You don’t need to be an experienced handyman to make pallet garden furniture yourself. Very trendy, the concept appeals to both recycling enthusiasts and good deals stamped “tight budget”. Here are some pro tips to get started and succeed in your project.
Garden furniture, planters, a bench or even a bar for the terrace, pallet furniture is more popular than ever. After having conquered our interiors, it also imposes itself on the outside. Very trendy, pallet furniture seduces with their raw style, their recycled DNA, but also with their home-made side. DIY enthusiasts, like those on a budget looking for inexpensive solutions, find them only advantages: easy to work, the pallets are in quantity and cost nothing, or almost.
Here decoration rhymes with recovery, a philosophy that Françoise Manceau-Guilhermond has made her specialty. This fondue of ecology and follower of recycled materials, has already built her house in bales of straw and made a lot of cardboard furniture. Wooden pallets hold no secrets for her either, and she shares her advice in her latest book. My garden furniture on pallets*. This knowledgeable handyman explains step by step 16 models of outdoor furniture, which even beginners can succeed. “Anyone can do it!” she assures us. Here are some tips for getting started successfully.
* My garden furniture in pallets, Françoise Manceau-Guilhermond Editions Living Earth, 96 pages, € 14
Get the right equipment
No need to rob a DIY store, a minimum of material is enough to make your furniture without difficulty. Some tools are nevertheless essential, so be sure to equip yourself accordingly. You’ll need :
- pallets Obviously: you can easily pick them up in craft areas, in some DIY stores, or even from artisans near you. “They get a lot of them and are often happy to be able to get rid of them, because more and more they have to pay to have them removed.” indicates Françoise Manceau-Guilhermond. Beware of supermarkets, many are now selling them;
- a crowbar : essential to dismantle the pallets (around € 10);
- a flat screwdriver and a hammer : to be used in addition to the presser foot to correctly dismantle the various elements (around € 5);
- an american hammer : practical for removing nails thanks to its notch (around € 7);
- a saw : to cut the boards. “If you don’t have a jigsaw, you can also use a handsaw” indicates the specialist ;
- a screwdriver : to easily assemble the different elements (from around € 30);
- a sander : vibrating or banded to clean wood (from around € 35);
- screws, nails, hinges … : to assemble the different elements.
A sun lounger made from wooden pallets © Thomas Alamy
Prepare your pallets well
That is sure the most important step. Good preparation is the key to a successful project. “You should always take your time to properly prepare your pallets, take them apart and cut them cleanly” explains Françoise Manceau-Guilhermond. “This saves time afterwards and saves yourself some problems”.
- Disassemble the pallets. Depending on what you want to achieve, you will need entire pallets or just a few items. It is therefore necessary to start by disassembling them to isolate the boards. “We can also cut them, by sawing them at the nails, but this implies that we do not need too long boards” warns the handyman.
- Sand the wood. It is essential for cleaning wood, smoothing planks, removing splinters. “It also helps to reveal the true color of the wood, so the result will be prettier” explains Françoise Manceau-Guilhermond.
- Check that all planks are the same width (or length depending on your project). “It’s important for the assembly, it avoids unpleasant surprises” indicates the specialist.
Choose a simple project to get started
If you feel that you fall into the “Sunday handyman” category, it is better to start with a piece of furniture that is simple to make, before going for something more elaborate. This allows you to gently familiarize yourself with the procedure and to master the gestures.
Don’t be afraid of making mistakes either. There might be a few hiccups, but if you are unsure, take your time, reread the instructions and get back to work. “To be reassured, we can provide one or two more pallets in case we need to redo certain things” advises Françoise Manceau-Guilhermond. The raw material being inexpensive, do not hesitate to get a little more.
A garden chair made from wooden pallets © Thomas Alamy
Go step by step and know how to adapt
Whatever project you have chosen, follow the indications. Never neglect preparation and know how to use common sense. “Do not panic if things look a little different from the manual” advises Françoise Manceau-Guilhermond.
“You have to take the time to observe and adapt, finding a solution is generally quite easy” she reassures. “Sometimes it doesn’t take much, like screwing at an angle rather than a right angle, for everything to fit together perfectly!”
Protect wood for furniture that lasts
Once the assembly of your furniture is finished, think about protect the wood so that it does not get damaged. Your furniture will be more resistant and will stay pretty for longer. Before applying a varnish, or the paint, do not forget to fill the holes with a little wood pulp. Filling in the holes in the nails that have been removed, or camouflaging the screws, always gives a more polished finish. Use a spatula for this, and sand lightly before painting.
Protective oil, varnish, stain or paint, choose your coating according to the desired rendering. “Rather than using chemicals, you can also make your own mixtures, it’s very simple, more ecological and also much cheaper” indicates Françoise Manceau-Guilhermond who gives some homemade recipes in her book. You can for example concoct a protective oil based on linseed oil, turpentine and black soap, or even use walnut stain to protect your furniture.
