Secret Door and Pallet Wall Facade. Trash to Treasure!!

As a child I always wanted a secret door to something. When we chose to open a store we had to build a wall to divide the large space into retail front and back room with offices. I saw my golden opportunity to make something cool, beautiful, and reuse some pallets that were about to be thrown away.

In this instruct-able I am assuming some carpentry knowledge as far as framing a wall and then subsequent dry wall installation. The reason I chose to cover this in such a broad fashion has to do with the fact that someone may wish to make changes or apply this in a different way.
I looked far and wide for what I had in mind and didn’t find it. I saw similar more symmetrical applications, but I wanted some chaos!
Here, I intend to document how I chose to embrace irregularity and imperfections to make them truly beautiful as well as useful out of something others would discard! And... also have my secret door !! :-)

Supplies

2x4’s (for wall construction)
Drywall boards
Drywall tape
Drywall mud
Drywall tools for taping
Black paint
Roller and brush
Paint tray
Pallets (that are disassembled and old.)
Screws and nails
A Brad nailer 18 gauge
Brads 18 gauge 2&1/2 inches
Air compressor for the Brad nailer
Drill and appropriate bits for the screws
Hammer & Pry-bar
Sawzall - to help cut pallets
3 Heavy duty Hinges for the door
Heavy Gate latch
Reciprocating saw - to cut a recess for the hinges
Drill bit for the paracord hole.
Nylon paracord

Step 1: The Wall

Start by framing the wall.
Make sure it’s solid and will not flex especially where the door will hang on the hinges. To accomplish this I fastened multiple 2x4’s (using 3” long solid deck screws) together for that hinge post.

Step 2: Drywall and Paint

Put up drywall, and then paint.
This part doesn’t have to be pretty but it is necessary, because getting mud and tape up will help to solidify the drywall as a unit and stiffen the entire wall.
Then, paint the wall and door black! It will help the wall disappear behind the pallet slats.

I chose the paint as you go option for some of the wall. I wanted to use less paint so I could be sure I had enough for the whole wall.

Step 3: The Door

Frame the door.
Make sure your door and wall are flush and that you cut recesses for the hinges so that the door will close completely. Don’t cut the recesses too deep or too shallow. Flush face is the key! On the back side for the door fasten a piece of plywood that is at least 1/2 inch. This will keep your door from sagging and also keep it square. Thank you Jerry for advising me on this! Be sure to use plenty of screws and even liquid nail to keep the door solid.
Test your door and make adjustments as it will be easier to fix problems now, before dry wall or the facade is put up.

Step 4: Final Thoughts and Finished Product

Finally use your pallet slats to clad the wall. There is no right or wrong way here. In some cases I stacked the slats. In other cases the slats weren’t even or straight. I used the brad nailer to fasten them to the wall. The small holes the Brad nailer makes literally disappears into the pallet slats. This was perfect for my application.

Note : be sure to use pallet wood that is safe. Here is a good link to help educate those that don’t already know the difference.

https://generalpallets.com/pallet-markings-and-what-they-mean/


Well... now we use our wall and door daily they work great and the door is fun to use! I hope you have enjoyed how I took some trash and dressed it up to be functional and cool. Please comment and question and I will do my best to get back to you. Thanks for checking this instruct-able out!!