Pallet wood is trendy right now, if only because you can’t beat the price and working with it can present a challenge that people enjoy. And if you are finishing a basement and want a rustic appearance, the appeal of pallet wood is undeniable.
Advantages of pallet wood for ceilings
Sheets of 4×8 drywall are awkward for two people to install, and virtually impossible for one person to install unless they have a drywall lift. And then you have to deal with the awkwardness of taping and mudding drywall over your head. It gives all of the convenience of a drop ceiling. You retain access if you ever need to service your wiring or pipes. The planks push up and out of the way easily. Replacing them only takes a few minutes and doesn’t require any materials. And I think it looks better than a drop ceiling.
Building a ceiling one plank at a time may seem tedious, but I have a trick to make it go really fast.
And the price is right. When a business puts a pallet out by their dumpster, that’s because it’s trash to them. That means they only cost you is the time it takes to find it and whatever fuel it takes to bring it home. It also keeps the lumber out of a landfill and allows it to serve another purpose. It will last decades in your ceiling, and the varied tones will be visually interesting.
Disadvantages of pallet wood ceilings
The disadvantage is that the material, while not costing any money, isn’t completely free. There’s the time it takes to find it, and the fuel that you burn looking for it and bringing it home. There’s also the time element. I have reliable sources of pallets within walking distance, so I can look for them without it costing me anything. I need to walk two or three miles a day anyway, so it makes no difference whether I walk to the commercial area or stay in the residential area. But I don’t live close enough to carry pallets home.
I also figured to get enough pallets to make a ceiling, it would take me several weeks. On top of that, not all pallets are created equal. Some pallets are only used once and then discarded. Those will be pretty clean. You’ll need to avoid the nails, but the nails will be in predictable places. Other pallets lived a hard life before being discarded, getting reused and repaired along the way. They may have nails in less predictable areas as a result of those repairs, and they may have other hazards stuck in the wood. You don’t want to hit those with your tools and wreck your blades.
There’s also the time it takes to break down the pallets. Some people just saw the boards into short lengths, while others pry up the boards and then take out the nails. That results in longer boards but it’s more time-consuming. If you find the work enjoyable, that’s one thing. If you’re trying to get a project done, it might be easier to do what I did and buy a bunch of 1×3 and 1×4 lumber.
Or you can take a hybrid approach, using whatever pallets you are able to find in a reasonable amount of time, supplementing it with purchased 1×3 and 1×4 lumber.
Installing a reclaimed pallet wood ceiling in your basement
To get started, you will need to screw or nail furring strips to the bottom of your joists. Use wider boards to give yourself a margin of error.
Then cut boards to about 14.5 inches in length and slide them up over the strips like drop ceiling panels.
It’s up to you whether you finish the boards. If you plane and finish the boards they can look surprisingly upscale, or you can leave them completely unfinished for a rustic look, or go anywhere in between. It’s really up to you.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.