pallet shed

Regular trips into town, visiting the free pallet spot each time had grown our pallet pile, so it was a good time to start a large pallet project.

First I nailed 2x4s to pallets to make an L-shape so they could stand on their own. Then I measured out the appropriate spacing and used some cap blocks to make them a bit more level than the ground would allow on its own.

It was raining off and on the whole time, somewhat heavily. Here you can see the blur from the wet camera lens.

Once the posts were up and connected to each other, I put up boards on top to hold the roof panels.

I had 4 extra roof panels from another project where I got a few extra and I used 3 of them to put up this roof. I don't even know how you're "supposed" to put up a roof, but I get the roofing screws with rubber grommets and use a screw driver with a hex fitting for attachments that happens to exactly fit the roofing screws. Then I hammer the screw driver in to get the hole started and hand-tighten the rest of the way. I'll also sometimes use a ratchet once the screws are into the wood.

After the roof was up, I finished the upper deck of the wall with pallets.

I made a door with more scrap and 2 hinges. I had to clamp the door down and glue it so the nails wouldn't pop out of the boards.

I used more of our scrap to close in the sides from the elements. As we get more scrap I can fill in the gaps from the inside. Now these boards can be stored out of the rain.

A view from outside. I cut the door so it would match the gap I left, which is crooked, but I like that aesthetic choice and it matches the source materials.

The shed is very sturdy, despite appearances. I got a small combination bike lock from the hardware store to lock it.

I started putting down mulch along the sides to plant beans and lilicoi in, which I can train up the walls. Next the shed needs to be painted, but that will have to wait for a sunny day, which might be a few weeks. We've got a spare solar panel and I can rig up so the shed can have its own lighting and we can also use that power system for garden and path lights.

The low side also could also use a gutter so the rain doesn't come through as much on that side. I'm going to build some shelves so we can have more somewhat-dry storage around the farm.


Since the initial build, we've made many improvements. The pallets have been painted, there are gutters, we have pole beans growing up the sides. There is power from a solar panel on the roof and a wind mill on the roof presently for decoration but it could be used for milling.

The cut pallets at the base keep wild pigs out. We had some damage to the beans growing there from a visiting pig recently. There are also some beans and sweet potatoes growing in hanging pots where pigs can't reach them.