Last week I talked about how to live simply and decrease your carbon footprint living in a tiny house. Even better than buying a tiny house is making your own, and Michael Janzen is blazing a trail with his free tiny pallet house. Not only is his house made out of recycled shipping pallets, it isn’t costing him anything to build. And lucky for us, he’s sharing his plans so you too can build your own tiny free house.
You can save money, sharpen your DIY skills, and further decrease your environmental impact by following Janzen’s example of building a free pallet house.
Keep pallets out of landfills
Here are some disturbing statistics about shipping pallets:
- Approximately 40% of all hardwood harvested in the U.S. is for making shipping pallets
- About two-thirds of pallets are used only once before being thrown out
- 1/4 of all wood in landfills is from used pallets
You can help prevent deforestation and keep pallets out of landfills by finding creative alternative uses for them, like building a house. Pallets can be found everywhere. Once you start looking for them, you’ll see them scattered all over your town or city.
Contact a local warehouse, supermarket, or any business that receives large shipments, and get permission to pick up their used pallets. Most companies are happy to give their pallets away.
Plans for a free pallet house
Janzen has made plans for building a free pallet house available on his website. These plans are a guide for building what he calls a disaster preparedness and emergency shelter. Janzen says:
As hurricane Gustav plowed across Cuba headed for the gulf coast of the United States memories of Katrina and the potential displacement of thousands got me thinking. I wanted to do something to help. It occurred to me that someone else might find what I now about building with shipping pallets useful in the coming weeks and months.
With some creativity, you may find that shipping pallets can be reappropriated in other ways to build your own free tiny house. For example, I have a friend that has disassembled shipping pallets and used the wood to build roof trusses for his straw bale building.
Ultimately, you can help prevent deforestation and keep pallets out of landfills by using them to build creative housing.
Think tiny and free!
(Image credit: flickr via KGBKitchen)
This is not practical or green in the least bit. Are any of those materials even recycled?
F U 12 year old!
What would happen if there was a lot of wind wouldn’t the shelter blow away? Because i didn’t see anything that would hold it to the ground, also how would you get it to stay on the ground if the ground below you is concrete. Sandbags maybe?
I think it is a fire hazard. Where would it go. Mayors would complain about homless people being in it under free ways, but overall (:.
I think it is a fire hazard. Where would it go. Mayors would complain about homless people being in it under free ways, but overall (:.
okay, so what if the homeless dont have all the tools to do it? how will they going to build that dorm?
okay, so what if the homeless dont have all the tools to do it? how will they going to build that dorm?
I don’t want to knock the kid for coming up with an idea, but how are homeless people going to get the invention? Where are they going to set this up at, homeless people national parks? Its get an A for effort,tho.
I don’t want to knock the kid for coming up with an idea, but how are homeless people going to get the invention? Where are they going to set this up at, homeless people national parks? Its get an A for effort,tho.
I think this 12 yr. old is so compassionate, and inventive! He will be going places when he’s a grown up. I don’t think we’ve the last of him! I wish all kids could take a lesson from him and help others instead of being selfish.
COOL DOME!!!
THAT IS AMAZING SOMEONE MY AGE COULD DO THAT!!!
I think this 12 yr. old is so compassionate, and inventive! He will be going places when he’s a grown up. I don’t think we’ve the last of him! I wish all kids could take a lesson from him and help others instead of being selfish.
COOL DOME!!!
THAT IS AMAZING SOMEONE MY AGE COULD DO THAT!!!
I think its a neat idea, but when cause we all know if these were given to homeless they wont take care of them, so when the plastic is ripped what will then happen to the peanuts obviously litter all over the place and since the peanuts are made of Styrofoam they will never disintegrate! lets see something made from recycling that the homeless can fix them selves!
what the ****! i won a contest for this exact idea 6 years ago. i figured that you could build houses with trash as insulation and have shelter for the homeless because nobody would want to pay for a house made of trash. i was even published in a newspaper for the idea… this isn’t anything new
what a fag and liar… my dick he dont care about money if he didnt hed donate it to those homeless he loves so much instead of making them a gay igloo. and to make matters worse this dude is mad ugly
I think its a neat idea, but when cause we all know if these were given to homeless they wont take care of them, so when the plastic is ripped what will then happen to the peanuts obviously litter all over the place and since the peanuts are made of Styrofoam they will never disintegrate! lets see something made from recycling that the homeless can fix them selves!
what the ****! i won a contest for this exact idea 6 years ago. i figured that you could build houses with trash as insulation and have shelter for the homeless because nobody would want to pay for a house made of trash. i was even published in a newspaper for the idea… this isn’t anything new
what a fag and liar… my dick he dont care about money if he didnt hed donate it to those homeless he loves so much instead of making them a gay igloo. and to make matters worse this dude is mad ugly
omg thats soooooo cool that kid must have been a genuis
omg thats soooooo cool that kid must have been a genuis
I think this is smart and ”green”. Good job, kid. I would have never thought of something like that.
I think this is smart and ”green”. Good job, kid. I would have never thought of something like that.
“I don’t care about the money.”
Yeah right! haha he’s not fooling me.
“I don’t care about the money.”
Yeah right! haha he’s not fooling me.
Thats a very clever idea and these homes should be handed out by Homeless shelters all over when they are too filled to house the homeless…and it will eliminate alot of trash from being dummped to rot into the earth because some people don’t want to recycle…one small step like his can help this Earth alot…but it is still no excuse for the people able to work who are homeless…
Thats a very clever idea and these homes should be handed out by Homeless shelters all over when they are too filled to house the homeless…and it will eliminate alot of trash from being dummped to rot into the earth because some people don’t want to recycle…one small step like his can help this Earth alot…but it is still no excuse for the people able to work who are homeless…
wow that fish rocks the waves lol
wow that fish rocks the waves lol
Ok he made a hooverville, so?
Ok he made a hooverville, so?
Max,
Awesome idea, very creative. Would like more info on how to do actually build this.
that is so awesome!!! how did u do that?thats so much talent
This kid is really cool! Many people could benefit from these, especially in these hard times! It’s great to see someone so young use his intelligence and creativity for something good, to want to help people!
Max,
Awesome idea, very creative. Would like more info on how to do actually build this.
that is so awesome!!! how did u do that?thats so much talent
This kid is really cool! Many people could benefit from these, especially in these hard times! It’s great to see someone so young use his intelligence and creativity for something good, to want to help people!
great talent!
given enough support and exposure, who knows what this kid can come up with?
great talent!
given enough support and exposure, who knows what this kid can come up with?
the link above is to a video of Krystof Wodiczko’s homeless vehicle from the 80s. please check him out. he is a great contemporary artist who is trying to help people with art/design.
the link above is to a video of Krystof Wodiczko’s homeless vehicle from the 80s. please check him out. he is a great contemporary artist who is trying to help people with art/design.
And the experts tell us our kids aren’t getting the proper education!? I think Max should be a NEW kind of expert!!!
And the experts tell us our kids aren’t getting the proper education!? I think Max should be a NEW kind of expert!!!
i think this is like that coolest thing ever you did a really good job
i think this is like that coolest thing ever you did a really good job
fantastic
fantastic
Didn’t exactly seem like trash seems like it would cost a little to much money to make and where is a homeless person supposed to get the money? If he didn’t care about the money then he should have donated it to a homeless shelter. Just my opinion. But I do give him props for being such a smart kid.
Didn’t exactly seem like trash seems like it would cost a little to much money to make and where is a homeless person supposed to get the money? If he didn’t care about the money then he should have donated it to a homeless shelter. Just my opinion. But I do give him props for being such a smart kid.
fishy!
fishy!