Where to buy pallets?
Let us show you how!
If your in the need of where to buy pallets, let us show you how. Pallets are awesome as they are super cheap to buy or better yet free. If you have ever been through an industrial area or the back of most warehouses you are bound to have seen some pallets stacked up sitting there waiting to be creativity upcycled into a new desk, couch, planter or stool. So we are going to show you the best way to get started.
Firstly the reason pallets are so cheap to buy or given away is that once a manufactures delivers their goods on a pallet the products are usual split up and put on to shop shelves etc and the pallets are no longer needed. Some companies re-use pallets but many goods come from overseas so it doesn’t really make sense to send the pallets back and hence the over supply. With the estimated 2 billion pallets being used every day and many more in stacks not being used there should be a few spare for you to get creative with.
Get your pallets locally
Most suburbs will be home to a few biggish businesses or have an industrial area not to far away, it really is as easy as walking around and asking at the warehouse if they have any unneeded pallets. A few attempts at doing this and you will normally have made a good friend who is eager to send pallets your way. Once you start keeping your eye out for pallets you will be thinking why did you not think of using them before.
A little note that sometime smaller to mid size businesses are the best to approach as they might not have a pallet removal system in place and also consider checking out any local building sites.
Get your pallets online
There is probably a few others, but the standard online pallet goldmines that rarely disappoint are:
Once you’ve completed your first few pallet projects you will be hooked! And if you need some inspiration check out a few ideas here.
All pallets are not created equal
With most things I say jump into it and get started, learn as you go but there are a few little things to consider:
Is the pallet safe?
When your picking up your pallet what business is it coming from? If it’s a business that could be storing chemicals on the pallets or have some type of noxious material spill on to the pallets, it might be better to give those pallets a miss. Also is the pallet itself treated with chemicals. Pallets have stamps on them and also if it’s an international pallet it could be treated on the way into Australia. We will be doing a whole article on this soon. But as a start try keep a look out for good condition pallets that are Heat Treated (HT). Many warehouse guys are actually pretty knowledgable about the subject so never hurt’s to ask.
What size is best?
This really is a case by case basis. A project where you are deconstructing the pallets into individual slats and cladding a wall for example you will find some pallets come apart easy peasy, where as if you are building a coffee table a smaller more sturdy pallet is better. Experiment and if the first few pallets are not working for you go try a different style.
Now that’s enough reading go grab some pallets get your tools out and getting making!
