Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You’ll Need:
- Free Pallets
- Circular Saw
- Drill
- Nuts/bolts/washers
- untreated 2x4 studs
- 2 12' 1x4s
- 4 8' 1x4s
Step1
Go to any warehouse district and you will see 6 or 7 companies with stacks and stacks of empty pallets. If you ask about 25% of these companies will give you a few of the pallets if not all.
These will be down and dirty shelves but you can always spray paint them and they will look great. (I built the shelves and pressure washed and then used a airless paint sprayer and they look great.) sorry no pics I sold that house.
Step2
Take 4 pallets of same size and attach 2 - 2x4 on one side of the 4 pallets via drilling a hole and using a bolt/washers/nut
Step3
Now that these 4 pallets are connected on one side sandwich 2 2x4s between that set of 4 pallets and another set of 4.
drill through both set of pallets and the 2x4 sandwiched in the middle and bolt together (these bolts will need to be longer)
Step4
Continue this for about 4 sections and then put 2 2x4s on end piece just as in step 2
Step5
while this section of 4 is on the ground add a X brace on the back with 1x4s and x brace on each side with 1x4s you can attach these with sheetrock screws or nails.
Step6
Get a friend and raise this unit into place and secure to wall.
You can buy the bolts/nuts/washers from tractor supply for about $1.80 per pound.... and 1x4s you can get from HD cheap.....
You get nice big utiility shelves without alot of cost.
Pallets
Authority 
Comments
wytetygres said
on 8/26/2008 Great article. Pallets can be used for so many things, and as you say, companies will give them to you just to get rid of them.