Cute idea but seems like a LOT of work to put into something and use such bad materials. Or are people finding pallets made of better wood than what I see? I just do not understand the craze over pallets when I see most of the wood as trash wood!
Jeanette, that's just what I thought until I started looking closer at the pallets. There are some really good ones out there and also if you look for clues on the pallets you can find better ones. According to Donna from Funky Junk there's new regulations on them and some are even marked how they are treated. HT means they are heat treated instead of using chemicals. Makes sense because so many are used in hauling food anymore.
Becky, thanks for the info. I don't run into many pallets and the ones I see I know why they are thrown away! Good luck to those that are finding the good ones!
Most high quality pallets are marked with company name on them as they want them to be returned. Good pallets can cost upwards from $8.00. The ones that you normally find being thrown out are the low cost ones that single service providers use. An example of this would be stores and companies that have shipments sent to their retail outlets. The better ones, with heavy wood normally are sent back to suppliers for credits. Or resold to pallet companies to be reworked and sold again.
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The company my wife works for has both. They normally go through a 1000 new pallets a day just in shipping products out of the factory. This does not include the pallets that come in with raw materials and supplies on them. Most of those end up going back to the vendors when their truck shipments drop off new supplies. So it is a real find when good pallets are found in the garbage. As they have some real value.
The ones you are seeing in those house build projects range in the area of $20 each. The $8 ones are thin while the higher cost ones are up to 3/4 inch thick and made of oak, Most of the lower cost ones are cypress, pine or other low cost woods.
The company my wife works for has both. They normally go through a 1000 new pallets a day just in shipping products out of the factory. This does not include the pallets that come in with raw materials and supplies on them. Most of those end up going back to the vendors when their truck shipments drop off new supplies. So it is a real find when good pallets are found in the garbage. As they have some real value.