For the past couple of years I have watched firewood pile up along the fence in my back yard with no designated place to store it. And it's been driving me crazy. At the same time I've been thinking through how to repurpose some old pallets I had lying around and of course I searched on Pinterest for inspiration = DIY + pallet + firewood storage. Once I had a general idea of what I wanted to build I stopped thinking about it and got to wo
The Goal: Make it simple, yet organized, and spend no money.
To get started I cut the pallets in half vertically which left four full boards per side panel. I only needed one pallet per storage unit and decided it would work best to have the boards stand up vertically so that the inside pieces could be used as ledges for shelves.
Using scrap wood I had lying around and exterior 2" decking screws left over from another project, I screwed the top and bottom shelves to the ledges to hold it together. All of the wood is pressure treated which I recommend since it will be outside in the elements. The tops are decking boards and the bottom shelves were 1x10's - both were cut 30" wide so that the overall width is approximately 36" wide.
The next couple of steps I did simultaneously. Since I was working on a slope I went ahead and made sure the top boards were level before adding the two middle shelves. I also wanted to make sure it was deep enough at 24" to hold the average piece of firewood. Once it was level I added 1x4 pressure treated boards, four deep, for the middle shelves and secured them with screws.
I'll have to apologize here for the lack of step-by-step instructions for the roof but the truth is I just made it up as I went because as it turns out I don't really know how to frame a roof. Using PT 2x4's I cut both ends at a 45 degree angle once I determined how much of an overhang I wanted. Keeping in mind that I was using scrap materials, I used some extra 2x2 spindles and cut to size to hold the front and back framing of the roof together. This certainly wouldn't hold up in a hurricane but so far it's made it through a good rain so fingers crossed it'll last for a while.
The next step was to add cedar shakes for the roofing material with a water membrane between the 2x2 framing and the cedar shakes. Originally I was planning to use some metal panels I had left from another project but when I couldn't find the right tool to cut them, I switched to the cedar shakes and am glad I did because I think it adds a little extra character. They are in an overlapping pattern as you would install cedar shakes on any project.
To wrap up this easy DIY project, I added a 1x4 board along the front of each side simply for looks and then stained those along with the side pallet panels dark brown to match the privacy fence. For a little extra touch I added a top stained board and a decorative piece to the top of the gabled roof.
Now I have an organized place to store firewood and other bonfire supplies like these adjusting skewers that are great for roasting marshmallows.
The best part of this DIY project is that it didn't cost me a cent because I used all scrap materials. However, if you don't have extra materials lying around, here's a shopping list I recommend:
Pallet (Check with your local hardwood or furniture stores and you can probably get this for free. I've also found them on Facebook Marketplace as well.)
(2) 1x10x10 pressure treated - cut at 30" wide will give you 8 boards for all of the shelving (top, bottom, and two middle shelves).
Exterior decking screws (1 1/2" or 2" will work well)
(1) 2x4x12 pressure treated - 4 pieces for the framing of the roof
Sheathing or 2x2's to hold the front and back of the gable framing together.
Roofing material (cedar shakes, asphalt shingles, or metal roof will all work)
Exterior stain (if desired)
Now that everything is in its place, it's time to enjoy this organized area in my back yard more. Sometimes it's the smallest projects that yield the greatest reward.
