I found another great way to build gable and vaulted roofs — with pallets: Pallet Pavilions
The site referenced above shows how pallets can be used for walls and roofs. This is exciting because free pallets are usually quite easy to get in most countries and they’re very strong. Many are made of hardwood such as oak.
I’m most excited about using pallets for roofs because this is one of the most expensive parts of a structure. Using pallets opens up a lot of possibilities for affordable roofs: medium-sized vaults (which are difficult to build with earthbags larger than 8′ wide or so), corbelled roofs for roundhouses, cathedral ceilings and more, as well as curved, free-form shaped houses shown above.
You can even use pallets to make gabled roofs. Cut pallets into 16” sections, stack them flat, corbel each course a few inches and nail together with a nail gun to create a conventional looking gable roof. Once covered with metal roofing, framed on the ends and trimmed out, no one could tell how it was built. This technique is limited to small spans and areas without building codes, but it is another dirt cheap building technique for building almost for free.
Old wooden pallets make great fencing too. I can’t remember where I’ve seen pictures, but with a coat of paint, they work really well.
Leigh
I think it is great using old pallets for so many other things. The world needs to think outside the box and reuse items like pallets instead of throwing them into landfills.
I used pallets for firewood and animal pens for years. They’re very versatile. And they matched my shop made with ammunition crates.
Here’s a house plan that was originally designed to be made out of pallets. (I simply redrew thicker exterior walls and now show it as an earthbag house. So if you want to build it with pallets the spacing works out perfectly.) http://earthbagplans.wordpress.com/2009/04/11/economizer-earthbag-house/