Idea I have.

[Waterworks]

What do you think of this idea for a cheap housing building materiel , you take standard sized euro pallets ( i heat my home on them for free and companies are begging me to take them away ) and put them in a mould, fill them with spray foam to their full thickness ( 144 mm ) and create waterproof wall, floor and roof building blocks that can be screwed together through the corner blocks.  Naturally every join would be spray foamed to seal it. 

 

This is meant as a low cost alternative materiel for cabins, sheds or huts not to replace anything else currently being used in house building.  

[Russell griffiths]

OFFS. IS THIS APRIL 1st. 

[Stewpot]

People have build sheds from stranger things, but I don't think spray foam would be at all economical. You will use far more cans of the stuff than you imagine, and it ain't cheap in that form.

[Temp]

Is spray foam cheaper than rigid foam sheets with same U value?

[Stewpot]

I think it'd be hard to compare - spray foam out of a can is pretty uncontrolled. The density would be variable at best, and it may have little integrity.

 

I once had the idea of taking a casting mould of a motorbike fairing using spray foam; it didn't work, and my main memory of it is that there is surprisingly little of the stuff in a can. When using it for gap filling, etc., it seems to go a long way, but in a modest void I got through many cans of the stuff.

 

I'm assuming by 'spray foam' the OP is meaning spray cans of the stuff.

[SteamyTea]

10 hours ago, Waterworks said:

i heat my home on them for free and companies are begging me to take them away

You may well be breaking the law doing this.  There are strict rules about burning waste timber.

The company supplying them may also be breaking the law.  There is a reason that they want you to take them away.

10 hours ago, Waterworks said:

put them in a mould

I used to make moulds for PU, what are you considering making them from?

10 hours ago, Waterworks said:

spray foam to their full thickness

Hard and expensive way to do it, more usual to pour/inject it.

Edited January 21, 2020 by SteamyTea

[Jeremy Harris]

45 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

You may well be breaking the law doing this.  There are strict rules about burning waste timber.

The company supplying them may also be breaking the law.  There is a reason that they want you to take them away.

 

 

Most probably the case, as a lot of pallets end up getting contaminated with all sorts of stuff, that's been spilt on them, as well as some being painted.  The pollution caused from burning rubbish wood like this is recognised as being even worse than that caused by burning properly seasoned timber, and burning properly seasoned timber is significantly more harmful than the emissions from the very dirtiest vehicle engine. 

 

[Ferdinand]

12 hours ago, Stewpot said:

I think it'd be hard to compare - spray foam out of a can is pretty uncontrolled. The density would be variable at best, and it may have little integrity.

 

I once had the idea of taking a casting mould of a motorbike fairing using spray foam; it didn't work, and my main memory of it is that there is surprisingly little of the stuff in a can. When using it for gap filling, etc., it seems to go a long way, but in a modest void I got through many cans of the stuff.

 

I'm assuming by 'spray foam' the OP is meaning spray cans of the stuff.

 

there is always 5x as much in it when you puncture it in your workshop by mistake.

[Archer]

I did idly have the same idea as the OP as a way of reducing pallet waste. I think I was trying to break up a pallet at the time thinking "these are flipping strong...". 

 

The ValueTherm system used by Scotframe is a similar principle with factory injected, plant-based foam insulation between a timber frame. 

 

Although recycling them is a nice idea, I think it would be a nightmare to build with as they are not precision made and all slightly different shapes and sizes. Plus they wouldn't cut it structurally as a recycled product you couldn't reliably work out performance. 

[Waterworks]

On 21/01/2020 at 09:03, Jeremy Harris said:

 

Most probably the case, as a lot of pallets end up getting contaminated with all sorts of stuff, that's been spilt on them, as well as some being painted.  The pollution caused from burning rubbish wood like this is recognised as being even worse than that caused by burning properly seasoned timber, and burning properly seasoned timber is significantly more harmful than the emissions from the very dirtiest vehicle engine. 

 

I don't burn contaminated, treated or painted pallet wood, 

[Waterworks]

Despite the drawbacks it would be a very quick and cheap ersatz building materiel I think. 

[Jeremy Harris]

6 hours ago, Waterworks said:

I don't burn contaminated, treated or painted pallet wood, 

 

 

The problem is that, unless you know the full history of the pallets, then you just can't be sure that's the case.  Stuff does get carried on them and spilt on them, including bagged stuff that could contain anything, as well as liquids in containers that may have leaked in transit, and any soaked in contamination may well not be visible.