Wood Pallets are a hot commodity right now, being used all over the world to make homes feel rustic with the DIY trend sweeping the nation. Wooden pallets are great additions to the home, and can make your home feel sophisticated and quaint at the same time, but there are some serious problems that can come with picking the right pallets. Here is what you should look for when choosing pallets for your DIY projects.

Choosing Wood Pallets for Your Projects-5 Tips

1)  Stamps and Cleanliness – Do it Yourself

When you find a pallet you would like to use make sure it’s clean. It's also integral that you take note of the stamps; this will give an idea of where the pallet is from and what may have been contained in it. Do a bit of research to ensure that the pallet is 100% safe to use.  Once you've identified that these batch of pallets are safe to use, you can pick ones that dont have stamps on them.  Usually it’s pretty safe to just roll with the clean ones, and to completely avoid pallets with stains or spills on them. 

2)  Nails

When you’re picking out your pallet you should always be careful for wayward or miscellaneous nails and splinters. The latter isn’t really a big problem as long as you take care of the splinter, but the nails can poke stab and even pierce the skin.

3)Taking Them Apart

Taking apart pallets can be difficult especially if you’re trying not to damage them before you take them apart. It’s very difficult not to damage a pallet when you’re removing it from it’s initial box shape, but don’t get frustrated, just take your time. 

4)Make Sure They’re Legal

Don’t end up being a pallet thief. There are hundreds of tutorials on things you can create with pallets, but many of those tutorials don’t tell you how and where to find pallets. Always look for pallets at pallet recycling plants and other similar places.

Never assume that a pile of pallets sitting on private property is free to use. Make sure to ask for permission before remove pallets from anyone's property. Plus if they are without stamps they might not be safe!

It’s always better to be safe than sorry when trying to find pallets that are legal for you to take. Junkyards and pallet recycling yards are the safest places to reach out and contact for secure and clean pallets. The pallet recycling yards are more likely to have awesome pallets that you can use, but you might get lucky elsewhere.

5) Preparing the Pallet

With the almost hundreds of ways that pallets can be made and manufactured you need to ensure you have the pallet you want when finding great pieces for our rustic art. Once you have the right style, you can start to check for how it’s treated, some pieces and styles will be treated in ways that won’t work with what you want to do. Next you need to ensure that you have enough pallet boards for your desired creation, and always remember to measure twice and cut once.Once you’re ready to cut get to work and don’t forget to stain and treat the pallets as you need to for your project.

Pallets are amazing items for creating rustic and unique pieces for your home. These rules and regulations aren’t here to stop you from using pallets to your free will, but are here to help you choose the right pallets for your diy projects.

Pallets are used to carry everything from food to chemicals and any possible negative affect is far too much of a risk to you and the others handling and living near the pallet piece. Once you have a clean pallet though, have fun with it, because they can truly be used to create something beautiful.

We really hope you enjoyed this article on wood pallets; and we want to hear all about it in the comment section!

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