Field Shelter from Pallets

[2awesomenatives]

Has anyone made a field shelter/ stable from pallets?

Do you have any pics?

What was the total cost?

I'm trying to decide whether me and hubby try and build one.....or just buy new!

 

[AutumnDays]

I made a windbreak from pallets... So no roof, just a tall wall of pallets, angled so the wind didn't hit it full on and knock it down. Provided good shelter from the wind and rain, and threw shade in the sun. Pallets were free, tall posts and screws were all I bought... Think about £30 all in. Sorry it's not quite what you are after

 

[Spotherisk]

When we bought our field some years ago all the buildings were made of telegraph poles,and pallets. The barn was 40x20’, and there were three stables and a feed room.
Crucially it wasn’t made by just fixing the pallets together, the previous owner had taken all of the pallets completely apart! It was about 15 years old when we bought it and the outside walls had rotted out but the inside ones never did. We did a rebuild when I had one on box rest for three months - we had already concreted the barn he was in but the stables had earth floors.

 

[Auslander]

Yes, I did, but mine is probably a bit small to be of any educational value!

 

[MereChristmas]

One in a field up the hill was built out of dismantled pallets with big posts as uprights. The walls were single thickness. The first real windy day it fell to pieces.
It was rebuilt with spaces in between each cross slat. I don’t know if it’s still standing as I no longer pass it.

 

[PurBee]

We’ve made a few temporary wood store shelters from pallets, also hay store shelters from pallets. Covered in tarps. Screwed together with long, strong ‘tek’ screws help them stay rigid in place, rather than nailing them together.
We’re on a windy exposed site so find Tek screws more reliable in holding wood together, especially as the winds can blast against the walls.
We’ve then used really thick tarps 350gsm+ to cover the roof (made from timber lengths not pallets) and side/back walls - we got curtain side tarps from lorries as theyre really strong and UV-proof.

(We tried a lighter nailed together shelters for wood with lightweight tarps but the winds destroyed them, so developed a ‘heavy duty’ method to withstand valley exposed winds we get here)

To fix the tarps strong and tight, so they dont rip with wind gusts - ignore the eyelet holes that are alongside the edge of most tarps, as the tarp will rip the eyelet fixing with gusts - instead wrap a length of timber 1”x3” along the length of the tarp and secure in place with short screws to hold the tarp in place. Then you can Tek screw that timber-wrapped edge of tarp firmly to the pallets thicker struts.
Do the same to the other long length of tarp, pull tight, and affix with tek screws to opposing wall.
Like a polytunnel sheet is fixed tight like a drum, it still can have a wobble and some flap sounds when fierce winds hit. Strong tarps are the same.

The horses with 1 shelter had a tarp roof that flapped in strong winds, initially they were wary, but they soon got used to it and totally unfazed by it. To prevent flapping you can screw more length of 1x3 inch timber at 1m intervals across the tarp to hold it down and prevent violent flaps.

If your site is exposed to prevailing winds with no tree cover at all etc - i’d suggest screwing 10mm OSB board to the structure, instead of tarp, as a tarp flapping all over completely exposed would likely just annoy horses so they dont use it.
OSB board would also have the advantage of strengthening the pallet structure some more.
Comparing costs between a 350gsm quality tarp that will last years, against OSB 10mm board, EU prices ive just spent 150 euros on a thick tarp for a barn roof cover until it can be fully re-roofed as it leaks in places currently. The size would cover an average field shelter for horses.
12 sheets OSB for a 16foot x 8 foot shelter would be 240 euros roughly.
Depending on budget depends what i’d choose, both would shelter from wind and rain. I’d prefer the boarding, but would factor-in cost of wood preservative to cover the outside board face.

But if you have a hedge to site it beside, and the doorway is open to the opposite side of prevailing winds, a thick tarp can be used, if quickness and budget are a concern.

Pallets come in various qualities. Look for those that have thicker bearing timbers. Some are just low quality 2x3 easily split bearing timbers. I get pallet loads of feeds weighing a 700kg up to a tonne, and it amazes me how easily pallets these days arrive buckled and split/broken under the strain of the load.
You can generally tell by weight of the pallet. If its very easy to lift, usually light coloured thin pine wood slats and thin bearers, they are easily broken-up, and likely could split if a strong gust of wind hits a tarp laying against them.
The heavier pallets are the ones we use. They’re still widely made and used, im just warning you against the super lightweight thinner ones that seem to have infiltrated the pallet market.

If you can get pallets free, and willing to spend on good quality tek screws and a tarp or board, you’d likely make a shelter for 3-400 quid. Unsure how that compares to ‘buy off the shelf’ field shelter prices, likely much cheaper.

One last thing, have a good base rail for the pallets to be fixed to. Either pressure treated thick timbers or if the shelter is to remain in 1 place and not be moved, you could put down a layer of concrete blocks for the shelter to sit on.
If pallets walls are sat direct onto earth, that bearing timber will be perpetually soaked and wet, and will rot quickly. Pallets arent generally made from pressure treated timber.
So have a think about the base the shelter is to sit on, have a well draining area. Put down a layer of gravel to aid drainage under the wood walls. Its worth investing in railway sleepers that are usually hardwood, to use as a base that the pallet walls sit on.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I made a windbreak from pallets... So no roof, just a tall wall of pallets, angled so the wind didn't hit it full on and knock it down. Provided good shelter from the wind and rain, and threw shade in the sun. Pallets were free, tall posts and screws were all I bought... Think about £30 all in. Sorry it's not quite what you are after

Would you be able to post a photo??

 

[AutumnDays]

Would you be able to post a photo??

Am trying to work on that, I keep getting told the file is too large no matter how small I make it!

 

[2awesomenatives]

I downloaded an app called photo resizer. You can then reduce the size of the photo to 40% which you can then upload

 

[2awesomenatives]

Am trying to work on that, I keep getting told the file is too large no matter how small I make it!

I downloaded an app called photo resizer. You can then reduce the size of the photo to 40% which you can then upload

 

[AutumnDays]

I downloaded an app called photo resizer. You can then reduce the size of the photo to 40% which you can then upload

Thank you!

 

[AutumnDays]

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Th

View attachment 109415

Thank you for photo. Need something for this summer and this could do the job!!

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Yes, I did, but mine is probably a bit small to be of any educational value!
View attachment 109396

Thats a hutch