Arbor from pallets own hands

A cozy corner for outdoor recreation is always convenient, practical and comfortable. However, the construction of a gazebo can fly into a pretty penny. Building materials cost a lot, and still need to buy a couple of comfortable sofas or a table. What to do? Of course, build yourself.

Today we will talk about how to make a pavilion from pallets. This is cheap, and sometimes even completely free, no one needs the building material. These gazebos are inexpensive, but it will take a little effort. But the new Altanka will be an excellent occasion for another meeting with friends and, perhaps, will be the most favorite corner of your dacha.

Pallets: application features

Arbor from pallets with your own hands is a wonderful way out for those who know how to hold a hammer and like to make something. Why is it worth choosing this material for construction? Let's figure it out.

Pallets (or, in other words, pallets) are prefabricated wooden structures that serve as packing material for bulky goods. These are rigidly knocked down wooden supports. The boards in them are located not with a continuous cloth, but at some distance from each other, in the form of a lattice. The weight of one such structure can range from 15 to 22 kg. It all depends on the size.

There are several sizes of the finished pallet:

• Standard (ISO) or Englishwoman - 120x100x14 cm;
• Europallet - 120x80x14 cm;
• Standard EURO - 80x60x14 cm;
• EURO increased - 120х120х14 cm.

Although a thickness of 14 cm is given here, in fact this size can vary from 12 to 14.4 cm.

Since solid and durable wood is used for the production of pallets, one such structure is capable of supporting a weight of up to 1000 kg. Of course, we do not need that much, but this fact shows that the pavilion from the pallets will come out solid and durable.

Where to get the material

As already mentioned, pallets are packaging materials. If any structure has been slightly damaged or weakened from the loads, it can no longer be used for packing. Therefore, broken pallets are most often utilized. But if you decide to build your own gazebos inexpensively, this variant will suit you.

You can get the right amount of pallets in several ways:

• Collect them yourself; If you have a large number of different calibrated boards and several bars, 70-80 mm thick, you can easily build the necessary structures yourself;
• Buy pallets that have been in operation; On various sites and message boards you can easily find a huge number of offers; The price of the piece, depending on the quality and condition, can vary from 20 to 150 rubles;
• Get free; For this you have to work hard - try to find several transport companies and manufacturers using such packaging, contact them; Many of them will gladly give you a wooden "scrap" free of charge, just to save themselves from the costs of recycling.

Preparation of pallets for work

Construction of pavilions is not an easy task. But to make the result of the effort a pleasure, you need to prepare the pallets.

1. First of all, they need to be cleaned of dirt and dust. Then check each pallet for strength.
2. It is likely that some of them will require repair. In order not to be wasted, it is possible to disassemble on the boards the most "broken" and use it as spare parts.
3. Cleaned and repaired pallets must be carefully sanded to get rid of even the smallest burrs.
4. Perhaps your design assumes the existence of separate boards - then some pallets must be completely disassembled and carefully sanded each dosochku separately.
5. Now the wood should be processed. Since the pavilion from the pallets will always cost in the yard and be exposed to atmospheric precipitation, the wood needs to be protected. To do this, all pallets need to be well impregnated with special antiseptic and water-repellent compounds. If you do not, your pavilion from the pallets very quickly begins to rot, and the wood will turn gray and unattractive.
6. The last stage of preparation is staining. You can paint all the pallets in bright colors, or you can use a stain - this will accentuate the natural structure of the tree and further impregnate it. At the end of the preparatory work we cover everything with varnish.

Tools and materials

Well, raw materials for the Altanka are prepared, now we will collect the necessary tools and materials:

• Actually pallets (pallets);
• Several beams 80x80 mm for vertical racks;
• A beam 100х100 mm for construction of a skeleton of a floor;
• A bit of concrete;
• Several anchor bolts;
• Priming on wood;
• Stain or paint;
• Drills of different diameters;
• Screwdriver or screwdriver;
• Bolts and screws for wood (many and different);
• Brushes;
• Measuring instruments - ruler, tape measure, pencil;
• Hacksaw or electric jigsaw;
• Tape / vibrating sanding machine or a lot of sandpaper;
• Steel corners in different sizes.

Drawing a project

Even before the start of construction, it is necessary to draw a draft of the future gazebo. Do this in order to correctly calculate the required amount of building material. Of course, in the construction process, you can make changes, but the overall size and concept should be clear in advance.

Very original, for example, looks octagonal gazebo. However, the place for such an altanka is not on every site. Most dacha residents still stop on a more traditional rectangular version.

Also, you need to think ahead about the availability of furniture and its location. By the way, a table and sofas for your gazebo can also be made from pallets.

Base and frame

Now proceed directly to the construction. First of all, you need to clear the selected area from grass and stones. Now you can proceed with the arrangement of the base. It is desirable that the floor in the arbor was located on small stilts or on a concrete pillow. If the flooring will be located directly on the ground, the boards will quickly rot and will have to be repaired.

We excavate pits for the construction of concrete supports. It is enough to arrange a pile with a depth of 30 cm and a section of 20x20 cm. The distance between the supports is 100-120 cm.

We prepare the concrete solution. To do this, mix cement, sand and gravel in the proportion 1: 3: 3. In the pits, drive a few vertical armatures vertically and insert a "glass" from the boards or roofing material. This will be the formwork. Fill the concrete and wait for a few days to completely harden the solution. By the way, when pouring piles, do not forget to check all the horizontals with the help of a level, otherwise the floor will turn out to be crooked.

Now it's time to build a floor frame. To do this, we take the bars (logs) 100x100 mm and stack them on piles along the perimeter. We fix the logs with each other, and also fasten to the pillars of the piles with the help of anchor bolts. We measure everything strictly according to the level.

The gaps between the logs are sewed with boards.

Now we establish vertically angular poles and make a cross-dressing from above.

Attention! When you build a frame, it is best to use anchor bolts and screws. It is best to refuse nails, otherwise this design may turn out to be unstable over time.

Walls and roof

To make your gazebo of pallets with your own hands look beautiful and finished, of course, it needs walls. Here you can consider several options, it all depends on your desire:

• All three sides are completely closed; Here the pallets are placed in two layers, the second layer overlapping the gaps in the first; Thus, only the front part remains open; Agree, this is rather gloomy and uncomfortable, but some like it;
• The rear part of the wall is completely "deaf", and the side walls along the entire perimeter have a height of 80-120 cm and look like a railing;
• The most open variant - a gazebo of pallets has only a floor and a roof, walls are absent altogether; Frankly, also not too cozy option, but the most spacious and open.

The second option is most often used. In this case, the pallets are installed on the floor in one row. If you put them horizontally - the height of the rails will be 80 cm, and with the vertical arrangement - 120 cm. The pallets are first nailed to the supporting structures, and then fastened together.

Now we turn to the arrangement of the roof. If you follow the path of least resistance, then a single-deck construction with a slight slope (not more than 15 вполне) is quite suitable. Also, the roof can be made gable or ledges, but this already requires more serious building skills. For the battens we use the joists 50x50 mm or those that are left from the dismantled pallets.

It remains to cover our alcanto. Here, too, you can use several options:

• Polycarbonate - a light-transmitting material, similar to plastic;
• slate;
• Boards from the disassembled pallets; In this case, it is best to lay them a little overlap - it's more beautiful, and more practical, in case of rain, water will not get between the joints.

Before laying a clean wooden coating, the lath is best covered with protective material - roofing material or a waterproof film.

The final decor

So our gazebo is ready - simply and beautifully. And that the place for rest looked even better, you can additionally decorate it.

In the lumens of pallets it is good to arrange a vertical garden - it can be planted both inside and outside. You can paint the walls with bright colors or just refill the varnish if it is damaged during the installation.

If there is a place for a barbecue in your summerhouse, you can overlay it with a decorative tile or stone.

The classic option is to plant grapes around the gazebo. Over time, it will grow and will create an additional shadow. This is especially true for arbours covered with polycarbonate. Because of the plastic "dumb" roof in them can be quite hot.

How else to use pallets

As you have already understood, building gazebos is not the only option for using pallets. Of these, you can build anything you like, for example, country furniture. Using pallets, you can equip the gazebo with armchairs, sofas, a table and even a swing - everything that your imagination is capable of. For the construction of furniture you can use all that is left of the gazebo. Here is just a small fraction of what can be made from pallet by hand:

• Stand for shoes;
• hanger;
• Table on wheels;
• sofa;
• armchair;
• Vertical garden or flower garden;
• An economic wall with shelves;
• swing;
• sandbox.

The most important thing in such a thing is not to limit your imagination. Good luck in your work!