How One Reader Built A Pallet Shed

2013 - Volume #37, Issue #3, Page #22

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Inspired by other FARM SHOW readers, Dave Mathia built an 8 by 12-ft. shed mostly out of pallets and other recycled materials. His total cost was less than $100.
    He used 47 pallets as well as siding and OSB from salvage jobs.
    It was enough to “alarm the neighbors.” Local officers stopped in to see what he was up to in his Medicine Hat, Alta., neighborhood, which has strict regulations about building sheds no more than 107 sq. ft. size. Since it’s built on skids he was not required to have a building permit.
    “We had to make our plan fit the guidelines for ‘shed protocol,’” Mathia says.
    He made the deck two pallets wide by three pallets long with 2 by 4’s around the perimeter and down the center lengthwise. He screwed 2 1/2 sheets of OSB on the pallets for the floor. End walls had two rows of two pallets, and side walls had two rows of three pallets.
    “I put the pallets with the slats horizontal and the 2 by 4’s vertical, which is opposite to what I’ve seen on the internet. It seemed more logical to me, and is similar to house framing,” Mathia says. It provides good side strength, he adds – along with plenty of 4-in. and longer screws.
    For the roof, he ran 10-ft. 2 by 4’s from the front to the back with an 8-in. drop at the back for a 1/12 pitch. He topped it with 12 pallets, upside down for more places to screw down the roof. Each truss is held down with three screws on each end and a supporting cross member along the walls under the trusses.
    The roof has 18-in. eaves and small overhangs on the front and back. If he were to do it again, he would have used 12-ft. 2 by 4’s for a bigger overhang.
    Mathia removed slats off one corner for a 42-in. wide door and built a door out of 8-in. wide wood from some of the nicest pallets. He used nice looking thin slats from newspaper flyer pallets for the soffit and fascia.
    “Inside I placed two shelves of pallets two wide and one in the front corner for my vice and drill press. These also help with the rigid strength of the building,” Mathia says. “The siding and roofing material is the basic 9/36 ribbed metal, and also acts as a stabilizer.”
    Though the pallet shed was cheap, it took about twice as much time to build.
    “The pallets often don’t match exactly in size, and it just takes extra work to assemble,” he says. “But it’s about saving money. And doing it this way gave me the feeling that I outwitted the system, like winning a prize.”
    He can make it bigger than the regulated size by building a second smaller shed nearby.
    “They can face each other – they aren’t allowed to touch – and when the doors are open, they close the space between them, and I can have an extra work area,” Mathia explains. “I can have the open doors lock into the walls of the facing shed, and thereby both sheds will be locked whether the doors are open or closed.”
    For photos and building details, check out his website.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dave Mathia (davemathia@yahoo.ca; www.palletshed.blogspot.com).

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How One Reader Built A Pallet Shed AG WORLD Inspired by other FARM SHOW readers Dave Mathia built an 8 by 12-ft shed mostly out of pallets and other recycled materials His total cost was less than $100 He used 47 pallets as well as siding and OSB from salvage jobs It was enough to “alarm the neighbors ” Local officers stopped in to see what he was up to in his Medicine Hat Alta neighborhood which has strict regulations about building sheds no more than 107 sq ft size Since it’s built on skids he was not required to have a building permit “We had to make our plan fit the guidelines for ‘shed protocol ’” Mathia says He made the deck two pallets wide by three pallets long with 2 by 4’s around the perimeter and down the center lengthwise He screwed 2 1/2 sheets of OSB on the pallets for the floor End walls had two rows of two pallets and side walls had two rows of three pallets “I put the pallets with the slats horizontal and the 2 by 4’s vertical which is opposite to what I’ve seen on the internet It seemed more logical to me and is similar to house framing ” Mathia says It provides good side strength he adds – along with plenty of 4-in and longer screws For the roof he ran 10-ft 2 by 4’s from the front to the back with an 8-in drop at the back for a 1/12 pitch He topped it with 12 pallets upside down for more places to screw down the roof Each truss is held down with three screws on each end and a supporting cross member along the walls under the trusses The roof has 18-in eaves and small overhangs on the front and back If he were to do it again he would have used 12-ft 2 by 4’s for a bigger overhang Mathia removed slats off one corner for a 42-in wide door and built a door out of 8-in wide wood from some of the nicest pallets He used nice looking thin slats from newspaper flyer pallets for the soffit and fascia “Inside I placed two shelves of pallets two wide and one in the front corner for my vice and drill press These also help with the rigid strength of the building ” Mathia says “The siding and roofing material is the basic 9/36 ribbed metal and also acts as a stabilizer ” Though the pallet shed was cheap it took about twice as much time to build “The pallets often don’t match exactly in size and it just takes extra work to assemble ” he says “But it’s about saving money And doing it this way gave me the feeling that I outwitted the system like winning a prize ” He can make it bigger than the regulated size by building a second smaller shed nearby “They can face each other – they aren’t allowed to touch – and when the doors are open they close the space between them and I can have an extra work area ” Mathia explains “I can have the open doors lock into the walls of the facing shed and thereby both sheds will be locked whether the doors are open or closed ” For photos and building details check out his website Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Dave Mathia davemathia@yahoo ca; www palletshed blogspot com