In preparation for summer, we started building a deck in front of our tiny. This deck will expand our living space and be the perfect addition to our house. I can totally see us having our meals out there. I will use the deck as an outdoor office and together we will use it to relax and watch the world go by. Perfect!
Recycle, eat, sleep, repeat
We’re trying to be mindful with the materials we use for our deck. So we decided to only use reclaimed and recycled timber. We started a scavenger hunt for recycled timber and found heaps of it in our local tip shops. It’s amazing how much perfectly fine timber people throw away. I think we even surprised one of the tip shop guys when we showed him the timber beams we pulled out of the pile. We will use these beams as a base for our deck.
As for decking timber, we decided to use pallet wood. There are heaps of pallets around in our area. They literally just lie there on the side of the road waiting to be picked up and recycled. We are aware though that pallet wood is not treated and therefore we will have to oil it. Even then, the pallet wood slats won’t last as long as actual decking timber. We also found some actual decking timber in one of the tip shops. So we will mix them with the pallet wood for some additional strength.
Dismantling pallets, one section at a time
The pallet wood we are using is strong and will serve its purpose of holding outdoor furniture and people. However, it’s not treated and mostly softwood.
The timber will eventually start rotting away but we’re fine with our deck having an expiration date. We’re expecting it to last around 5 years. In fact, this even suits us since we don’t own the land and don’t know how long we can stay in our current location. By the time the deck starts to decay we might have to move or feel like a change of scenery anyway. This way we can just dismantle it and be on our way.
However, the initial thought was to take our deck with us when we move. So in order to keep it portable, we’re building our deck in sections. There will be 3 sections. Each section is 2.5m by 1.8m big and uses around 5 pallets. In addition to that, each section has 9 legs, 3 bearers and 5 joists.
Dismantling pallets is a lot of work but it doesn’t stop there. Once we’ve taken the pallet apart, we cut the slats to length, sand and oil them and screw them to the frame. We’re building the frames from the solid hardwood timber beams from the tip shop. Before we put them together, we also sand and paint them.
So far we’ve finished one section and it already looks awesome. We’re currently working on the second section. I can’t wait to see our finished tiny house deck.
We are inspired by what you guys have done and how you’ve incorporated your green minimalist philosophy into your living space.
We live in Akron, Ohio and the winters can get quite cold and cloudy. But I’m certain there are ways of meeting those challenges with less wasteful use of resources.
We will keep you posted of our progress if any. We thank you for sharing your story. Take care.
Hi Kenny, thank you for your kind message. Are you planning on building a tiny house, too? Please keep us posted and all the best for your build. Kind regards, Annett