Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Making outdoor hallways out of pallets

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #16
    I too used pallet last year over 500 got them free and from a beer dist. com..I stack them two high and srcew them together than ran 2x4 on top across them very strong then I wrap them in plastic from top to bottom..plastic not very good when it rain and windy last 2 years. the pallet was way to much work they did a very good job but will be building some walls this years...I spend 1500.00 on wood and plastic just to throw away afterwards...

    Comment


    • #17
      Palette use

      I made an almost permanent structure using palettes for a short maze a few years ago. I purchased 10' 2x4's and bags of concrete. I dug a 2 ft. hole, "planted" the 10ft. 2x4 in it leaving 8 ft. above ground and filled up the hole w/ about 1/2 bag of concrete. I planted these poles every 8 ft. of length (so two palettes would fit side-by-side). I made the distance between the walls 4 ft. although I think if I did it again I'd make them a bit farther apart so actors and customers can fit in there easier.

      When it came time to construct the maze I slid 2 palettes on top of each other, over the poles (not easy, you need a helper). As these palettes were 4'x4' and I spread the poles 8' apart, I joined the palettes in the center by backing them with a thin slat of wood and securing them to the ground (to keep them from swinging like a door) w/ lengths of metal rebar hammered into the ground where the two palettes meet. I bent some bendable metal bars around the rebar and then screwed the metal bars to the palettes.

      I screwed 2x4's across the top of the structure every 4 ft. to secure everything. This thing would NOT fall down. I stapled black landscaping fabric over top of the whole thing and then decorated it w/ tattered fabric and cheesecloth. My wife said I should have just built a house!

      It was a "pantload" of work and got a bit more expensive than I thought it would (big surprise huh). The majority of the expense was in 10ft. 2x4's and bags of concrete. You'll need 4 2x4's, 2 bags of concrete and 4 palettes for each 8ft. of maze.

      When it came time for teardown I just unscrewed averything, pulled the palettes off of the posts, knocked the posts over (with my truck), puled them out of the gound and smashed the concrete off of them w/ a sledge hammer.

      The wood was 90% recoverable...ready for my next insane venture! MUHAHAHAHAAAAA!


      Palettes are readily available in large numbers but are an absolute BITCH to work with. The wood is rock-hard, heavy and any attempt to alter them is rewarded by splintered slats and bent rusty nails.

      If you're looking for someone to post quick-n-easy palette construction tips, I don't think you'll find them. Palettes are super heavy and making 8 ft. walls w/ them without a sound, secure construction framework to support them will end with somebody getting squished by falling wood.

      I don't have any pictures (cause I'm an asshole) so let me know if any of this needs clarification. I can render up some quick diagrams.

      Good Luck!!
      Stay Rotten,

      Victor "The Undertaker" Ives

      TheUndertaker@HauntedHotSauce.com

      http://www.HauntedHotSauce.com

      Comment


      • #18
        Victor,

        Some really good points there. Pallets were really designed with only one purpose in mind and using them for something else is very difficult. They are heavier and heavier duty than they need to be and are too small, requiring lots of bracing.

        I've used them for lots of different things over the years and if I had to build a haunt from them I think I would just put up stacks and stacks of them the way they are designed to be used in rows and be done with it. It would take a lot of them and would use up a lot of room (eight extra feet in width) but standing them up on their sides and bracing them is a real pain.

        Shawn

        Comment


        • #19
          we use them too

          We have also used tones of them in our hanuted barn, for walls, orcourse fences in the outdoor cemetary (the look better every year due to the weathering). if you brace them good, you will be o.k. Yes they are heavey, but in most cases are free. When we use them inside for walls, we cover them with thin paneling. You would be suprised what you can get at a Lowe's or Hoe Depot if you ask for the damaged or cull wood. My cousin, who owns the haunted barn, also works for Lowes, he gets wood for pennies on the dollar, but you have to be in the right place at the right time or it's gone. Also ask for oops paint, he gets a lot of off red that works for blood.

          Comment

          Working...
          X