Pallets, or pallets, are made of wood and are used to transport heavy loads. Recently, they have become very popular as a material for creating furniture. Why? A pallet is a ready-made wooden structure that can be used as furniture on its own, and if you add a few more pieces and a little effort, you will get an original piece of furniture.
Photo: Instagram izpoddonov
To make furniture from pallets, you need to sand the surface, adjust the structure to the desired size (a saw or hacksaw will come in handy here) and fasten the parts with a screwdriver (individual elements can be fixed with ordinary nails). The finished item must be coated with paint (varnish if desired). If the furniture will be used outdoors, it is worth pre-treating the surface with a protective composition for wood so that the material does not rot or deteriorate.
Where can I find pallets? There are two options. The first is to purchase used ones (there are many similar offers on the Internet). The second is to order new ones from a transport company or manufacturer. The costs will be minimal, at least they will definitely not exceed the average cost of a sofa.
And now - to the main thing. Below are the garden furniture options you can make from pallets.
- Furniture
Garden furniture for a summer residence: how to choose and properly care for it
Why is pallet furniture so popular?
Raising the topic of making furniture with your own hands from scrap materials, first of all it is worth noting the cost-effectiveness of the idea. Many newspapers place a lot of “pallet for sale” advertisements, and their cost rarely exceeds 30 rubles per unit.
Sometimes a potential buyer is lucky and can get the pallets completely free of charge, and the seller himself will be only too happy to get rid of them.
Why? In most cases, a pallet is considered excess waste that is left over from the delivery of a product.
If buying new pallets is a matter of principle, then you can order completely new ones from the warehouse, at a price of about 200 rubles per piece. Taking into account the quality of the wood and its purpose in the future, garden furniture will cost pennies.
How to make a bench
- To work you need three euro pallets.
- They are cut lengthwise.
- The wide parts are placed on top of each other and fastened with self-tapping screws.
- From the narrow parts, separate 6 boards with a width of 10 cm and 3 boards with a width of 14.5 cm are used. They have the same length in length, which is 1 m 20 cm. They are used to make a back for a bench with a height of 90 cm. For this, three boards of 14.5 each cm is cut to a length of 90 cm.
- They are fastened with bars, and the back is made from three boards 10 cm wide.
- After work, three more boards 10 cm wide remain. They can be saved for other products.
Stylistic decision
The lion's share of pallet furniture ideas is made in the loft style. As a rule, these are simple projects made in a more familiar manner and for everyday needs.
True, if the finished product is painted, it will fit perfectly into the interior design in the Provence style. And Japanese minimalism will be a very good solution.
How to make a coffee table
- For work you will need 2 euros of a pallet.
- They are cut to width and length and fastened together.
- Cut two corners and sand them.
- The finished table is varnished or painted.
- If you attach four furniture wheels, the table will be convenient to move.
- To prevent small objects from spilling into the cracks, glass with a special tape edge is placed on top.
The difference between a construction pallet and a Euro pallet
The standard size of a construction pallet is 1000 by 1200 mm, and a Euro pallet is 800 by 1200.
It is during the manufacture of a European pallet that the wood is disinfected, which is an additional protective barrier for humans and animals. This treatment acts as a bactericidal agent.
How to make a sofa
- You will need three euro pallets for the job.
- The lying place is made from two pallets, and the third is used to make the backrest.
- Cushions are made from multi-colored fabric according to the size of the couch.
- Using the same scheme, you can make a corner sofa, which will take 6 pallets, and the armrests are made from one pallet, disassembled into boards.
Stages of processing euro pallets
You can find many photos of furniture made from pallets, which clearly show that the material has been pre-treated. This process involves several steps, which we will describe below:
- Step 1. Cleaning from debris and dirt.
- Step 2. Sand by hand or with a special tool. Both boards and frame bars (if they will be used in future furniture) should be subjected to this action.
- Step 3: Primer. Allows you to enhance the protective properties of the material.
- Step 4. Paint the furniture (frame) that has already been prepared for this time.
- Step 5. Varnishing.
Colorless varnish will be needed even if the wood has not been painted.
Wood preparation
Typically, certified pallets are made from lumber that has been selected and processed (mechanical and chemical). But during use, wood can become contaminated. In addition, the factory treatment with antiseptics will be “weakened” as a result of damage and mechanical stress on the pallet. Non-certified pallets, especially disposable ones, can be made from lumber without treatment with antiseptics.
Therefore, before making furniture, a preparatory stage is necessary, which looks like this:
- Inspect the pallets. Remove broken or severely deformed planks and replace them with intact ones. The same applies to boards that have areas infected with fungus. According to GOST 33757-2016, blunt wane on two edges is allowed, but it must be without bark.
- Clean the tray from dirt.
- Before sanding the boards, inspect the attachment points. The heads of the nails should be recessed into the wood to a depth of 1-1.5 mm. If this is not the case, then they are killed by a killer.
- The boards are sanded along the front and edges of the pallet.
- Treat with a primer and antiseptic.
The most popular ideas from wooden pallets
Let's face it, we can safely say that with a rich flight of imagination and enthusiasm, it is possible to create almost anything from wooden pallets.
In any case, as regards the furniture set specifically. The following variants of creative thinking, so to speak, have become especially popular among the people.
- Table: computer, dining, coffee table;
- Armchairs and sofas, their sets;
- Cabinets, racks, shelves for various purposes;
- Furniture for a cottage/garden/apartment and much more.
Here everything depends solely on imagination. Perhaps you can come up with something new and useful.
Needless to say, the design of furniture made from pallets can be distinguished by its originality, taste and presentation of the most ordinary household items with the help of skillful hands and imagination.
The availability of the plank leaves a chance for everyone who wants to create comfort in their home without spending fabulous amounts of money on it.
The World Wide Web pleases with the number of life hacks that allow you to evaluate your capabilities at the initial stage and avoid a lot of mistakes that could happen. Here you can look at the finished product right away and find a creation diagram for it.
Quite convenient, especially for those who like to create with their own hands or prefer only natural and high-quality materials.
How to make a chair
- You need 4 pallets to work.
- Two of them are used to make the seat. They are placed one on top of the other and connected.
- The remaining two pallets are used for the backrest and armrests. They need to be cut in the shape of the letter P, where the top crossbar is a board with a larger width.
- After which these elements are attached to each other.
- The seat and back are fastened together.
- All irregularities are smoothed out with sandpaper and opened with varnish or painted.
- Pillows are sewn to size or purchased ready-made in a store. There should be one on the seat and one on the back.
- You can attach furniture casters for chairs to the bottom.
Note!
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How to make a bed
- For work you will need five pallets.
- Four pallets are placed on a lying place, connecting them into two blocks, placed one on top of the other of two pallets. They are connected along the short side.
- A headboard is made from the fifth pallet placed. This makes a single bed
- And if you add two more pallets, you can make a one-and-a-half bed. To do this, three blocks of two pallets are made from six pallets. They are fastened along the long side. The seventh pallet is used to make a headboard.
- To make a double bed, connect two single beds and make a headboard.
To make it easier to come up with products for the interior, you can fasten two pallets into blocks and then work on their use, making various models of armchairs and sofas, tables and seating areas. But when the pallets are well sanded and painted or varnished, they take on a completely different look, and when brightly colored cushions are placed on the beds, then this furniture looks impressive with a white paint finish.
Bedroom
In the bedroom, on a bed made of pallets, you will have creative dreams. We promise! A large double bed will require eight pallets and a comfortable mattress. Easy, simple and fast.
By disassembling the pallets into their components, you can construct an original bed from the resulting boards. Use transportation boxes to store things and bedding.
The pallet can be placed instead of the head of the bed. And this will kill two more birds with one stone - a shelf on top and a place for attaching lamps.
