Nelson Company Blog
  • Home
  • Plastic Pallets
  • FDA
  • Wood Pallets
  • Crates & Containers
  • Sustainability
  • ISPM-15
  • Tech Center
  • News

Is Wood Pallet Furniture a Good Idea?

1/2/2014

2 Comments

 
Is recycled lumber safe for pallet furniture or landscape decorations?

Pallets have a variety of uses in the transportation world, however lately many recycled pallets are being turned into furniture.  While this may sound like a great idea of continually using a pallet instead of it simply rotting away in a landfill or ground up into mulch, the recycled material may not be safe for all uses.
Wood Cross Section
The life cycle of a pallet normally starts as a custom built design made from precision cut lumber and assembled on an automated nailing machine.  Once a customer has used the new pallet to move its merchandise to a customer, the pallet is then either reused by the customer or removed as a scrap pallet. 

If the pallet is removed as a scrap pallet, it is most likely sold or given to a pallet recycler.  When a recycler takes possession of a pallet, they sort the pallets to determine whether they are worth fixing or dismantling for parts or grinding.  Many 48 x 40 pallets are recycled over and over again in the United States, as it is the most common size and the standard in the retail and grocery industry. 

With the variety of locations that pallets can be sent to, would a recycled pallet be suitable indoors used as a piece of furniture or a table? 

Consider for a moment that a single board from a recycled pallet could have hauled
  • chemicals,
  • clothing, 
  • pharmaceuticals, 
  • beverages, 
  • building products, and 
  • foods in the same year. 

The cells in a piece of wood can act as a sponge when chemicals or liquids are placed on them, often storing or transporting the items for the remainder of the life of the pallet.  The photo below show a cross section of a block of wood.
There are many reasons that a wooden pallet works so well for shipping goods such as…
  • Low cost of raw materials
  • Pallet parts can be custom cut and assembled, completely designed around the product that is being shipped
  • Static free
  • Most pallet lumber comes from non chemically treated lumber and is safe for indoor storage
  • Wood is a renewable resource

But there are some issues you may run into when turning that pallet into a table. Wood pallets could have…
  • a variable sized product that will take much refinement to produce furniture (thick and thin boards, width and length variations from board to board)
  • protruding nails
  • risk of containments that have seeped into the wood during the pallets use
  • cost of producing the furniture is higher by reworking lumber instead of buying machined lumber ready to be processed


Used pallets can be found in a variety of areas, please check with the property owner before ever removing a pallet to ensure the pallet is designated for scrap removal and not being used by the business.  

We want to hear what you have to say. Have you made anything out of a wood pallet? If so, what things do you consider? Let us know why by commenting below.

Post by: Jonathan Haynes, Regional Sales Manager
2 Comments
Bobby case link
1/3/2017 06:05:47 pm

Building a bar in my house from pallets. Planning on building bars on rollers to move from house 2 pool deck or what ever

Reply
Jonathan Haynes link
2/7/2017 12:49:57 pm

Good afternoon Bobby, that sounds like fun. Are you designing it yourself or working off a drawing? Will you keep it stored outside, if so are you going to use any treated lumber in the construction?

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Call Us: (410) 477-3000
    Nelson Company logo
    Headquartered in Baltimore since 1918 Nelson Company is a trusted source for pallets & packaging materials.
    NelsonCompany.com
    Nelson Technical Center
    Is your packaging system costing more than it should? Find out how you can start saving with an analysis from Nelson Technical Center.
    Nelson-Art Asset Retrieval Technology
    Our own web-based software for reverse distribution. Nelson-ART™ manages the entire life-cycle of your packaging assets.

     
    ​Categories

    All
    Crates And Containers
    FDA
    Industrial Packaging
    ISPM-15
    Pallet Mold
    Plastic Pallets
    Shipping And Freight
    Sustainable Packaging
    Technical Center
    Total Packaging Management
    Transport Packaging Industry News And Events
    Wood Pallets

      
    ​Our Authors

    David Caltrider
    Rich Reiher
    Mike Cunneen
    John Clarke
    Hartson Poland
    Jonathan Haynes
    Paul Pascarella
    Kaitlin Manning
    Chris Recker
    Aaron Pascarella
    ​
    Tyler Pease

     
    ​Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    August 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    RSS Feed

Tech Center

The Nelson Technical Center finds savings. Solutions for the design, supply and recovery of transport packaging.
(443) 649-1049

Wood Sales

Custom wooden pallets and crates are our specialty. Ask us about wood manufacturing, repair and recycling.
(410) 477-3000

Plastic Sales

Let our experts match you with the best plastic pallets or containers. Available in new and gently used condition.
(443) 649-5294
The Nelson Company Logo
The Nelson Company
4517 North Point Blvd
Baltimore, MD 21219
(410) 477-3000
© COPYRIGHT 2013-2021. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • Plastic Pallets
  • FDA
  • Wood Pallets
  • Crates & Containers
  • Sustainability
  • ISPM-15
  • Tech Center
  • News