Learned a trick with old pallets for shed shelving

I was tired of my shed being a pile of boxes on the floor, so I grabbed a free pallet from behind the grocery store. After breaking it apart, I screwed the planks right into the studs as simple shelves. Has anyone else tried repurposing pallet wood for garage storage?

3 comments

3 Comments

hannah_wells9d ago

Pallets can be hit or miss depending on how beat up they are. Make sure you pull any nails before screwing the boards in or you'll wreck your saw blade next time you trim them. I've done this in my garage for paint cans and smaller tools, but the wood can split if you don't pre-drill your screw holes near the ends. Also keep an eye out for pallets stamped with MB or heat treated ones, the chemically treated ones sweat and can stain your stuff.

mason_reed479d ago

Pre-drilling near the ends is the one tip I wish someone had told me years ago, saved a ton of boards that way. And yeah, those chemical pallets are nasty - I just skip any that don't look clean and dry right off the bat.

the_holly9d ago

Preaching to the choir on that pre-drilling tip, honestly ruined a perfectly good 2x4 my first time because I got impatient. Tbh the chemical pallet sweat thing is real, I had one stain a whole shelf project and now I just grab the cleanest ones I find.