You see them everywhere...I used to haul everything you can imagine around on them...piled sky high behind Walmart...by every dumpster of every store in town...I...LOVE...THEM!
Pallet's have become gold to me...especially in a world where money is non existent and lumber prices are horrendously high!
I have been filling holes...cracks...mending corners, glueing...puttying, caulking...for two days...the moulding in this house has not been off the walls for about 60 years...and it cracked...and some of the corners broke...and when the drywall was removed, the moulding was the wrong length...It took forever because this stuff is irreplaceable...and I had to do it bit by bit...very carefully...
the first moulding I took off? was around the ceiling, to get those disgusting tiles off of my coveted beadboard ceilings...All of the original moulding to this house is 1x4 Jack Pine...the stuff I took off the ceiling? it is newer, probably from the 50's..when they installed the drywall...it was so brittle, it cracked and broke too and most of it was beyond saving...the trim in the living room is original, it had never been taken off, there wasn't one scrap of paint or wall paper behind it...
Except the stuff on the ceiling, it was just little thin crown moulding, well, a bit of it is now repurposed to the top of my cupboards...I got a lot of advice on crown moulding or cove moulding being "correct" for this house's era..and it probably is...but after removing all of mine? The 1x4 moulding made the most sense to me... as to original... for THIS house...
1x4's....I really believe they are what was put in this house as trim the day it was built...
WELL!
Have you priced those lil hummer's lately? I have...We went to the lumber yard...1x4's 8ft long (knots and dog legs included in price) $8.29 a PIECE! For my kitchen? it would cost me $84.00 and change just to line my kitchen ceiling again...that is more than 10% of the cost that I paid for my house! and that was utility grade lumber...not the nicer stuff!
ENTER....................PALLETS!
We have been collecting them for a solid two months after our lumber "experience"...these are not the ones you see stacked sky high behind Walmart or all over town though...they are pallets from businesses like the Jeld Wen Door guy and Auto Body Shops and Window stores...they are built out of 2x4, 2x6 and...1x4's! and they are very easy to get apart...they are straight, they do have nail holes in them and they do have some knots...and imperfections...but from the picture above of the original moulding and the plank wall imperfections? they fit right in! Picking thru our pile has netted us moulding for our entire house!
Not to mention...
And...here is where the other pallets come in...
This flippin' bush has been the scourge of my existence for a year and some now...it is an enormous rose bush that grows everywhere, which wouldn't be so bad if it didn't catch and hang on to every plastic bag in the neighborhood.....I have tried to cut it out, roto-til it out, kill it off with weed killer...and it just hangs on...well...as of today? its gone...
I built my compost bins out of this kind of pallet...and plan to make a potato bin this year...both kinds have enormous value! And both kinds? ARE FREE!
Pallet's have become gold to me...especially in a world where money is non existent and lumber prices are horrendously high!
I have been filling holes...cracks...mending corners, glueing...puttying, caulking...for two days...the moulding in this house has not been off the walls for about 60 years...and it cracked...and some of the corners broke...and when the drywall was removed, the moulding was the wrong length...It took forever because this stuff is irreplaceable...and I had to do it bit by bit...very carefully...
the first moulding I took off? was around the ceiling, to get those disgusting tiles off of my coveted beadboard ceilings...All of the original moulding to this house is 1x4 Jack Pine...the stuff I took off the ceiling? it is newer, probably from the 50's..when they installed the drywall...it was so brittle, it cracked and broke too and most of it was beyond saving...the trim in the living room is original, it had never been taken off, there wasn't one scrap of paint or wall paper behind it...
WELL!
Have you priced those lil hummer's lately? I have...We went to the lumber yard...1x4's 8ft long (knots and dog legs included in price) $8.29 a PIECE! For my kitchen? it would cost me $84.00 and change just to line my kitchen ceiling again...that is more than 10% of the cost that I paid for my house! and that was utility grade lumber...not the nicer stuff!
 |
| This was Louis' reaction when I told him about lumber prices... |
ENTER....................PALLETS!
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| Our stash... eat your heart out lumber yard! |
We have been collecting them for a solid two months after our lumber "experience"...these are not the ones you see stacked sky high behind Walmart or all over town though...they are pallets from businesses like the Jeld Wen Door guy and Auto Body Shops and Window stores...they are built out of 2x4, 2x6 and...1x4's! and they are very easy to get apart...they are straight, they do have nail holes in them and they do have some knots...and imperfections...but from the picture above of the original moulding and the plank wall imperfections? they fit right in! Picking thru our pile has netted us moulding for our entire house!
And...here is where the other pallets come in...
Amazing and inspiring! I love the fresh, clean look of the white paint, with the splashes of color thrown in with your decorating.
ReplyDeleteYour duck pen and chicken coop/yard are great. You take really good care of them.:) How many chickens do you have and are they all layers or will you eat some. I wish we could raise chickens for both. [We need to move. hee]
Congrats on the wonderful reuse of free wood. Nice.
Great job, I love the 1x4 trim. I'm loving the new counters you are putting in also. What color did you use on the walls? It looks a little on the yellow side. Maybe it is just my monitor.
ReplyDeletePlease say a little prayer for us down here for some rain. We are about to burn down around here. The town next to us just lost 40 home to a very large grass fire. My son spent 8 hours working to put it out tonight. Very lucky that no one was hurt. I have never seen anything like this one.
Sandi
Can I just say how brilliant I think you are? I love that you're repurposing something that others would consider trash. Where do you get the better quality pallets? Do you call the company and ask them to save them for you? We could use some more crown molding for our house, and I'd love to get it for nothing!
ReplyDeleteJob well done!
Skippy? I am planning on doing what I did last year, I grew 28 chickens, kept 7 layers and a rooster but I am eating the rest, I prolly have 3 left in the freezer along with one duck! I get a about 3 dozen eggs a week, sell 2 and that pays for their feed....I let them all out yesterday and they were so funny, kept me laughing for two hours...food, eggs, fun? chickens are awesome!
ReplyDeleteSANDI! I didn't realize you were so dry in Texas! I will be praying non stop for Texas to receive some rain! Thank God for your son...I am so glad no one was hurt and that you are safe! I don't think I have ever experienced anything as scary as fire before...I feel deeply for your neighboring town and the loss of their homes.
ReplyDeleteWalmart decided to nix Kilz paint! When I went to get Cashmere white? it wasn't happening...we ended up picking another color, it is called Shell White and is Better Homes and Gardens...it is a tad bit brighter than the living room but you really can't tell in the day time looking at both rooms...it must have been the flash and light from the shop light that made it look so yellow. I am excited for the counter tops, living without any has been horrible!
God Bless Texas Sandi!
Daisy? we are of like minds, I think you are brilliant too! I didn't ask anyone, we just dive in their dumpsters when ever we see one! Since you live in a bigger city? they should be plentiful...call auto body shops, window companies, any company that would carry glass, large auto parts like fenders, doors, windshields...look in the yellow pages for a Jeld Wen dealer...they will gladly give them to you cuz they have to pay to haul them off, take a hammer and break them down right there unless you have a truck! If your hubby has a router? you could make any moulding your heart desires and I fill the nail holes with caulk, sand them a tiny bit and paint, you can't see them! If you have a hard time finding them? let me know and I will find some for you!
ReplyDeleteaw the pallet board. I use them for just about everything as well.
ReplyDeletePhelan? You are the one that taught me about pallet wood! I thought, at first? it was just to haul goods on while trucking...you opened a whole new door for me when I read your posts on using reclaimed wood! and watched you build things out of them!
ReplyDeleteFolks? I have been reading "Homesteading Neophyte" for years now...Phelan is a Goddess Homesteader! Everything I try? I go search her blog first...if you want to know how to do something? She knows! She has done it or she will tell you how to do it! She is the most honest, forthright REAL person you will ever read about!
oh Lisa, you are making me blush. Thank you.
ReplyDeletewow - I would never think to use this wood, but your examples of repurposing are exceptional! I'm still just so amazed at your home remodeling efforts, you are doing such a fabulous job!
ReplyDeleteGreat use for the pallets. They'll give you the nice thick mouldings without the high price tag. Wish I was creative in my thinking when we trimmed out the kitchen. We ended up finding some really inexpensive MDF baseboards and flipped them upside down (using the thicker part along the ceiling). It was one of our first jobs and not the prettiest! Those darn sloped ceilings are hard to work with.
ReplyDeleteAnd the sad part about buying wood at a store is now the sizes are not the same as years ago. Just measure a 2x4. It's not exactly 2x4, it's a little less. They make more money from it this way and we get screwed unfortunately so you have to watch if you are trying to match up wood in any old house and measure the wood you are purchasing before taking it home. I love pallets. I guess I just take after my family cause we are all savers of useful things and had to reuse a lot of stuff over the years in old houses we lived in. Cant wait to see your finished counters!
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog through Pat at Corn In My Coffee Pot. Your ceiling looks so fresh can pretty. I can't wait to start at the first post and read every one.
ReplyDeleteDarlin' I love your blog! Love your style! Love your humor! Found you through Pat over at Corn In My Coffee Pot. Put you in my sidebar so I can share you with the world!
ReplyDeletePssst!
ReplyDeleteLisa you are getting famous :)
It's wonderful, what I can see on your new photos of the last posts … so beautiful insights … !!!
ReplyDeleteI wish you a wonderful start of the week!
Hugs
Tine
Lisa - your creativity, resourcefullness and talent never cease to amaze me!!! And just look at how famous you are becoming. Way to go!!!
ReplyDeleteHooked
Pat is a real life friend, I met through blogging, we found out after a bit we live a few miles from one another...
ReplyDeleteAnd I LOVE your blog, but I have to go to work in the morning, with some Jr. High darlins', that will eat me alive if I go in with no sleep, so I am following you and will catch up more later,
Lezlee @priorlives.blogspot.com
Coming over from Pat's to say WOW, your home is beautiful and I love how you are using all these wonderful treasures that you find! The ceiling looks gorgeous! Love the picture of your kitty, too cute. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm following you because Pat told me to come over and I haven't had a chance to read YET, but I did ROAR out loud when I saw the cat 'laughing at the plumber prices'!!!
ReplyDeleteI'll be baaack!!!!
xo
~Kolein
I am so thrilled that you all like this blog! I am looking forward to getting to know all of you! Thank you so much!
ReplyDelete