A cozy corner for outdoor recreation is always convenient, practical and comfortable. However, the construction of a gazebo can cost a pretty penny. Building materials cost a lot, and you also 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 gazebo out of pallets. This is a cheap, and sometimes completely free, building material that no one needs. These arbors are inexpensive, but you have to make a little effort. But the new gazebo will be a great occasion for another meeting with friends and, perhaps, will become the most favorite corner of your dacha.
Pallets: application features
A do-it-yourself pallet gazebo is a great way out for those who know how to hold a hammer in their hands and love to make something. Why choose this material for construction? Let's find out.
Pallets (or, in other words, pallets) are prefabricated wooden structures that serve as packaging material for bulky goods. These are hard-hitting wooden coasters. The boards in them are not located in a continuous canvas, but at some distance from each other, in the form of a lattice. The weight of one such structure canrange from 15 to 22 kg. It all depends on the size.
There are several sizes of the finished pallet:
- standard (ISO) or English - 120x100x14 cm;
- europallet - 120x80x14 cm;
- EURO standard - 80x60x14 cm;
- EURO enlarged - 120x120x14 cm.
Although the thickness given here is 14 cm, in fact, this size can vary from 12 to 14.4 cm.
Since strong and durable wood is used for the manufacture of pallets, one such design can withstand weights up to 1000 kg. Of course, we don’t need so much, but this fact suggests that the gazebo from pallets will come out strong and durable.
Where to get material
As already mentioned, pallets are packaging material. If any structure has been slightly damaged or weakened from loads, it can no longer be used for packaging. Therefore, broken pallets are most often disposed of. But if you decide to build your gazebos inexpensively, this option is quite suitable for you.
You can get the right number of pallets at your disposal in several ways:
- collect them yourself; if you have a large number of different-sized boards and several bars, 70-80 mm thick, you can easily put together the necessary structures yourself;
- buy used pallets; on various sites and message boards you can easily find a huge number of offers; the cost of a piece, depending on the quality and condition,can vary from 20 to 150 rubles;
- get free; you will have to work hard for this - try to find several transport companies and manufacturers using such packaging, contact them; many of them will gladly give you a wooden "scrap" for free, just to save themselves the cost of disposal.
Preparing pallets for work
Building pavilions is a simple matter. But in order for the result of your efforts to please you, the pallets need to be prepared.
- First of all, they need to be cleaned of dirt and dust. Then check each pallet for strength.
- It is likely that some of them will require repair. In order not to spend money, you can disassemble the most “broken down” boards and use it as spare parts.
- Cleaned and repaired pallets must be carefully sanded to remove even the smallest burrs.
- Perhaps your design involves the presence of separate boards - then some pallets need to be completely disassembled and carefully sanded each board separately.
- Now the wood should be processed. Since the pallet gazebo will always stand in the yard and be exposed to atmospheric precipitation, the wood must be protected. To do this, all pallets must be thoroughly impregnated with special antiseptic and water-repellent compounds. If this is not done, your pallet gazebo will rot very quickly and the wood will become gray and unattractive.
- The last stage of preparation is coloring. Canpaint all the pallets in bright colors, or you can use stain - this will emphasize the natural structure of the tree and additionally impregnate it. At the end of the preparatory work, we varnish everything.
Tools and materials
Well, the raw materials for the gazebo have been prepared, now let's collect the necessary tools and materials:
- actual pallets (pallets);
- several bars 80x80 mm for uprights;
- beam 100x100 mm for the construction of the floor frame;
- some concrete;
- a few anchor bolts;
- primer on wood;
- stain or paint;
- drills of various diameters;
- screwdriver or screwdriver;
- bolts and screws for wood (many and different);
- brushes;
- measuring tools - ruler, tape measure, pencil;
- hacksaw or jigsaw;
- belt/vibratory sander or lots of sandpaper;
- steel angles in different sizes.
Drawing a project
Even before the start of construction, it is imperative to draw a project for the future gazebo. They do this in order to correctly calculate the required amount of building material. Of course, changes can be made during the construction process, but the overall dimensions and concept should be clear in advance.
Very original, for example, looks like an octagonal gazebo. However, the place for such an altanka is not on every site. Most summer residents still stop at a more traditional rectangularoption.
You also need to think in advance 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 we proceed directly to the construction. First of all, you need to clear the selected area from grass and stones. Now you can start arranging the base. It is desirable that the floor in the gazebo is located on small piles or on a concrete pad. If the flooring is located directly on the ground, the boards will quickly rot and everything will have to be repaired.
Digging holes for concrete supports. It is enough to arrange piles with a depth of 30 cm and a section of 20x20 cm. The distance between the supports is 100–120 cm.
Preparing the concrete solution. To do this, mix cement, sand and gravel in a ratio of 1: 3: 3. We drive several fittings vertically into the pits and insert a “glass” of boards or roofing material. This will be the formwork. We pour concrete and wait a few days for the solution to completely harden. By the way, when pouring piles, do not forget to check all the horizontal lines with a level, otherwise the floor will turn out to be crooked.
Now it's time to build the floor frame. To do this, we take bars (logs) 100x100 mm and lay them on piles around the perimeter. We fasten the logs together, and also fasten them to the pile columns with the help of anchor bolts. We measure everything strictly according to the level.
Sew the gaps between the lags with boards.
Now we set up the corner posts vertically and make a transverse strapping from above.
Attention! When constructing a frame, it is best to use anchor bolts and screws. It is best to refuse nails, otherwise such a design may become unstable over time.
Walls and roof
To make your DIY pallet gazebo look beautiful and complete, it certainly needs walls. Here you can consider several options, it all depends on your desire:
- all three sides are completely covered; here the pallets are placed in two layers, with the second layer covering the gaps in the first; thus, only the front part remains open; agree, it is rather gloomy and uncomfortable, but some people like it;
- the back of the wall is completely “deaf”, and the side walls along the entire perimeter are 80-120 cm high and look like a railing;
- the most open option - a gazebo made of pallets has only a floor and a roof, there are no walls at all; to be honest, it is also not a very cozy option, but it is as spacious and open as possible.
The second option is the most commonly used. In this case, pallets are installed on the floor in one row. If you put them horizontally - the height of the sides will be 80 cm, and if placed vertically - 120 cm. Pallets are first nailed to the supporting structures, and then fastened together.
Now we move on to the arrangement of the roof. If you take the path of least resistance, then a shed design with a slight slope (no more than 15˚) is quite suitable. Also, the roof can be made gable or ledges, but this already requires more serious building skills. For the crate we usebars 50x50 mm or those left over from dismantled pallets.
It remains to cover our gazebo. Here, too, you can use several options:
- polycarbonate is a light-transmitting material similar to plastic;
- slate;
- boards from dismantled pallets; in this case, it is best to lay them slightly overlapped - this is both more beautiful and more practical, in case of rain, water will not get between the joints.
Before laying a fine wooden coating, it is best to cover the crate with a protective material - roofing material or a moisture-proof film.
Final decor
So our gazebo is ready - simple and beautiful. And to make the resting place look even better, you can additionally decorate it.
It would be nice to arrange a vertical garden in the gaps of pallets - it can be planted both inside and outside. You can paint the walls with bright colors or simply renew the lacquer coating if it is damaged during the installation process.
If your gazebo has a place for barbecue, you can overlay it with decorative tiles 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 gazebos covered with polycarbonate. Due to the plastic "blind" roof, they can get quite hot.
How else to use pallets
As you already understood, the construction of gazebos is not the only option for using pallets.
You can build anything from them, for example, country furniture. Using pallets, you can equip the gazebo with armchairs, sofas, a table and even a swing - everything else your imagination is capable of. For the construction of furniture, you can use everything that is left of the gazebo. Here is just a small fraction of what you can do with pallets with your own hands:
- shoe rack;
- hanger;
- table on wheels;
- sofa;
- armchair;
- vertical garden or flower garden;
- utility wall with shelves;
- swing;
- sandbox.
The most important thing in a case like this is not to limit your imagination. Good luck in your work!
