# Pallet Life Extension - Rotting



## madison (Apr 1, 2015)

Extending Pallet lifespan:

I stack wood on pallets, the pallets are sitting on "Item 4" stone.  I am looking for ideas for extending the life of the pallets as even the heavy duty pallets tend to rot where the pallet wood rests on the stone.  

Ideas:
1. Would thompsons water seal or some product "painted" on the bottom of the pallets help or would it just trap the moisture? 

2. Lay down 1x4's of pressure treated lumber and set pallets on the treated lumber.

Any suggestions appreciated.


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## CountryBoy19 (Apr 1, 2015)

When they become too rotted to use anymore just get rid of them (compost pile would be good considering they're already partially composted) and replace with new ones??


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## jb6l6gc (Apr 1, 2015)

heat treated/hardwood ones seem to last longer in my opinion.
Also you could look at getting plastic pallets although I doubt youd be able to find those for free


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## Applesister (Apr 1, 2015)

I tried 12" x 12" paver bricks this last fall for an area on my back patio where I stack a cord. They elevate by 1 1/2" and they are 1.10 to 1.60 a block. 
I tried the pavers because I normally use 2 x 4s and they always rot along with the first layer of wood. 
Im not sure how much water the pavers will wick up from the ground but if you lay them on stone gravel and then the pallets it may preserve the pallets a few more years.
I use cement pavers under my pallets.
I bought 5 pallets of pavers years back for an Elizabethan knot garden I never finished. 
I love stone and it never rots.


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## JP11 (Apr 1, 2015)

I have some junk 1" boards.. that didn't get finished.  Live ends, oddball bad cuts from the sawmill. I throw those on the ground before the pallets.  burn em when they get a bit funky themselves.  sacrificial boards.  Good part is, the pallets themselves are cheap or free, and you can burn them up too.  watch for the nails, depending what you do with your ash.


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## coaly (Apr 1, 2015)

I raise them on bricks - cause I have them. Hollow 4 inch blocks are good with air holes sideways to keep dryer. Any old flashing, rubber roof scraps, vinyl siding, whatever you have impervious to moisture between pallet and stone prevents water migration into wood.


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## Rebelduckman (Apr 1, 2015)

I'm gonna have to do something else. I just used pallets on the ground and all of them are rotten after 1 year. Made quite a mess to clean up


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## jeffesonm (Apr 1, 2015)

Also interested in the answer to this... about to put down a bunch of pallets as part of a wood shed and would rather not have to replace them all 3 years from now.  Even if they are free they are still annoying to move around.


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## Ralphie Boy (Apr 2, 2015)

I use a generic brand of Thompsons and it helps a lot. Pallets, like any wood, left on the ground, are gonna rot. Pallets in my area are becoming more difficult to scrounge for free and I can't say why.


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## gzecc (Apr 2, 2015)

Pallets on the dirt will  never last. Get them up on bricks or 1/2 cinder blocks. I use 1/2 cinder blocks and pressure treated 2x6 or 4x4.  Pallets tend to introduce nails and staples into the yard, which causes other problems for me.
I get used lumber from CL. People are removing old decks this time of year.


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## madison (Apr 2, 2015)

Thanks to all,

pallets are getting harder to scrounge, I happened upon a dozen or so really heavy duty 40 x 48's which I hope to have a lifespan more than a few yrs.  I will probably try some Thompsons, I have a bunch of paver blocks from a demo'ed patio but am a little concerned about stability as I tend to over stack (5-6 feet) on top of the stronger pallets.  While browsing Home Depot I did notice some spray on sealer/protector stuff located next to the Thompsons, my only thoughts were that I would end up trapping the moisture and speeding up the rotting with any sealer.

Interestingly my one set of pallets that are NOT on stone, I layed down some pressure treated 1x6's and those pallets are doing as well as the pallets directly layed on the crushed item#4 stone.


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## jeffesonm (Apr 2, 2015)

FWIW I tried stacking pallets on top of cinder blocks and pavers on all four corners and they would sag in the middle.  Adding another one in the center helped, but the sides would sometimes still sag.


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## madison (Apr 2, 2015)

thanks jeff, as above, my concerned is stability with the stone/pavers/ pallets - thanks for the input

I've had pretty good success with stability, with the pallets on top of the item#4


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## paul bunion (Apr 2, 2015)

The absolute best thing that I have found for setting up pallets is the vertical posts from pallet racks laid out horizontally as stringers.    I came across a bunch of pallet rack veritcals that had the diagonal bracing cut out a while ago.  Why they were cut apart I have no clue, but when they were offered I took some and I kick myself in the butt for not taking the rest.  The ones I got are 14' long which amounts to 4 pallets laid on the 40" side with a little space between them.   The benefits extend beyond pallets lasting.  They make for a perfect and stable deck when used with 6x6s and 4x4s and other scrap to level them out.  (I only support the metal at three points, center and within 18" of each end.)   You can put a pallet crushing load of wood on top without hurting the metal.   I originally used them as stringers for stacks, 2 per row.   I wizened up after a little while and realized that I could get get 2x the wood on top if I used pallets.    Although I have no empirical proof, I think the extended airspace under helps with drying.  It certainly does not hurt.


You can sort of see the metal under the high cube which was nearly 6 cords.


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