A cozy corner for relaxing in the fresh air - it is always convenient, practical and comfortable. However, the construction of the gazebo can fly into a pretty penny. Building materials cost a lot, and you 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 an arbor from pallets. This is cheap, and sometimes completely free, building material that no one needs. Such arbors are inexpensive, but you will have to make a little effort. But the new altanka will be an excellent occasion for another meeting with friends and, perhaps, will become the most favorite corner of your summer residence.
Pallets: application features
A gazebo from pallets with your own hands is a wonderful way out for those who know how to hold a hammer in their hands 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 packaging material for bulky goods. These are hard-hit wooden coasters. The boards in them are not located with a continuous canvas, but at a certain distance from each other, in the form of a lattice. The weight of one such design 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;
- EURO standard - 80x60x14 cm;
- EURO increased - 120x120x14 cm.
Although a thickness of 14 cm is shown here, 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 is capable of supporting up to 1000 kg. Of course, we donโt need so much, but this fact suggests that the gazebo will come out of pallets strong and durable.
Where to get the material
As already mentioned, pallets are packaging material. If any structure was slightly damaged or weakened from stress, it can no longer be used for packaging. Therefore, broken pallets are most often disposed of. But if you decide to build your gazebo inexpensively, this option is quite suitable for you.
There are several ways to get at your disposal the required number of pallets:
- collect them yourself; if you have a large number of different-sized boards and several bars, 70โ80 mm thick, you can quite put together the necessary structures yourself;
- buy pallets that have been in use; on various sites and bulletin 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; 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 wooden scrap for free, just to save yourself the cost of disposal.
Preparation of pallets for work
Construction of gazebos is a simple matter. But for the result of your efforts to please you, 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 splurge, you can disassemble the most "broken-down" onto the boards and use it as spare parts.
- Cleaned and repaired pallets must be carefully sanded to get rid of 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 gazebo from pallets will always stand in the yard and be exposed to atmospheric precipitation, the wood must be protected. To do this, all pallets need to be thoroughly saturated with special antiseptic and water-repellent compounds. If this is not done, your gazebo from the pallets will very quickly begin to rot, and the wood will become gray and unattractive.
- The last stage of preparation is staining. You can paint all pallets in bright colors, or you can use a 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 altanka are prepared, now we will collect the necessary tools and materials:
- actually pallets (pallets);
- several bars of 80x80 mm for vertical racks;
- timber 100x100 mm for the construction of the floor frame;
- some concrete;
- several anchor bolts;
- wood primer;
- stain or paint;
- drills of various diameters;
- screwdriver or screwdriver;
- bolts and wood screws (many and different);
- brushes;
- measuring instruments - ruler, tape measure, pencil;
- hacksaw or jigsaw;
- belt / vibration sander or a lot of sandpaper;
- steel corners of different sizes.
Draw a project
Even before the start of construction, it is necessary to draw a draft of 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.
For example, an octagonal arbor looks very original. However, the place for such an altanka is not in every area. Most summer residents still stop at a more traditional rectangular version.
You also need to think about the availability of furniture and its location in advance. 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 clean the selected area from grass and stones. Now you can begin to arrange the foundation. It is advisable that the floor in the gazebo is located on small piles or on a concrete pillow. If the flooring will be located directly on the ground, the boards will quickly decay and will have to be repaired.
We dig holes for the device of concrete supports. It is enough to arrange piles with a depth of 30 cm and a cross section of 20x20 cm. The distance between the supports is 100-120 cm.
We prepare a concrete mortar. To do this, mix cement, sand and gravel in a ratio of 1: 3: 3. We drive several rebars vertically into the pits and insert a โglassโ of sludge ruberoid boards. This will be the formwork. Pour concrete and wait a few days for the complete hardening of the solution. By the way, when pouring piles, do not forget to check all the horizontals using the level, otherwise the floor will turn out crooked.
Now it's time to build the floor frame. To do this, take the bars (logs) 100x100 mm and lay them on piles around the perimeter. We fasten the logs together, and also fasten to the columns of piles with anchor bolts. We measure everything strictly according to the level.
The gaps between the lags are sewn up with boards.
Now we install vertically corner posts and make a transverse trim from above.
Attention! When installing the frame, it is best to use anchor bolts and screws. It is best to refuse nails, otherwise such a design may turn out to be unstable over time.
Walls and roof
To make your pavilion pavilion look beautiful and finished with your own hands, she, of course, needs walls. Here you can consider several options, it all depends on your desire:
- all three sides are completely closed; here the pallets are put in two layers, and the second layer overlaps the gaps in the first; thus, only the front part remains open; agree, itโs rather gloomy and uncomfortable, but some like it;
- the back of the wall is completely โdeafโ, and the side walls around the entire perimeter are 80-120 cm high and look like a railing;
- the most open option - the gazebo of pallets has only a floor and a roof, there are no walls at all; honestly, also not too comfortable option, but the most spacious and open.
The most commonly used is still the second option. In this case, the pallets are installed on the floor in one row. If you put them horizontally - the height of the sides will be 80 cm, and with a 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 go along the path of least resistance, then a single-pitch design with a slight slope (no more than 15ห) is quite suitable. Also, the roof can be made gable or ledges, but this already requires more serious construction skills. For the crate, we use bars of 50x50 mm or those that remain from the disassembled pallets.
It remains to cover our altanka. Here you can also use several options:
- polycarbonate is a light-transmitting material similar to plastic;
- slate;
- boards from disassembled pallets; in this case, it is best to lay them a little overlap - this is both prettier 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.
In the gaps of the pallets it would be nice to arrange a vertical garden - it can be planted both inside and outside. You can paint the walls with bright colors or just renew the varnish if it is damaged during installation.
If your gazebo has a place for barbecue, you can cover it with decorative tiles or stone.
The classic option is to plant grapes around the arbor. Over time, it will grow and will create an additional shadow. This is especially true for gazebos covered with polycarbonate. Due to the plastic "dull" roof, they can be quite hot.
How else to use pallets
As you already understood, the construction of gazebos is not the only option for using pallets.
From them you can build anything you like, for example, country furniture. Using pallets, you can equip the gazebo with chairs, sofas, a table and even a swing - everything your imagination is capable of. For the construction of furniture, you can use all that is left of the gazebo. Here are just a small fraction of what you can do from a pallet with your own hands:
- shoe rack;
- hanger;
- table on castors;
- sofa;
- armchair;
- vertical garden or flower garden;
- household wall with shelves;
- swing;
- sandbox.
The most important thing in such a thing is not to limit your imagination. Good luck in your work!