Pallet porch
Having a porch, or some area to pile your boots in before going into a building without letting all the warm air out, is really useful, and a simple way to reduce energy consumption at home. We had a large pile of pallets that we’d collected over the years, as well as some old double glazing units and a front door from our neighbours, so decided it would be a good use for them. We’d some leftover bits and pieces from building other things so they all got used up too. It all sits on old concrete blocks and is bolted to the side of the classroom, so it’s not going anywhere. Insulation comes courtesy of offcuts of whatever we could acquire from other people’s leftovers. A simple green roof tops it off, and it near enough matches the timber finish of the classroom.
Dismantling the pallets carefully enough to have usable timber is time consuming, and we spend far longer prying them apart than actually building the porch, and then sorting them into same widths, to make the internal lining easier. A mixture of crowbars and a sledgehammer proved the best way to get them apart.