DIY – How To Build A Wood Pallet Wall

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Finished Pallet Accent Wall (Ignore brown wall paint at bottom – still under construction!)

Building a wood pallet accent wall in our living room was not difficult. In fact, the hardest part was prepping the pallets with the color scheme I desired. I was looking for cooler shades – grays, white, driftwood. Wanting the wood to appear natural though, not painted, I figured out several different techniques for distressing wood to create that worn and weathered look. You know that look of wood that has been sitting outside for years – old, battered, sun-bleached, washed up driftwood on the beach kind of thing. However, I had to create this look using “brand new” looking pallet wood. The techniques I used are listed below along with the products I used to accomplish them.


Materials Used:

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*We had a great question in the comment section asking how we calculated the number of boards we needed. We figured out each pallet board is about 1 sq ft (.95). So, depending on the complexity of the wall… 1 board per square ft plus extra.  That is the simple way to do it.  The more accurate way is to measure the height in inches (of the wall) and divide by 3.5 = # of courses of boards.  Then, measure the width of the wall in inches and divide by 39 = # of boards per course.  Multiply the results together for the number of boards.  Don’t forget to add extras for errors in measurement and boards that you don’t like….  Also, you should check that your boards are 3.5” x 39″.


Process:

  1. Disassemble the pallets with a reciprocating saw or any tools you have on hand. Clean the wood by wiping down with a damp rag or gently sanding.
  2. Gray Weathered Look: Place one steel wool pad in a glass jar. Pour distilled white vinegar into jar until pad is fully covered. Do not cover jar. Wait between 2-24 hours before using (the longer, the darker the color). Do not use after 24 hours or the color will turn to a rust/brown stain. (Please note that the actual solution of vinegar/steel wool will not change color. It will still appear clear.) Using chip brush, cover your selected wood pieces with the liquid. The liquid will still appear clear going on; however, after a few minutes, you should see the wood begin to darken. It will continue to darken until dry. Different types of wood will react in different ways (depends on the tannin content in the wood).

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    Gray Weathered Effect – Steel Wool & Vinegar
  3. White Sun Bleached Look: In order to bleach wood, you need to purchase a specific two-part wood bleach kit. (Zinsser Wood Bleach – see in material list above. Follow instructions on the box.) I could only find this kit on Amazon. This actually lightens the natural color of the wood. (Regular bleach will only remove stains – not lighten the wood color itself.) The kit covered about 15 boards but that was enough for that specific “effect” on my wall. I used this mainly on wood that was already light but had yellow tones. The bleach kit removed those tones leaving a beautiful white blonde color.

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    White Sun Bleached Effect – Two Part Wood Bleach
  4. Driftwood Look: For the tan driftwood effect, I simply used the driftwood stain listed in the materials above. Apply with a chip brush and immediately wipe off with a rag. To further distress, use sandpaper on select spots after stain has fully dried.

    driftwood
    Driftwood Effect – Driftwood Stain & Sanding
  5. Whitewash Wood Look: Mix 1 part water to 2 parts white latex paint (see in materials list above). Apply on wood with brush and lightly wipe off with rag (always wipe in same direction as grain). Alternative Method: Apply white paint (not mixed with water) to wood with brush. With wet rag, “sand” the paint into wood (cleaning rag whenever it becomes too saturated with paint). This look is forgiving and really depends on how pronounced you want your whitewash effect to be. Experiment with different types of wood and different ratios. If you find that it looks too painted, simply grab your sandpaper and distress it! **This effect can be used with any color paint!**

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    Whitewash Effect – 1 Part Water to 2 Parts White Paint
  6. Combo Look: Try layering several of the methods above. For instance, stain wood and let dry. Then, apply whitewash look. Let dry and sand to distress.

    combo
    Combo Effect – Steel Wool/Vinegar & Whitewash
  7. After you have completed your wood effects, it is time to assemble your wall! (I did not put polyurethane on my wood pieces because I wanted them very rustic. You may apply this if you would prefer added protection to the wood. It also makes it easier to clean!) Easiest method to assemble: Start at top and work your way down. We used a level, miter saw (or circular saw), table saw, and 18ga brad nailer. Saws were used to stagger boards and make cuts around our fireplace mantel. You do not want the boards to line up so it’s important to alternate different lengths and colors. After the wall was up, I decided it wasn’t quite as “cool” in the color scheme as I wanted. Therefore, I added a final whitewash to the boards (after they were up – we didn’t take them down!) and then they were perfect!


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39 thoughts on “DIY – How To Build A Wood Pallet Wall”

  1. This was excellent and exactly what I was looking for! I was afraid to do this myself with pallets, but need about 140sq ft so the alternative that places are selling out there for $15-$20 a sq ft was out of the question. Your methods are well described and easy to follow. I am gathering my materials and can’t wait to get started!!!

    1. Hi Jackie, I am so happy these helped you!! Good luck with your project and I’d love to know how you make out!

  2. Thank you for sharing this post! My husband & I are having our builder do a 2 story great room fireplace wrapped w/ wood planks, and I absolutely love the cool tones that you achieved… Will definitely be using the methods you shared 🙂

    1. Hi Bridget! Thank you so much! Your great room sounds absolutely beautiful! I wish you the best of luck with your project and thank you for visiting! 🙂

  3. Why do you need to you heat treaded rather than pressure treated pallets? I’m not sure I know the difference and how can you tell which is which? Thank you! I LOVE your wall ❤️

    1. Hi Jan! Thank you so much! Pressure treated pallets use chemicals which you would not want to use inside your home whereas heat treated do not. Typically, the heat treated pallets have a mark somewhere on them signifying that they are not pressure treated. A good place to look for heat treated pallets is somewhere that handles food/beverage products. You might be able to contact a local food store, liquor store, etc to see if they have any free pallets they no longer need. Best of luck to you and thank you so much for visiting!

        1. Crystal DiChiara

          Your planked wall is gorgeous! I absolutely love your color scheme! I’m going for the same cooler tones. Did you cut the wood to the sizes you needed before staining or after?

          1. Thank you so much! I cut them to the sizes needed after all of the staining and preparation work. Best of luck with your project!

    1. Hi Amber, it might work…the main difference would be that it would look very uniform whereas pallet wood can fluctuate greatly in texture, tone, etc. However, you can still employ the same methods here and they should work. Best of luck to you!

  4. I’m curious as to how you attached the planks to your wall…??
    Nails, or glue…?
    Which method would you recommend?

    1. Hi Holly, thank you for your question! We used nails with an 18 gauge brad nailer. I edited the post to include the one we used in the materials section. I am not sure if glue would hold well enough for the long-term…it may be possible however, I have always used nails. Best of luck with your project!

    1. Hi Janet, good question! We basically just did some rough “guesstimating.” We figured out each pallet board is about 1 sq ft (.95). So, depending on the complexity of the wall… 1 board per square ft plus extra.  That is the simple way to do it.  The more accurate way is to measure the height in inches (of the wall) and divide by 3.5 = # of courses of boards.  Then, measure the width of the wall in inches and divide by 39 = # of boards per course.  Multiply the results together for the number of boards.  Don’t forget to add extras for errors in measurement and boards that you don’t like….  Also, you should check that your boards are 3.5” x 39”. I hope that helps! Best of luck and thank you for visiting!

    1. Hi Danalyn, thanks for visiting! I did not add a finish to the wood as I wanted it to appear very rustic and it has held up great! However, there is no harm in adding a finish if you’d prefer it that way. Best of luck!

  5. Beautiful work! Thanks so much for sharing your methods! I’m going to try to recreate this in my living room. Two questions: one, how did you keep track of where the studs in the wall are in order to hang the TV? With the boards just being nailed into drywall using brads, you wouldn’t want to hang anything heavy directly off of them and once the wall is covered in boards a stud-finder is useless. Two, what did you do about the outlets? In your pics it looks like you moved the outlets forward a half inch so they aren’t recessed below the new boarded surface of the wall. Did you cut open the drywall and move the outlet boxes on the studs or what?

    Thanks!

    1. Thank you so much, Nick! We actually left a small space on the wall where the TV bracket is mounted so as to avoid mounting through the boards. For your second question, my husband is very comfortable working with electricity so he removed the face plate, loosened the screws mounting the outlet to the box, installed the boards, and then tightened the outlet ears to the boards. Finally, he put the face plate back on. If you are not very comfortable with electricity, you could just make a cut around the outlet or hire an electrician. I hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions and best of luck! Stay well!

    1. Hi Erica, thanks for stopping by! I have used both a brush and rag. I start by applying with a brush and then wipe it away quickly with a rag since the solution is a bit watered down. I hope that helps and best of luck to you!

  6. Hello! The wall looks gorgeous!
    Do you by chance remember how long you left your steel wool in vinegar for the before and after picture you used on this page in that section? I know you’d said 2-24 hrs, but I’m kind of looking for that exact shade for a small project I’m doing and was hoping for a little narrower time window to get that level of darkness.
    Thanks in advance!

    1. Hi Melanie, thank you so much! I made a few different solutions however, most of the time, I let it sit for about 3 hours…maybe 4. When you first apply it, it will not look like it is doing anything. However, as it dries, it will darken. If it is not dark enough, you can always add more solution. Just be careful to not use the solution after that 24 hour mark because the longer it sits, the more rust-like color it turns. Therefore, I would err on the side of beginning around the 3 hour mark and if it doesn’t darken as much as you would like, make another solution and repeat. I hope that makes sense! Best of luck!

      1. Thank you so, so much! You’re so awesome to reply so quick and so detailed.
        I hope you and your family are having an amazing weekend and you’re all doing well!

  7. Love the idea. It’s doesn’t seem like you use much vinegar solution. It says to fill a jar just above the steel wool. How much wood does that cover?

    1. Hi Sara, thanks for stopping by! It’s hard to say exactly how much it covered because it depends on application. I can say that I never ran out of solution. It covered the wood completely (I probably had about 20-30 boards to cover at a time.) The only reason I needed to make more solution was because it was a waiting game to see how dark the gray turned. By the time I could tell if I needed more solution, I wanted to make a fresh batch to ensure it would not end up a rust color. I hope that makes sense. Best of luck to you!

  8. When you say you added a final whitewash to the boards because it didn’t look cool enough- are you meaning all of the boards at once (like a modge podge)or just the ones that were previously white washed?

    1. Hi Jessica, thanks for stopping by! I added a final whitewash to all of the boards at once which helped to cool tones and blend them a bit more. I did this after I had secured them to the wall but you could do it before putting them up, too. Best of luck!

  9. When doing the vinegar and steel- I followed the instructions and have the exact steel pads as suggested and no matter how long I leave the solution out and no matter what kind of board- it is still giving me a red tint. Any idea what I’m doing wrong?

    Also the driftwood is giving a yellow tint- would you suggest I get a gray stain?

    1. Hi Jessica! The vinegar and steel will start to give a red tint the longer you let it sit. I would try it at 2 hours and see what results you get. If it turns gray but you would like it darker, make another solution and do it again at 2 hours or whatever time frame you did the first time. You could try a gray stain if the driftwood looks yellow…that should work just fine. Best of luck!

  10. Hi! This idea is awesome and I am going to do this to 1 of my walls in my bathroom. I got 3 pallets from lowes to try. My question though, amazon doesnt show they sell the Zinsser wood bleach anymore? Any other type/brand I can use? Thanks!

    1. Hi Sara! Thank you for stopping by! It seems like Zinsser wood bleach is not available anywhere at the current moment…not sure why as it was just available not long ago. Maybe it will be back in stock soon? However, I did find one other brand on Amazon (Daly’s Wood Bleach) and it should work the same way. It is more expensive but it was the only option I could find! If you refresh this page, I listed it as a second option in the materials list. I hope this helps and best of luck with your project!!

  11. Hi, so I’m going to be making a rustic pallet wall going up my staircase. You said that if you leave the steel wool in the vinegar more than 24 hours it get a rusty color. My question is, did you try that color on a scrap piece? I’m actually looking to do more of the reds/rusty colors and was wondering if that would work or not? Thanks

    1. Hi Peggy, thanks for visiting! I did actually try the solution after 24 hours and I think that color would definitely work for you if you are looking for reds/rusty colors!! It has a very warm hue to it after that amount of time. Best of luck with your project!

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