Great information Dave. Had no clue on label info. During the pandemic as a physicist I decided to build a woodshed from whole pallets and unusable 2x4 studs from a local build site. The framers asked me what I was doing? I told them I was bored. You could just see they were holding back tears of laughter when I pulled out a set of digital verniers to measure up a 2x4. With a background of electrical engineering I set out to build a shed. I developed a custom cut board to attach whole skids together. Even the squirrels were laughing in the trees around the backyard. So for 3 days I fit together a 8x8ft shed. I went to the siding guys at the worksite to ask for scraps and they obliged again. It was lunchtime and one of the framers, holding back tears asked.....what kind of accuracy did you achieve? I said 1/8" in all directions. Everyone stopped talking and stared at me. Wtf was a unanimous reply. The supervisor said 2 inches for a house was good! Hahaha. I told them I was bored and had never built anything like this. The shed has a tin roof and vinyl sided. It's full of skids for the firepit and the squirrels love it! I built it for under $50 cdn complete. It's very strong after 2 winters. Just sayin .....Carter Canada

When I was a kid my mom got about 25 pallet from where she worked and my brother and I built a "fort" with them. We didn't take them apart. We just tipped them up on their sides and nailed them together. It was pretty open so we got ahold of a bunch of those old bamboo screens that roll up and hung them all around the inside and put branches around the outside. That thing lasted for years until we moved. I bet it is probably still there 30 years later.

One build I made using free pallets that I am proud of is when I used them for covering a dirt floor in a basement, so I could utilize that space in the making of a music practice space. I first leveled the ground. I then cut the nail with a sawzal on one side and then stapled the pallets planking back without spacing. I also fastened the first board half way over the edge, so to connect each pallet to another. I strung all the pallets together to cover the entire floor. I then covered the top of all the pallets in one piece of heavy gauge plastic and used a hammer tacker to staple flat. I then topped my new flooring with carpet padding and finally carpet. This covering has served me well for years without problem. Thought this use might benefit others trying to make use of basement space.

Hello my friend, Safe use of the pallet board is essential. I think the following information is important: HOW TO MAKE SURE PALLETS ARE SAFE TO USE- Pallets are used to transport thousands of products, with some of them being harmful chemicals and liquids. It's important to make sure the pallets that you use are safe for your home. 1. Check for a stamp - No stamp means the pallet is a national pallet or used for domestic transport. Most of these pallets are not used to transport chemicals or other harmful substances. 2. What to look for in a stamp - If you don't see an IPPC logo ( International Plant Protection Convention) then be sure to use the pallet with caution. IPPC means the pallet was made of material that will not carry harmful insect species or plant diseases. These pallets are required to be made of wood and treated with an approved treatment method. 3. Treatment codes - (HT) Heat Treatment, (MB) Methyl Bromide, (DB) Debarked, (KD) Kilm Dried 4. Avoid pallets treated with Methyl Bromide - These pallets are treated with a pesticide that poses health risks.

Have made animal, goat, chicken, dog fencing with pallets. Also built a nice outhouse with pallets. Best seat in the house and a great view too!!

My personal experience has been awesome. Have made several awesome pieces of furniture, thus making a good profit margin. Picnic table/Bench, Adirondack chairs, stove toppers, work benches, saw horses, garbage containers, bird houses, tables, Thanks for the tips though, have never seen any markings on any of the pallets I've picked up. Great info.

I'd agree with everything you said, except the methyl bromide. It's true pallets are treated with methyl bromide And it's also true that methyl bromide is very toxic. But there's two things that make pallets being treated with methyl bromide largely irrelevant. Methyl bromide is a gas at room temperature, and the pallets are treated by fumigating them. Since the boiling point of methyl bromide is 40F, any methyl bromide used during fumigation evaporated off a LONG time ago. This stuff dissipates so fast, that it's used to fumigate strawberries and grapes. So if you've ever eaten a strawberry, chances are you've eaten one where methyl bromide was used to fumigate it for pests. It used to be used to fumigate houses to kill termites (it's since been banned because it's an ozone depleting chemical). So basically, don't worry about it. Worry about all the other crap the pallet might have come into contact with over it's life. But the methyl bromide is of zero concern.

I occasionally get some, and they work ok for something "rustic" (I made shelves for a hobby room that turned out pretty cool.) I also realized that there was a HUGE variety of quality, and having used them for that project, I often passed by those for better, more consistent wood (even when it costs money.) The best use I've found has been free firewood for the pit outside. Nobody seems to mind the cracks, bent nails, and odd shapes. Thanks for a though provoking look.

Thank you so much!! That was extremely helpful and I love how you didn't force your opinions and are opened other ideas as well. Totally going to watch more of your videos

VERY useful video, Dave! Thank you! You answered several questions I've been wondering about and a bunch I hadn't even thought of - especially the info on the markings on pallets! Thanks, again!

Thanks, a lot of interesting and smart info. That being said, recently saw large clean & clear tulip poplar used on pallets a friend received with a wood delivery. Beautiful and perfect full 2x4’s. They have already been cleaned and stashed for latter use.

I use pallets for outlying building projects: Chicken coop; lawn and garden shed; and other similar projects. Of course, as the cost of wood is high, and if time is a factor do not use pallets, but by taking the time to select decent pallets of the same typical construction, one may save a good amount of money, and have a great time with the grandchildren . Using the scraps to make a fire is always fun too.

Thank you. There's a lot of great information here. I recently built my first project out of pallet wood and I enjoyed it, but there was some extra labor involved for the processing.

I worked at number of different factories when I was younger and typically you see better pallets at places moving really heavy, industrial type stuff or somewhat hazardous stuff like paints, chemicals, etc. I worked one place that made and tempered huge metal coils and those pallets had wood over an in thick on them and could be up to 76" by 76" where each pallet weighed multiple hundreds of pounds just by itself.

Great video! I want to build a shed, a coop and a container to hold trash filled bags to protect them from the dogs and horses between dump runs. Now I know what to look for to keep the chickens safe. Super informative! I’m subscribing!

Dave thank you! I was working on a tray for like bringing chips and stuff to the livingroom for my wife and me. Now I am reconsidering my choice of materials.

Thank you. I have been considering using pallet wood for some projects and you answered all of my questions about using pallet wood. I'll be careful and see it as of very limited use for my projects.

I really like the way you handled V art's "stupid" comment...lol.

If customs open a container at the port and find anything they don’t like, they will treat the whole container with Methyl Bromide, so your HT pallet may well have been MB treated anyway. It’s also worth noting that the MB dissipates into the atmosphere, so it’s highly unlikely that you will be affected by MB. I use pallets all the time and don’t worry about MB - of more concern is the amount of small metal chips and stones that may be embedded in the wood, which will damage your planer blades and then the “free” wood isn’t free anymore. With that said, it’s obviously a personal choice, good luck with your pallet wood.

Sir, I build things out of pallets all the time. There is a very simple way to avoid all these things. Use your eyes and look at them. Maybe do some research about where you get them. I get mine from a local metal fabrication business for free and most of the pallets there are made locally for metal made locally and used only once. If you're putting the effort in to make something, you put the effort in to get the best stuff you can. I've looked at free pallets, and said, "I'm sorry, those wont suit my purpose" in the past. Most people giving pallets away expect you to use them for firewood, and if you tell them it's for arts and crafts, they think its interesting and will help you get nice ones or tell you their condition. At least in my expierence. The current place I get them puts the nicest ones aside for me. 💜

OK dude, we know you're rich, you don't have to rub it in by showing us all your lumber :) Great video!

Thank you for your concern Most of your arguments have narrow limits of impact and can and are worked around; project size, mixed material, how dry is the material, bought any building lumber at your big box Green as grass, etc. I have used pallet lumber with very good results and would use it again should it fill the needs of a project. Thank you

Excellent piece. I was aware they were generally available (get two with broken pieces and make one out of them) and use it to store stuff like paint off the floor. But the letter and number codes were new to me (tempted to run out and check some pallets for them!). More importantly, though is that your advice for pallet wood is applicable to anything you plan to use: know what it is, what it's limits are, what it's risks are and in general it's overall qualities and whether it really if the right material or tool for a job. Thanks for sharing.

An intelligent well thought out narrative with some very useful information. There were a number of things I hadn't thought about so thank you for that.

Hi Dave, found your video informative, I've used pallets for a couple of outdoor projects and because ice got a home made disassembly tool its very fat to remove slats from supports, however still a little tone consuming to remove the nails but all said cheaper than buying good wood for a raised path/walkway and catwalk around the kids' playhouse. Having said all that, i completely agree with your opinion of not using that wood for any indoor or cosmetic woodworking. However as boxes around my blackberry bushes the cutoffs of my other projects worked quite well albeit for only one season as in the ground they rotted quite fast over the winter, oak and pine both rotted equally fast! So all your points are valid, thanks.

I thought about building a club play house out of pallets and left over used bricks . I now I know what to look for Thank you for information. Its something fun and adventurous for my family to do !

Thank you, Dave! Such useful information. I appreciate you taking time out to provide wisdom and knowledge 🫶🏽

Great information. Well explained and you’re open minded whether one has to use the pallets or not. Personally I have learnt a lot on some important details I wasn’t aware of. Thank you

been using and re-cycling pallets since the 80s, excellent info and help, thank you sooooooooo much!

Thanks for the info on methelbromide. Years ago my dad brought home a box/pallet made of wonderful Swedish Pine. It was made for some machine that his company got - excellent wood. I also picked up some dunnage from the docks near our home. The stuff was very heavy. Found out that it was Mahogany, 8"x8" by six feet long. It had been treated with some oil so it didn't look that good, but the treatment only went down about half an inch. The amount of work it took to remove that half inch all around and then cut the wood up was not worth it. Four pieces of dunnage dulled three band saw blades and a full day of slow work. The wood was good but we only used it for the floor of our shed, as we did not know what was in the wood from overseas. Thanks.

Great info on the pallets. Will definitely bare that in mind. I've only used a couple and they have been for either temporary or rough planters or garden bench table etc. Then I'm not worried if they fall apart or get damaged.

I made a work bench out of 7 foot pallet. I also pallets to build a sub floor for my 20 x 12 shed for lawnmower, bike, and garden tools.

Incredibly valuable information. Thank you so much. A lot of what you said never even crossed my mind. Excellent job in looking out for everyone!🙂

Good points to consider, look forward to checking out your channel

I get pallets that made for shipping large sheets of sheet metal, (at least four foot by ten feet). Most of these pallets are made from oak and pine. I use a special tool I made to tear them apart very quickly and efficiently. I mostly use this wood for burning but I have use it also use it to build small outdoor projects. I found your comment on methyl bromide interesting because when the wood is burned it gives off a distinct smell. Thanks.

Thank you for the info buddy.

Liked, shared and commenting. Very educational. Ty

Great video. Good tag line for the title too! Very important information, especially this year. Two years ago, I started using pallet wood for my garage shelving. I tried several methods to take apart the pallets (reciprocating saw, thor-like hammers, pry bars and regular hammers.) and after about thirty of them became quite good at it. I found the 45-48 inch pallets with four support boards to be the worst. I watched several youtube demo videos before I started and understood which ones were going to be harmful. Last year, I started using some pallet wood for my garden beds. I used the 2"X4"'s to great the box frame and then side boards cut to 16" to 18" length for the sides. I sanded them down and treated them with linseed oil and lined the inside of the box with a water barrier lining and drilled holes in the bottom as to allow no water pooling. End result, decent. The money I spent on the mixture of organic soils evened out for the free wood. It did take a month to source out acceptable wood pallets which I got from the local garden center. I will get another season out of the wood, but next year I will plan to buy new boards that can last more than 1-2 seasons. Thanks for taking the time to put out this videos.

Great info! Thanks!

This was very informative. I would never have known there was a stamp on the pallets or what it means. Now, I'll be aware. I think it's good for people to know and be aware not to use the wood pallets for anything where food will come into contact. It's just smart and sensible. I'm building little ranch-style fences, lattice walls for my garden, and siding for a shed, so I think it'll be alright.

Solid explanations for why it would not be the greatest idea to use pallet wood. Most of them I knew, the MB is the one I didn’t know specifically what chemical it was but I assumed there would be pallets treated with harsh chemicals. Thanks for the video!

Well done, Dave. It was a good refresher for me, but I did indeed pick up a couple of new tidbits. Keep up the good work!

Education is very important, thank you for taking the time to teach us. Now I am going to be more careful about the palettes I chose to use,

Great video thanks for the info!

Great info, thanks.

Am building a woodstore with pallet wood - not sure I'd like to build a shed or an animal shelter or some of the other exotic projects people use them for. Great video. There was a good video of taking them apart by turning them over and hitting down on them. Thanks for the information on the methyl bromide - invaluable. I thought pallets could be treated to preserve the wood as they do for fence posts - never thought about preserving them to repel insects. ALSO, never burn them on your woodburner or in your fireplace.

Great video. I use them for some very specific projects (generally where they are used whole or nearly whole) your video isn’t just a “don’t do this” but wise council on what to consider if you decide to. Thank you!

Thanks for pointing out some things I never thought about!

Great video! I've been collecting and using pallets for about 45 years now. I've yet to find a good and consistent way to dismantle them. Sawing them up seems to be the best method, but as you said, it limits the amount of salvageable wood. Best and easiest use is to make stacks, bridge them with framing lumber to make outdoor storage sheds. Good luck everyone!

My dad always is on the lookout for pallets to build stuff with. Usually bird houses, tables, once we got our hands on larger pallets and crating from a business that installed hot tubs. We built a lot of bird houses and even an 8x8 shed for goats we had. Being truck drivers, there's good opportunity for us to snag pallets in good shape. A few months ago I found some with oak planks and nice pine, so I pulled them off and tossed them in next to the passenger seat. Over the next two days I developed a headache and breathing problems. I didn't think about pesticides, but I did toss them figuring it was off gassing of pine resins or other chemical treatment. I felt better not long after getting them out of my truck.

Informative, thanks.

I used pallet boards to make a wood floor in a commercial salon. I used new boards I purchased from a company that makes pallets. Very labor heavy process but in the end ,a beautiful one of a kind wood floor. So amazing it was on TV.

Great information - thank you!

Very informative. Thanks.

I appreciate this video very much. I knew they were sometimes treated but did not know exactly with what or how to identify pallets that had been treated. Now I have a better understanding. And honestly only the methyl bromide would deter me. I am in a major metropolitan area and I see discarded furnitureball the time and think to myself "that right there is better than pallet wood." Specifically because it eliminates the methyl bromide concern.

I want to thank U for that in lighting information about pallet wood,I have been watching people making different things from them.that's good to know information to aid in a person wanting to use them to make items they may want to use around the house.👌👌👍👍👍👍👍

Thanks for the knowledge!!

Excellent points, thank you.

Great information! Thanks for sharing!

Great info. It definitely makes me think twice about using pallet wood.

Thanks for the educational information.

Thanks for the advice on the labeling of pallets. I have them for building of outdoor projects. I have special tools to take them apart. I’m not going to be upset at you. I think it’s a great video to share. Thanks

Great video! Thanks for sharing info and knowledge! I am glad

Thank you for the breakdown of the stamp symbols

I had no money at the time but I needed to build some kind of a run for my dogs. I thought that pallets might be a good idea since they were free. I lived down the road from a local animal feed store. They had hundreds of pallets available to take. So, I started grabbing about 40-50 at a time. There were so many to choose from that I was able to be really picky and only grab the best looking highest quality ones I could find. Ultimately, Instead of just a dog run, I ended up building a small deck in the back of my duplex. It had a shed and doghouse to boot. The pallets worked out really well for me. I would love to send you some pictures. I would say, for a pallet wood project, (for free), it really came out pretty good. It was originally for the dogs but we liked it so much that we ended up spending a few summer nights out there playing cards.

Euro pallets are often thicker wood, and more often hardwood slats. While you do still have to check for Methyl bromide, it is rare in the US and has been illegal here and in many countries for some time. I am working on some pallets right now to make a chicken coop. Some of them even have plywood on one side. I had already figured that food contact would not be a good idea, but the chickens will have heat treated wood, and won't be eating off of it : ) I'd say pallet wood is good for some things, but not everything, and you have to be careful. The split pieces I can't use for the chicken coop will make dandy kindling when we go camping (camp wood isn't cheap either!) Good pros and cons in the video, though as well as the labeling info.

Thank you very much for a lot of information, it is good to know the facts about this wood!

I'm in Australia & there is almost a cottage industry on making projects from free pallets, I have made several myself, the most complicated was a pirate ship/cubby house for my son & his friends. It started out simple but by the time my son grew out of it half the Dads in the street had contributed to it & we would sometimes sit on the deck enjoying a home brew, oh & keeping an eye on the kids. When my son grew out of it I recycled the parts into another shed & it's still enjoyed by those guys who enjoy a brew or 2 & need a little down time, oh yes, those screw nails are a right royal prick to remove as you said.

I use them to build my kids forts , have the fun is hunting for them and figuring out how to use them

Cool, now I know why the pallet at the bottom of my garden is blue! Currently dismantling some to use in garden, an electric hack saw, (to cut through nails) plus an old chisel and heavy hammer is getting it done fast enough to be worthwhile.

I use pallets, wood from box springs, and any wood I can reuse repurpose to make raised garden beds, compost bins, trellis, and bed edging, I'm always thinking about what else I can do with them. Thank you. You did have a few 'good-to-know' info that I am now aware of.

Thank you for the information and video. I learned a lot from you. Have a great day.

Thanks, I really appreciate the information. 👍😁

This was very helpful thank you

Thank you for your information

Thank you but I do use pallets for animals blocking or fencing. Fire wood shed. And walls in a barn to divide different areas. Also used them to make a one winter straw and pallet barn with a loose hay roof. Thank you great job

This is extremely useful, many thanks from the UK!

Thanks for helping us to make informed decisions. :)

Thank you. I did not know of those problems with pallet wood. I learned a lot.🙂

Very informative. Thank you!

Hey, awesome video, ive just started making a small garden shed on an euro pallet at school so its more mobile and could be moved easy 👌 going to check if it has a marking for methyl bromide tomorrow thx 👍😎

Very informative! Great deal of information I had no idea about, Keep the videos coming!

The blue pallets, chep pallets are pretty expensive for Walmart and Publix, etc to buy; so if you just go up on their property and start taking them you may get arrested. I lived for 5 years of paying my rent along with some beers everyday by just doing pallets and scrap metal. The 40"x48" four-way pallets are the ones you look for when trying to make a few dollars. They will buy the chep pallets for about a dollar each.

Generally, I used pallets the way they were designed...for storage. I have numerous pallets that I've augmented, along with some 2x4, to make outdoor storage shelves. I also use pallet wood for shop storage and rough temporary jigs, bunks for temporary storage, or out door rustic projects like yard tools organizers, 'Bug Hotels', and things like temporary drying racks to paint or stain wood. I do not use pallet wood for food safe projects or finer pieces that will be used indoors...especially if they are used by children. It is safe and easier to use new wood. Thanks for pointing these pitfalls out. Very informative.

Great considerations!

I heard a guy talk about the Methol Bromide treated pallets were not that big of a deal because the chimicles seam to evaporate shortly after and during the drying period. He makes a lot of good looking furniture out of it and gets a lot of coustomers to buy what he makes. I like to use pallet parts for shims, raised gardens, or small tool boxes and nut, bolt, screw and nail segregation when im doing a job that requires all the same hand tools and hardware. Like installing garage doors, cabinets or ceiling fans. I like burning whats left of them in my chimnia in the wintertime in my back yard. The bigger longer pallets make good cement forms that can be dicarded without hurting my bank account or my feelings when they get broken. They also make good raised garden beds.

There's this product called Thompson's water seals , I have 2 small sheds that I built over 12 years ago and they are holding up just fine 😊

The information you provide is excellent and quite thorough. I do worry about some of the social media messages about people talking about making furniture for sale (often at high prices) from pallet wood. The concept of bringing unknown timbers with unknown treatment into home environments is very worrying, and may well open the maker up for compensation if the product has faults. We occasionally use pallet wood for simple one-off tasks such as making moulds or framework;, but tend to look for other timber alternatives for other price-limited applications.

Outside projects , used as back drops , and Good info . Thanks

Wow. Did not know. Thank you for info. Will keep safety in mind when using. Appreciate the markings. Best for outdoor use, limited lifespan. 😮😊

Excellent advice Dave. very useful!

Hey! That is really useful info! Thank you!

I’ve been woodworking four years since I retired. I’ve built all sorts of things for my shop and home. I’ve not purchased any lumber except one sheet each of Baltic plywood and a sheet of 3/4 mdf. Have used construction site off cuts, defects and pallet wood. Just picked up an absolutely beautiful clean pallet today. Codes were VN and HT. Both sides all slats are touching each other, no gaps. 30 slats in total, all in perfect shape. Now to break it down.

Good video thanks for sharing God bless you and yours.

Great video very informative, thank you.

thanks for the info I like the part about the marking and what they mean I have seen them but had no clue what they meant

We have used pallets for windbreaks on our corrals. That’s about all we have used them for except to keep stuff on that we didn’t want to get wet. We could usually get them for free from a grain elevator.

I use pallets all the time, not necessarily for fine furniture but usually for things like compost bins or outside tables to hold my grow bags. Sometimes I make storage crates out of them. I usually use a reciprocating saw to cut the nails. Searching for the right pallet is sort of like looking for good pieces of wood, you can see when you get a good pallet vs one in bad shape. You can usually tell the different types of wood used to make them if you don't want to mix wood. The one thing that you did educate me on are the markings and to look for the pallets that have been chemically treated so I will avoid them. I think this is a very informative video but I am all for free wood, where I even pick up scraps of wood that people put out for the trash if I can think of a use for it. Likewise for screws and hardware, I rarely have to buy my own.

Lots of good points. Thank you. I did not think about all what you say. 👍🏻

Even though I am late on watching your video, I do appreciate your information. Since I know about the potential risks, I do take cautious measures with the pallets I use. Thumbs up.