Pallet Wall for the People Who Rent Their Home : 11 Steps

I am publishing the idea of faux studs. The pallet wall is just one of many ideas that can utilized with this process. The tutorial will be for the pallet wall because I imagined that the studs can hold all the wood up and still prevent you from putting hundreds of hole in the wall the possibilities are endless.

Feel free to use this as a guideline. Be creative on how you do this its always fun to make it your own.

You will need:

-Rubber Non-slip glass pads

-Wood stain

-Rubber gloves

-Pallets ( I used about 8 pallets and my wall are about 8ft x 9ft)

- Nails or screws

-Hammer or drill

-2x2's that are the height of your ceiling

-A washcloth you don't mind ruining

- A saw

-Sand paper

Step 1: Measure Measure Measure.

Step One: Measure the wall that you are going to be using. (height and length) I found measuring in inches to behelpful.

Step 2: Calculate How Many Studs You Need

Step Two: Find out how many faux studs you are going to need. My wall is 111 inches long. You are going to want your studs to be appx. 18 to 20 inches apart. Therefore you just divide your walls length (in inches) by 19 which is 5.8 meaning I am going to need 6 studs. Always round up. The studs need to be to the same height as your ceiling. This is crucial because if you don't get it as close as possible because you are going to be wedging the studs in.

Step 3: Destaple the Wood

Step Three: Remove any staples or stickers on the wood that may prevent solid contact with the rubber pads. Make sure there is no dust on the ends of the studs and apply the pads to the top end,

Step 4: Wedge the Studs

Step Four: Wedge the studs in rubber pad to the ceiling. Make sure its as flush at the top with the wall as possible. Use your foot to shove the bottom flush with the wall. It shouldn't be easy to do if it is you may need a longer piece of wood. If you need help getting the stud tight, feel free to use a hammer to lightly tap the bottom flush with the wall. Again it shouldn't be easy to do. If the hammer absolutely will not get the stud flush use a razor blade to shave a little off the rubber pad until it can tightly squeeze it flush. Use a level to make sure the stud isn't tilted. Measure the appx. 18 to 20 inches and set the next stud. Repeat until all studs are used.
Tip: set the outside studs first and work your way in.
Now test your studs: grab one stud at a time in the middle and tug away from the wall if the stud slips in either on top or bottom it isn't tight enough. You way have to wedge something under the stud or use a thicker rubber pad.
You have now created faux studs.

Step 5: Find Some Pallets

Step One for the pallet wall: Find some pallets. Don't worry about size or age of the pallets if anything the different ages of wood will make for an interesting contrast. Now depending on your location this task should be fairly easy. A lot of businesses are begging for people to take them. Try more local businesses, more mainstream ones have people who are paid to take them. However remember to ask the business before you relieve them of their pallets you never know what there intentions are for them. Most of the time they just want to get rid of them.

Step 6: Disassemle the Pallets

Step Two: Disassembling the pallets. Now this can be a pesky task. I tried for hours prying them apart and broke probably a third of them. I later found sawing both ends of each piece just inside of the nails much quicker. Now some pallets are nailed in the middle as well. You don't want to cut the middle of the board or your be stuck with a bunch of little pieces which will take away from the effect of the pallet wall. Having the ends cut made prying the middle nails so much easier. I used a saw zaw and that greatly sped up the process. But a saw would work just fine just would be harder.

Step 7: Sand the Planks

Step Three: Now sanding is optional but I do suggest it. You will find that the pallet is splintery and sanding will take away this characteristic. To make it easier pull any really lose shedding pieces of wood off and only sand the side you plan on staining. mark un-sanded side with a pencil or sharpie. I used an 80 grit sand paper. Focus on the edges.

Step 8: Stain the Planks

Step Four: Make sure there is no dust on the wood. Wear those rubber gloves so you stain only the wood and not your hands. They wont be as pretty stained. The color stain is up to you but I found that the "special walnut" to be a nice shade. Grab the cloth you don't mind losing and dip one corner of the cloth in the stain and evenly apply it to the sanded side of the wood. Repeat until every piece is finished. Remove any excess finish with a different cloth. Let the pieces sit in the sun for a few hours.

Step 9: Nailing the Planks to the Faux Studs

Step Five: Starting at the ceiling nail the pieces to the faux studs. Starting on the left and work your way all the way to the right before moving down ( similar to reading a book). When hitting the end most likely you wont have a perfect fit, feel free to move on an come back to the gap. I find it easier to do so because this way you can cut all of the pieces you are going to need at once. Remember not to cover and electrical outlets or light switches. Ef you are electrically hand you could move build a housing and set them flush with your pallet wall OR if you are like me just leave an opening in the wood so that you can still access them. Once you hit the floor you can add trim if you'd like but by now you will see the project is already resilient with out it. To add trim use left over pallet and just line the edges of the wall. Now go back and fill those gaps. Measure the gaps and cut a piece to fit.
*Remember to be creative. Try something new. Maybe space the boards out about a half inch maybe throw some old Christmas lights behind them and you'll have the coolest lamp I've ever seen. If you choose to do this remember the edges of each plank will now be visible and you may want to consider staining them as well.