Recycled wood pallets

What we mean by Grade A, Grade B and combo

Pallet grading is not standardised across the industry, which is precisely why cheap pallets keep disappointing people. Here is our definition, written down so you can hold us to it.

Grade A (also called #1)

Original stringers, no plugs or companion stringers, seven or more top deck boards with no more than a quarter-inch gap variance, clean or lightly stained, no protruding fasteners. Structurally these behave like a new GMA pallet on a selective racking system. Roughly 30% of our inbound cores end up here.

Grade B (also called #2)

May carry one repaired or companion stringer, may have replaced deck boards, may be visibly weathered or stained. Full strength for floor stacking, block stacking and one-way shipping. This is the workhorse grade and the best value in the yard.

Combo

A deliberate mix, typically 60/40 or 70/30 A to B, priced between the two. Useful when you have a mixed operation and do not want to run two SKUs. We agree the ratio in writing before the load ships.

For the full grading logic including cores and unsorted loads, read pallet grades explained.

Why reclaimed wood outperforms its reputation

There is a persistent belief that used means weak. In wood packaging the opposite is often true, and the reason is moisture.

New pallet lumber is frequently milled from green stock at 25–40% moisture content. As it dries in service it shrinks, cups and loosens around the fasteners. A pallet that has already been through a full seasoning cycle in a warehouse has done its shrinking. It sits at ambient equilibrium, its nails have set, and its dimensions are stable.

That is why an experienced racking engineer will happily specify a well-graded reclaimed hardwood pallet over an unknown new softwood one. What matters is the grade, the species and the deck configuration — not the age.

• Dimensional stability: seasoned wood has already moved

• Proven fasteners: a core that survived twenty round trips is not going to fail on the twenty-first from a nail defect

• Hardwood content: much of the reclaimed pool is oak and mixed hardwood, denser than the SYP used in many new builds

• Lower embodied carbon: roughly 5.2 kg CO₂e avoided per reuse, which the Repallet Ledger will calculate against your own volume

Sizes we hold in reclaimed stock

48×40 GMA is always available. The list below moves with the market, so treat it as a starting point and ask about anything not shown — we source odd footprints constantly and can usually find them within a week.

• 48 × 40 — GMA / grocery standard, the deepest pool in North America

• 42 × 42 — beverage, telecom, paint

• 48 × 48 — 55-gallon drums, four per deck

• 40 × 48 — military and retail, rotated GMA

• 48 × 42 — chemical and coatings

• 36 × 36 — beverage floor displays and retail

• 44 × 44 — drums and chemical

• 48 × 45 — automotive tier suppliers

• 40 × 40, 42 × 48, 45 × 45 and a long tail of odd sizes

Full dimensions, load ratings and trailer counts live in the pallet size guide.

How the stock is prepared before you see it

Every core we sell has been through the same six-step route: counted on the ground, sorted by footprint, graded in daylight, repaired or dismantled, treated if it is going for export, then stacked in fifteens, banded and dated.

Repairs use full-length replacement boards, not offcuts. Companion stringers are glued and nailed, never stapled. Protruding fasteners are pulled rather than hammered flush, because a hammered nail works its way back out under vibration and tears open a shrink wrap two days later.

You can walk the whole line yourself — see inside the yard.

Ordering, minimums and delivery

Minimum order is one banded stack of fifteen for pickup, or a partial truckload for delivery inside Central Ohio. A full 53-foot van holds roughly 480–560 48×40 pallets depending on stack height and grade.

We deliver on our own flatbeds and vans daily across Central Ohio and on scheduled lanes to Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo and Akron. Standing weekly or biweekly drops get priority scheduling and better pricing than one-off orders.

If you also generate used pallets, ask about a two-way lane: we deliver good stock and take your cores away on the same trip. That single change usually removes more cost than any price negotiation. See sell us your pallets.

What arrives on the truck, physically

People order reclaimed pallets and are sometimes surprised by what turns up, so here is the delivery described plainly.

Stock arrives banded in stacks of fifteen, dated on the top unit. Grade A stacks are visibly more uniform than Grade B; Grade B will contain colour variation, stain, replaced boards of a different species and stencil marks from previous owners. That is normal and it is not damage.

Stacks are loaded so they can be taken off with a forklift from the trailer side. If your dock requires a different orientation, say so at order — restacking on arrival costs time nobody planned for.

Every stack has been through the six-step route described below and has been graded within the previous few days. We do not hold stock long enough for it to degrade in our own yard, which is a deliberate inventory policy rather than a happy accident.

How to receive a load properly

Ten minutes at the dock protects you far more than any clause in a purchase order.

• Count on the ground, with our driver present. Not off the manifest. See our reasoning in why we count on the ground.

• Break one stack from the middle of the load, not from the end. The end stack is the one everybody inspects, which makes it the least representative.

• Sight along the stringers of six or seven pallets. Cracks show as a dark line running with the grain.

• Run a gloved hand over two decks. Protruding fasteners are found by touch, not by eye.

• Photograph anything unexpected before the driver leaves.

If something is wrong, tell us that day. We collect and replace or credit — see the terms on terms of service. What we cannot do is resolve a grade dispute three weeks after a load has been broken down and dispersed.

Storing reclaimed pallets so they stay the grade you bought

A Grade A pallet stored badly for one Ohio winter is a Grade B pallet, and a Grade B pallet stored badly is scrap. This is the fastest way to lose the value you just bought.

Indoors is best. Under a roof is next. A properly tarped square stack on runners is acceptable. A half-covered leaning pile on bare ground is the worst of all worlds — it holds water in every deck gap and then prevents it drying, which is precisely what mold wants.

Detail in how to stack pallets outdoors and what an Ohio winter does to a pallet stack.