Yeah I know weird question, but are the rails on a standard pallet pressure treated (tanalised) to stop them rotting ? I was wondering how well they would last in the garden (I know the block spacers in them is often mdf and will soon turn to mush), but the wooden rails often have that same colouring as fencing timber, are they tanalised ?
I doubt it as tanalised timber is classed as hazardous waste
The term tantalised is a misnomer. It was originally meant to refer to timber treated with tanalith a proprietary chemical treatment. Timber is now pressure treated with an “appropriate” chemical. Standard pallets are not pressure treated as this would make the cost prohibitive.
Timber pressure treated to the current standard is not classed as hazardous waste as the Arsenic in the earlier treatment was banned in 2004 however creosoted timber is.
I could go into a long rant about the longevity of heartwood vs sapwood and the relevant timber treatments but that would bore the pants of you.
Basically no it wont last as long as treated timber but hey if its free get on.
No.
3 years tops
I made a garden storage box with them once, lasted 8 years that I know of. I painted it with cuprinol 2-3 times in total.
why do people/companies buy pallets ?. ive seen yards full of pallets, obviously been there for a very long time. so how do they make money out of them ?. the pallet guy at corbiewood/Bannockburn seems to have gone , excuse my ignorance, but im a tanker driver . just curious. jim
Good question , youve hit the nail on the head ,
They`re all waiting for bonfire night jim 
So , that was you i saw in the woodshed late last night 
It was dark and eerie . 
I built a 100 ft length picket fence at my previous house in 2001 , all the slats were taken from good pallets and every year was painted with wood preserver .
Its still standing in good condition to this day
Choose your wood and be prepared to waste a few due to splits / knots and irregularities.
A decent jemmy bar and hammer and punch to part the old nails out .
Thicker slats /harder woods may benefit running a small pilot drill through 1st before knocking the new nails home - prevents splitting as you drive the nail in.
What would have been chep type style seemed to have better quality grade timber ( pun not intended ), dont use the thin slat style ones - they wont last 5 minutes and will crack /split and rot / degrade way quicker.
.
The good thing is , once you`ve made it , you can stand back and be proud of your productive recycling
or ,
you can go to a supplier and buy panels and concrete posts - . alternatively - pay someone else to do it and cost lots . your choice .
A guy I work with built his shed out of pallets. The TM lets people use the van if they ask in advance (it’s a small place, 2 trucks 1 van). Hoping to maintain a good connection there so I can do the same when I get my own place.
I wouldn’t have thought most pallets would be treated in any way whatsoever, but if it’s for something like garden fencing or a garden shed you could always paint or creosote the end result.
gingo:
why do people/companies buy pallets ?. ive seen yards full of pallets, obviously been there for a very long time. so how do they make money out of them ?. the pallet guy at corbiewood/Bannockburn seems to have gone , excuse my ignorance, but im a tanker driver . just curious. jim
Been wondering this myself lately. There’s probably money to be made selling them on to recycling firms as pure chipped wood is wanted more over recycled wood which contains any and every kind of wood.
Other than that I can’t think. What’s the going rate for a pallet anyway, couple of quid?
A.
we have a treatment/salvage plant for tanalised timber at our work and the forkies are forever getting into bother for throwing knackered pallets on the same pile as the tanalised timber instead of the seperate one or vice versa