How to make a sofa out of pallets with your own hands?

Given the growing popularity of furniture from various unusual materials, many are interested in how to make a sofa out of pallets with your own hands. In many ways, this interest is due to the environmental friendliness of the products used. An equally important factor is the ability to independently create unique furniture. The design features of pallets allow you to implement almost any design solution.

On the one hand, the process of creating furniture from wooden pallets and from drawers is quite simple. However, this will require minimal skills and a set of tools. The latter includes:

• saw or grinder with a nozzle for processing boards;
• hacksaw;
• electric jigsaw;
• electric drill;
• a hammer;
• grinding machine or nozzle for a drill or grinder with emery wheels;
• a set of screwdrivers or a screwdriver;
• brushes and rollers;
• gloves (fabric and rubber);
• Protective glasses.

In addition to the selection of tools and equipment, attention should be paid to the availability of necessary materials. In addition to the pallets themselves, you will need:

• nails, screws and metal corners;
• paint and varnish materials and a water-repellent primer developed for the processing of garden furniture;
• Upholstery (if the sofa is made of ordinary pallets or of Euro pallets will be finished with fabric);
• dense fabric and thick foam, synthetic winterizer or other filler for self-made mattress and pillows.

In addition to all of the above, depending on the design features of future furniture additional elements must be taken care of. This includes the legs or wheels for the sofa and the handles for drawers, if any. Also, taking into account design ideas, you can add various decorations.

Initially, you should decide what are wooden pallets. In this case, we mean stands for storage and transportation of various materials. Most often in the manufacture of these pallets, pine, larch, yew and juniper are used. It is worth noting that These types of wood are characterized by increased resistance to aggressive environments. In addition, they are characterized by the longest possible life at an affordable cost.

Please note that Euro pallets are guaranteed to undergo quality processing. Another very important point is the color of the products. If the pallet has a bluish tint, then, as a rule, low-quality raw materials were used in its manufacture. The average weight of a pallet is 15-20 kg, and its dimensions depend on the variety. The latter may be:

• standard - 120 x 10 x 12 cm;
• "Euro" - 120 x 80 x 12 cm.

With the acquisition of both used and new pallets, problems today do not arise. But at the same time, you need to remember the need to process blanks for homemade sofas. In principle, if necessary, pallets can be assembled with your own hands, using boards of appropriate sizes. However, as practice shows, the best option would be industrial products. By the way, the standard pallet is able to withstand a load of at least 1 ton.

The first and one of the main steps will be a thorough inspection of the structural elements of the future sofa.

When preparing pallets and their preliminary processing, the most important points should be taken into account.

• Used products must be thoroughly cleaned with a brush and then rinsed with water. This is best done outdoors using a garden hose. Such actions are due to the fact that the pallets are operated in different conditions. Moreover, they could be exposed not only to environmental factors, but also to chemicals.
• Regardless of the quality or age, the pallets must be sanded to completely remove rough surfaces and burrs.. For this, nozzles for grinders and drills are suitable. In the absence of a power tool, sandpaper of different grain sizes can be used. Boards are processed first with large sandpaper, and then with smaller ones. In some cases, only those elements of the sofa that will be in contact with the body are subjected to similar processing.
• Among other things, it is necessary to consider the conditions of the furniture. If we are talking about a garden, that is, an outdoor sofa, then you should pay attention to protecting the wood from the negative effects of the external environment. In particular, this refers to the treatment of boards with a water-repellent primer. This allows you to maximize the service life of products.

Considering the process of making a sofa from pallets with your own hands in steps, you need to remember safety precautions. So cleaning, grinding and chemical treatment should be carried out if possible on the street. Wherein gloves, goggles and a protective mask should be present.

The frame of any type of furniture includes prefabricated or solid panels. It is on this basis that you can make a sofa out of almost ready-made structural elements. And their role is more than suitable wooden pallets. It is important to consider that they are easy to disassemble into parts, combine them into the desired structures. No less important point will be ease of processing and the ability to integrate into any interior.

The popularity of the products in question is largely due to their low cost. However, the increased demand and distribution are caused not only by the financial side of the issue.

Next, watch a video on making a sofa from pallets.

A sofa made of pallets can be of any shape and be:

• direct;
• angular;
• in the form of the letter "P".

Each of these options is unique in its own way and has its own characteristics. At the same time, both whole pallets and their parts can be used as structural elements. Most often, from the first they make the basis of the sofa. For the manufacture of backs and armrests, disassembled coasters are used. Those who already have experience in assembling such furniture, strongly recommend that a drawing be made at the preparation stage.

For a small sofa that can be placed on the balcony or in the hallway, one pallet is enough. In addition, you will need bars for legs and plywood for the back. If the presence of handrails is assumed, then it is worth taking care of the material for their manufacture. If there are two pallets, one of them can be disassembled into spare parts for the back.

One of the options for assembling a small sofa provides the following steps.

1. Saw the pallet along. At the same time, its part from 4 crossbars will become a seat, and the smaller of 3 - a back.
2. Attach the legs with screws and angles. It is recommended to make them wide and not very high, which will give stability to the whole structure.
3. Fasten the back to the seat using the corners of wood.
4. Install plywood on the back.
5. Primer the finished product.
6. To paint a sofa, to varnish or to finish with a fabric.

To make a sofa in standard sizes, 6 pallets are required. However, it is recommended that you purchase 8 products. Elements of the first additional will become part of the future design, and the second is bought in reserve in case of damage during processing. It is worth noting that the sofa manufacturing algorithm itself, regardless of its design, is standard. In general terms, the process includes creating a base, back and legs, machining parts and assembling.

First of all, you need to do the preparation of all the elements.

1. When assembling the base, it is necessary to place two pallets face down and fasten them with boards and corners. Similar actions are repeated with a second pair of pallets.
2. One pallet should be cut across into two components, which will eventually become the back.
3. Wheels are attached to one of the coupled pairs, which later become the legs of the sofa, providing its mobility. The option with bars or acquired legs is possible.
4. If necessary, prepare prepared structural elements with a primer.

The next steps will be the assembly of the sofa, during which:

1. two pairs are interconnected;
2. the back is installed;
3. armrests are made from the elements of the pallet.

The remaining parts can be used to create boxes. They will be located in the space between the two halves of the base. These elements are equipped with handles, and if desired, special devices with rollers. The latter will greatly simplify the operation of drawers.

By the way, from 6 Euro pallets measuring 120x80 cm, you can assemble the base of the angular structure. When using standard wooden platforms, the furniture will turn out to be more bulky. 6 pallets are connected in pairs.The backrest can be made of plywood or parts of the seventh pallet. To install individual elements, in addition to fasteners, use foam.

A multifunctional sofa for a summer residence will be the next step on the road to craftsmanship. Another very interesting option is the model on the terrace. It is worth noting that, despite the apparent simplicity of design, cottage furniture has its own characteristics. In this situation, wooden pallets will be a good choice of raw materials. The result is a spacious, and, therefore, the most comfortable product.

One of the main distinguishing features of such homemade sofas is the presence of wide backs and armrests.. On them, you can install the platform-trays with sides. In this way, comfortable places are created for arranging glasses, cups and plates.

Another option for a sofa for relaxing, which can be placed on the street, will be a design in the form of a terrace. Outwardly, such models resemble a staircase with several (2 or 3) wide steps. Moreover, the number of pallets in each tier may be different. The choice of layout depends solely on the imagination and wishes of the master. Each row is attached using bars or equipped with legs.

The upper row of the sofa-terrace for relaxation has three pallets, the middle - two and the bottom - one. It is worth noting that a similar design can be made sliding if desired.

If you want to create furniture on which you could not only sit, but also sleep comfortably, you should think about a sofa bed. This refers to a design that has a box under the base for a standard mattress. To achieve the desired result, you will need to cut out the middle support of the pallets. Then you should fix the cut fragments between the sidewalls.

The dimensions of the uprights will be determined by the thickness of the mattress. The prepared box is installed on two pallets twisted together. You can fix the elements using self-tapping screws and metal corners. As practice proves, pallets are a very convenient and affordable material for the manufacture of sofa beds. We can talk about structures of one, two and three tiers of pallets.

Finishing of different elements of any sofa from pallets is carried out in several stages. Some of them are implemented at the stage of preparation of lumber. It is then that the individual parts are primed and painted or varnished. In addition, upholstery belongs to this type of work.

An integral part of this type of furniture are mattresses and pillows. These additional elements can be purchased ready-made or made independently. There is the opportunity to order pillows and a mattress according to the size of the finished sofa.

It is important to remember that the thickness of the mattress should be from 20 cm, which will make the operation of the furniture as comfortable as possible. No less significant point will be the choice of fabric for decoration. The best options are natural and durable materials, which include:

• suede leather;
• velours;
• shenill;
• microfiber;
• wearproof leather substitutes.

Along with textiles, homemade sofas can be decorated with various decorative elements and even lighting. Do not forget about shelves, niches and drawers. You can find accessories for them in any specialized store.

In principle, making a sofa out of wooden pallets is not so difficult. For this, in most cases, professional skills and a sophisticated tool will not be needed. However, all manipulations should be treated with appropriate attention. Otherwise, you can make a number of serious mistakes that will have to be fixed.

Experienced professionals recommend that you pay special attention to the following key points.

• The right choice of pallets is of particular importance. At the same time, many advise to give preference to precisely the category of "euro", taking into account the size of the products. On the other hand, it all depends on preferences and operating conditions.
• One of the important stages of "construction" is high-quality processing of all surfaces.
• Before starting all work, you should do it yourself or download and print drawing (diagram) of the future sofa. At the moment, there will be no problems with the search for such documents.
• If the design involves the presence of several tiers of pallets, then for reliability, you can glue them together. But this step is optional.
• Backrests and armrests are best done from parts of pallets.
• All elements are fixed using self-tapping screws.providing the most reliable connection. In parallel, the use of mounting foam is allowed.
• As legs of sofas often set swivel wheels from trolleys.
• The choice of finishing materials directly depends on the conditions in which the furniture will be used.. This applies to both paints and varnishes and textiles.

To summarize, it is necessary to recall safety precautions. When performing all of the above work, be sure to use protective equipment. These are gloves, goggles, masks and respirators. Among other things, for beginners it is recommended that before you start creating a sofa, to study in detail all the nuances of the process. In this case, the advice of an experienced specialist will be useful, which will help to avoid serious mistakes.