painting process, a water-repellent varnish can be applied. Outdoor products preferred.

Wood carving and other types of decoration are carried out before painting and varnishing.

back to index ↑

Care

To increase the service life of buildings for summer cottages made of wooden pallets, they must be properly looked after. Timely update the varnish and paint, as well as replace damaged pallets. In fact, it is quite simple, and all actions will be carried out quite rarely.

Updating of paint and varnish is recommended to be done once a season. The old layer is removed with sandpaper. As a result, nothing should remain on the wooden surface. After that, a new layer of paint is applied, dries during the day, then a layer of varnish.

Replacing damaged pallets is much more difficult. Most of their designs are modular. Then getting a separate pallet is either very difficult or impossible. It will be easier to assemble a new design or think over a parsing system in advance.

back to index ↑

Building Ideas

A big advantage in using wooden pallets as a material for country houses is the huge variability. With a competent approach, it will be possible to build almost any functional extension. Everything will depend on its complexity, the skill of the builder and the thoughtfulness of the plan. Below are some interesting wooden pallet house building ideas along with instructions. They will differ in their purpose, as well as the scale of the design and, accordingly, the complexity of execution. But strict adherence to the plan will allow the summer resident to implement them on his site without much difficulty.

The statement of the famous architect of Russia:

Pallets in construction. It certainly sounds strange. But quite interestingly, there is enough material of this kind, and it is cheap. And correctly designing and assembling will allow you to create a whole masterpiece from wooden pallets.

decorative fencing

From wooden pallets you can build a cozy fence for the garden, the design of which is extremely simple.

First you need to calculate the required number of pallets and prepare them in advance. About a third should be cut off from each. The cut is made perpendicular to the legs of the pallet.

The next step is to collect the individual sides of the fence. To do this, it is necessary to lay out the pallets in a row so that large edges touch each other. They will be fastened with the help of cut parts and nails. Do the same for each side. If the fence is planned to be large, then in one of them you should cut a through hole for the entrance. This completes the pre-assembly.

The last step will be the installation of the fence. For greater reliability, each of its sides should be half immersed in the ground. They can be fastened to each other using metal corners with grooves and self-tapping screws, or simply a small block of wood, fixed at the junction with nails.

Pallets can be pre-painted or otherwise decorated. In this case, the fence will also be outwardly beautiful.

Bench

An unusual idea would be to build a bench from wooden pallets. Pretty practical and easy to implement solution. For a simple variation, you need three of them.

Two pallets must be cut exactly into two parts, parallel to the smaller edge. They will form the basis of the seat.

Next, they should be laid out on top of each other so that everyone has the same sawing place.It will be connected to the front side of the third pallet, standing horizontally, with nails, which will be the back for the bench.

The result is a bench of a rather simple design, which does not look very attractive. For greater beauty, it can be painted and varnished, and the back can be closed with a second pallet.

By analogy with this method, it will turn out to build a much more advanced and aesthetically beautiful bench.

Tool shed

A practical solution would be to build a tool shed out of wooden pallets. This design will come out quite cheaply in price, and will look good. But in execution it will be much more difficult than a bench or a fence.

The first step is to allocate a place on the site for construction. Its area will depend on the amount of material, as well as the preferences of the summer resident. But, a high-quality and functional barn will take from 6 square meters. m (3x2). The place itself should be leveled, without snags and stones.

The easiest way to build a barn is to use the block method, that is, install the floor separately, then separately assemble four walls, a ceiling and supports. And only at the end already connect all the elements into a finished structure.

The floor will simultaneously serve as the foundation of the structure, holding back all its weight. Therefore, its fortress should be given special attention. Select for it only solid wooden pallets, without any defects. It makes no sense to process, paint and varnish them, they will carry exclusively functional significance.

The basis of the floor will be a construction of 6 pallets (2 rows, three in each). They are laid face down on the ground so that the legs look up. After they need to be fastened to each other. Either directly, or install metal elements on the side joints of the legs of the pallets, and then fix them with washers and self-tapping screws.

On top of the main structure, the same number of pallets are installed, but already facing the sky. So that the legs of the lower layer fall into the voids of the upper. Next comes bonding. It will be enough to have a lot of self-tapping screws penetrating the upper pallet with the legs of the lower one. Nails are not recommended. Due to the two-layer installation, the upper level of the pallets will protrude on one of the sides. This element should be sawn off. After the floor for the barn will be ready.

The ceiling is the same size. For its manufacture, pallets should not have any through holes so that rain does not get inside, damaging the tools. To get rid of them, whole boards from rotten and sawn pallets will come in handy. They should be placed at intervals, and then hammered with nails so that water cannot penetrate from the roof into the building. Unlike the floor, the ceiling must be varnished. Painting also does not make sense, since it will not be visible from the outside. The ceiling is made single-layer, since it is not a supporting structure, but is installed with the legs down.

There are two pairs of walls in the barn, the optimal height is two vertical pallets. One of them should have a hole for entry and exit. They are assembled according to a similar principle that the floor and ceiling. But, their connection is given special attention. For greater reliability, as many connections as possible are used, including remote ones. You can also put them on a metal frame. The walls should be painted and varnished, you can also decorate them.

All individual elements are ready, now you can start assembling. This will require a few people. First of all, walls are installed on the floor, which serves as a foundation.From the inside, they are fastened with a variety of metal corners with grooves. From the outside, separate boards or whole pallets. It is enough to fasten the walls between each other with long corners, evenly distributed over the entire height. The same with the ceiling.

You can install two walls at the same time, then their external fastening to the floor will not be necessary, it is enough to connect them to each other.

The roof is best covered with some kind of water-repellent material.

This is a plan to build a barn that will last at least a few seasons. In the case of additional strengthening of the structure, the service life of the structure will increase significantly. In addition to strengthening, you can also do the modernization of the barn. For example, make windows or use pallets to make shelves.

back to index ↑

The general variety of buildings for summer cottages from wooden pallets

In addition to the structures presented above, you can create many others. These ideas will serve as a starting point for further construction. A competent approach, as well as knowledge of the theory, will allow the summer resident to realize almost any building for a summer residence from wooden pallets.

But, nevertheless, it is desirable to make structures of a utilitarian nature due to the insufficient reliability of the material. Or additionally strengthen with a metal frame, logs and other resistant elements.

back to index ↑

Photo gallery - buildings for summer cottages from pallets

back to index ↑

Video

---