Pallet Town: Where Affordability, Comfort, and Community Meet

Hello, before I explain my version of "Pallet Town", I would like to introduce myself to you. I am a rising sophomore at Notre Dame High School and have a passion for science, technology, engineering, and math (S.T.E.M.). For years, I have been experimenting, building, and tinkering with projects that I have found on, based on, or at least cross-referenced with Instructables Projects.

With that has come experience, knowledge, and wisdom with projects ranging from Aerodynamically stable 3D printed model rockets that have knocked the wind out of me to throwable fireballs that have sparked my interest in learning S.T.E.M.

While browsing Instructables (a common habit of mine), I stumbled upon the Make It Home contest. And with that being said, that's enough about me—let’s talk about Pallet Town.

Now, unlike the famous Pallet Town from Pokemon games, movies, and series, my "Pallet Town" takes the name a little more seriously. The houses are made from the planks found on hardwood pallets. This is a good building material for cost-effectiveness, repurposing, and (with a little support) walls, roofing, cabinets, and even doors.

For 3D Designing:

1. TinkerCAD (or any other CAD software)

For the miniature model:

1. Popsicle Sticks
2. Cotton Balls
3. Hot Glue (or any other adhesive. Hot glue tends to work best though)

For a full scale model:

1. Wood Planks (derived from pallets)

Before designing the housing, we need to focus on goals to plan on achieving. I made a list of goals in a ranked order as shown above. To make it neater and easier to follow, I transferred it onto a LucidChart diagram. I focused on 7 main goals:

1. Affordable Housing
2. Environmental Friendliness
3. Mood-Improving Features
4. Family Friendliness
5. Sustainability
6. Community Beneficiality
7. Resident Engagement

After deciding upon the goals, I listed 3 ways that I can achieve each goal (as shown in every even numbered step 4 through 16). These play into how we design and build our housing later on.

If you want to see the chart I made, I attached a link to the bottom of this step to access it. You will have to either have an account or make an account to access the chart.

View the Chart Here

To begin, Affordable Housing is a tremendous problem in the United States, with the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) stating that

"No State Has an Adequate Supply of Affordable Rental Housing for the Lowest-Income Renters."

After some more research, I found a quote from the Foundation for Community Health that explains why it is such a big problem:

"High housing costs lead to increased adversity for low-income families. In addition to the persistent threat of eviction, high housing costs leave families to make difficult choices between paying the rent and paying for medicine, food, heating, transportation, and other essentials of healthy living."

This is called a cost burden, where a renter spends a large amount (typically 30% or more) of their income on shelter, allowing for less funds for other necessities like food, medicine, and education. Thus, our goal of affordable housing will be priority number one. That way, when we design the housing later, we will have a situation in which a low income family can financially live comfortably.

Websites Used:

California Budget and Policy Center

Foundation for Community Health

National Low Income Housing Coalition

In order to make sense of the solutions, let me make 4 things clear. Typical affordable housing complexes (AHCs)...

1. Are cramped (Around 120 to 400 square feet per person/couple)
2. Make profit from their tenants' rents (On Average 5% to 12%)
3. Rent around $942 per month (For a studio, $1,014 for a one bedroom apartment)
4. And are affordable due to (Lack of space, lack of amenities, etc.)

With that being said, I am going to focus on making the homes out of a material that is cheap to make and/or procure and is strong enough to support the housing (see step 6 for the material).

While this lowers the construction cost, it doesn't lower cost of utilities such as electricity, water, and HVAC. In order to combat this, many systems will be put into place such as solar panels (See step 18), water collection/ filtration (See Step 19), and natural-based HVAC (See Step 22).

In addition, Pallet town will be non-profit so that any money not spent on repairs, workers (See step 13), or new additions to the community/new communities will be split evenly to tenants so they can have less rent for that fiscal month.

Websites Used:

US Housing Data

AmplifyXL

Joint Centers For Housing Studies At Harvard University

MRSC

Most AHCs rely on mass production using loads of lumber, metal, plastic, cement, and other materials. Unfortunately, most (if not all) of these buildings use brand new materials, requiring trees to be cut down, metal to be melted, plastic to be created, melted, and molded, and quarries to be extracted from to make each new house.

Many problems stem from this including and not limited to climate change (as a result of CO2 emissions from extracting and refining the resources), toxic TK released, and the loss of natural resources. In fact, researchers at MIT made the following statement on CO2 Emissions stemming from home construction:

Depending on size, materials, and how those materials are sourced, constructing a new house likely emits on the order of 15 to 100 tons of CO₂.

Also, RMI created a detailed chart (Pictured above) showing the CO2 created in each step of the construction of a house.

In addition to construction, houses that do not produce their own electricity, water, or HVAC tend to rely on public services such as their local electrical grid (normally running on coal, making it harmful to the environment) and water (sourced from bodies of water like rivers and lakes).

Finally, Inefficient housing can waste this energy and water, requiring more to do the same amount of work. All three of these environmentally unfriendly problems are common in housing, and will not be included (or at least avoided to the best of our ability) in the housing.

Websites Used:

MIT Climate Portal

RMI

U.S. Energy Information Administration

Some solutions to the previously mentioned problems include:

1. Greater water/electricity efficiency
2. By using certain appliances and techniques, we can decrease the amount of electricity/water needed to perform a task, making it more efficient. For example, we can use two small water heaters to provide adequate hot water to each sink, shower, etc. instead of one large water heater that requires more Whs (Watt Hours).
3. Using Reusable/Repurposed materials
4. For construction materials, we will use unwanted hardwood pallets. Due to the strength of hardwood, it makes them great for construction while also allowing us to procure materials virtually for free. For example, I have attached some pictures of hardwood pallets above, and I found all of these within a 1 mile radius of my house. Not only does it help the companies acquire more space for products, but it also helps the earth by not relying on new resources to be extracted. The same goes for metal and insulation, as when we use recycled materials, the dependance on newly extracted resources diminishes.
5. Use of Solar Panels, Water collection/filtration, and composting techniques
6. In order to acquire our own water and electricity, We can use solar panels and water collection and filtration systems. By using these, not only will utilities bills decrease, but the electricity is cleanly generated and the water collection does not harm the planet.

Thus, we will also include these in our housing designs.

Unfortunately, due to most AHCs focusing on low prices and making profit, the structures tend to lack mood-improving features like greenery, natural lighting, etc.

Additionally, the landlords tend to not allow personalization on the walls (Paintings, Posters, hanging plants, etc.) because they can damage the walls. In fact, many landlords are known to only allow up to four nails per wall to limit what they need to repair. This discourages personalization at eye level and can lead to dissatisfaction with living conditions.

Also, many AHCs have little to no community interest groups (Book clubs, Hiking groups, etc.), further detering tenants from hobbies and interests.

In order to combat these problems, we will do three things:

1. Add more greenery
2. By adding more greenery, such as trees, grass, shrubs, and flowers, we will boost mental wellbeing and decrease stress, anxiety, and more. In fact, The Bureau of Land Management says the following on greenery's effect on mood:

Positive experiences in nature can improve mental health, increase creativity, decrease anxiety, and lower cortisol levels—all of which help reduce the risks from poor mental and physical health.

Also, Harvard's School of Public Health also brought up the topic, saying:

Exposure to green space results in mental restoration and increased positive emotions and decreased anxiety and rumination. Improved mindfulness can result from exposure to green space as well.

1. Allow for more personalizable rooms
2. In addition to greenery, allowing for personalizable rooms allows tenants to explore their passions and feel safe to do so. For example, the London Post says that:

Our homes are a reflection of our personalities, tastes, and lifestyles. When we personalize our living spaces, we create an environment that resonates with our unique identity. This, in turn, can have a profound impact on our mental well-being. When you walk into a room that feels like “you,” it can evoke a sense of comfort and belonging that is essential for maintaining good mental health.

1. Establish more clubs and Interest groups
2. Finally, by allowing for the creation of clubs and interest groups, not only do tenants feel happier with their living conditions, but it also allows them to meet others with similar preferences and can strengthen the connections within the community.

Needless to say, many AHCs are not kid friendly. They tend to be located far from schools, have far too little room for kids, and lack infrastructure for children. This tends to limit options for low-income families and can pose problems for both the parents and the kids.

To combat this, three things we can do are:

1. Locate close to a school- Ideally, for all three of the locations, we will try to find land within 15 miles of a school to allow for ease of education and
2. Include a Kid's Club (Daycare)- This benefits both the parents and the kids by allowing for the kids to have fun, build crucial motor skills, engage in social activity and more, while also allowing for parents to work at the same time and not have to worry about bringing their kids.
3. Build Kid-friendly infrastructure- Infrastructure like a playground, a kiddie pool, and/or a sports court (basketball, tennis, pickleball, volleyball, and more on the same court) can allow for kids to, once again, develop their motor skills, play with other kids, and gain skills that can help them.

As mentioned above, most AHCs rely on local electrical grids, a local water supply, and soil for gardening and landscaping. This can lead to many problems, including:

1. Blackouts: If there is any interference with the electrical lines, power outages can be created, leaving many in darkness/without electricity for 5+ hours. These interferences include and are not limited to:
2. Electrical poles falling- Caused by vehicles crashing into them, trees falling on them, strong winds, etc.
3. Animal Interferences- Birds closing the electrical circuits, squirrels nibbling the wires, etc.
4. Human Errors- Digging into electrical cables, balloons closing the circuts, etc.
5. Lightning strikes
6. Short supply: If the water source that the county, city, town, or community relies on dries up or clogs the intake, water will have to be procured from other sources like other bodies of water, other cities, counties, states, or bottled water. Not only will this be expensive, but can also leave tenants without water for long periods of time.
7. High costs: Soil can be costly if needed in large amounts, especially for gardens and certain aspects of landscapes where new soil in needed many times a year. Prices can also increase based on what you plant, what soil is used, and what requirements the plants have.

For sustainability, we can make three improvements to each housing unit:

1. Add electrical generators (Solar Panels, Wind Turbines, IR Solar Panels, etc.) to each unit to provide a source of electricity, instead of relying on power plants for energy.
2. Add a rainwater collection system (such as the one shown above) to each unit to provide a source of clean water (After filtration) for everything from showers to sinks to even gardens.
3. Add a compost bin to provide a source of soil. This also helps keep unnecessary waste out of local land fills.

Many AHCs don't work with their communities, meaning that they focus on building them and maintaining them, nothing else. This can lead to many missed opportunities with the community including:

1. Discounts- Many businesses prefer to have recurring business over single purchase expensive business. This means that by working with local furniture shops, woodworking centers, and even plumbing and electrical services, the businesses may allow discounts for tenants and landlords in return for their patronage
2. Sponsors- By working with local small businesses, opportunities arise in the form of sponsorships. By allowing small businesses to sell products or services to/for the tenants, the companies will realize the need for their product/service and can sponsor AHC events in return for brand exposure
3. Connections- AHCs can form connections with higher-ups of local companies, allowing for priorities on orders, discounts, and potentially more brand exposure for our AHC in return for the same things.

Simply put, all we need to do to benefit and promote community services and products is to

1. Work with local furniture shops, woodworking shops, and/or metal shops to make the furniture for the housing
2. Allow for deliveries straight to pallet town
3. And use local brand for things like plumbing and electrical issues.

Resident engagement within AHCs tend to be low due to the lack of opportunities to get involved. There are no places to provide feedback, little to no options to be involved, and very, very few events with little to no resident input. Without this involvement, AHCs can become unpreferable to their tenants, seems how the tenants don't have any say in their community.

To combat this, we can:

1. Implement a "Feedback Box"- A feedback box, like the one above, is a great way to allow for resident engagement. It provides a place for tenants to provide feedback on things they like and don't like. Although this will probably be online to make it easier to sort, read, etc., it still will have the same affect.
2. Develop a HRA (Home renters association)- This can provide a place for renters to read the feedback and do things about it. It also presents itself as a place to get together as a community and plan events.
3. Plan events for residents, planned by residents- Residents, through the HRA, can have a say in what events take place and what they will look like. It helps the community understand their preferences as a whole and can make residents feel like they made the event happen, boosting confidence and self-acceptance

Due to the NLIHC's extensive research into affordable housing, we can find a chart that shows where affordable housing is most needed. States like North Dakota, Mississippi, and West Virginia tend to have a more accessible supply of affordable housing, so the urgency for new development isn’t as high compared to states like California, Oregon, and Nevada, where housing costs are significantly steeper and the need is much greater.

With that information, I found the areas in most need in the 3 worst ranking states:

Nevada: Outskirts of Reno, Nevada

Oregon: Between Portland and Salem

California: Outside of either Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, or San Diego

In order to generate electricity, we will use one or more of the following:

1. Solar Panels- Generate electricity through converting solar radiation into electricity
2. Wind Turbines- Generate electricity through converting wind into electricity
3. Small Hydroelectric Turbines- Generate electricity through converting water movement into electricity
4. IR Solar Panels- Generate electricity through converting Infrared Radiation into electricity

For the community center's parking lot, We can put Shading Structures over the parking lots. By adding solar panels to these, we are utilizing the same space for parking and electrical generation, saving space and money.We can also implement them into the roofs of our units to capture even more sunlight.

For light poles and signs, we can attach vertical wind turbines (pictured above). These can be used to power the lights for the signs and light poles, while also rerouting any excess electricity to homes or other electrical outputs.

If the AHC is located near a flowing body of water (River, stream, etc.) we can integrate small hydroelectric turbines to generate power while not damaging nature.

Finally, We can use IR Solar panels in certain areas to generate electricity at night, providing another way to generate electricity if it is cloudy or dark, making solar panels unable to generate electricity. Click here to see how.

By using these technologies, we can both use renewable resources to power Pallet town and not be reliant on local power grids.

In order to be less reliant on local water sources, we will implement rainwater collection and filtration into each unit. It will look similar to the picture above and will be used for clean drinking water/tap water, sinks, and if there is enough water for it, showers. We will have to use some water from outside sources, but that amount should be small due to the amount of fresh water the rainwater barrels can store.

For Pallet town's HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Cooling), we will be using both a HVAC system and Passive Solar Design (Step 21).

For the HVAC system, we will use energy efficient components like Air Conditioners, Furnaces, Air Handlers, and Heating and Cooling Units. For a high-efficiency central AC + gas furnace combo with smart features and solid SEER2 ratings, it can cost around $16,000 (Give or take $7,000, based on labor costs, local regulations, and tax credits

This is a large upfront cost, but will be better in the long run because of how much money it saves due to its efficiency.

The second part of the HVAC system is our passive solar design. As shown above, the way that the roof is designed, allows for sunlight to enter the windows in the winter (when it is cold) and not in the summer (when it is hot). In order to make this work, we have to add thermal mass inside the house. when the sunlight hits the thermal mass, the mass captures and stores the heat and radiates it slowly later when it becomes dark.

In order to do this, I researched the optimal overhang for passive solar design and it turns out that it is... complicated.

To find the optimal overhang, you first choose a day between the longest, hottest day and the coldest, shortest day. For these, I chose the summer and winter solstices (the longest and shortest days of the year, respectively ([06/20/2025] and [12/21/2025], also respectively)). I then calculated (using a solar angle calculator found here) to find the angle. You might notice that it requires a latitude and longitude to calculate, so I picked a point in between all three of the locations listed and calculated it from there.

Next, the calculator should put out a diagram that looks like a single sine wave period (basically, a wave that goes down once and up once). With this, you scroll to the highest point to find the peak of the sun of that day. I did this with both days and found the summer solstice to be at around 73.9º. The winter solstice, on the other hand, was closer to 27.06º at the highest point.

With this information, I decided how much of the year I want natural heating. I decided to split it evenly, meaning that the average of the numbers should be able to help us calculate the optimal overhang. I found my average to be 48.64º.

Finally, if you make an imaginary "x-axis" representing your floor, and an imaginary right angle perpendicular to the x-axis, you can draw a line with the angle that you previously calculated. Once this line goes above your rooms' heights, you use trigonometry (or the attached calculator) to calculate the distance between the unit and the point to find your distance

For my 9' tall rooms, and with the calculated 48.64º angle, I found the optimal parallel overhang to be about 8' long. This can allow for a shaded porch while also maintaining the passive solar design.

Finally, by adding thermal mass (such as concrete (our choice for flooring), tiles, or bricks) to the inside of the room, we have successfully created a passive solar design.

For a brief summary of the non-mathematical parts of passive solar design, watch the following videos:

Architects explain. What is passive solar design?

Architects explain. Thermal mass in passive solar design

In order for the tenants to have warm water, we need water heaters. I did some research into which water heaters are best for larger houses, seems how each unit is practically a 4 bedroom and 4 bathroom house, meaning they will need a lot of GPM (Gallons Per Minute). By assuming that each shower uses 2.5 GPM, each toilet might use 2 GPM, and each sink uses 1.5 GPM, we can calculate that we will need a supply able to withstand 13.5 GPM (I am saying this instead of 24 GPM because not every shower, sink, and toilet will all be used at the exact same time; also, the toilets will only use the GPM for half a minute at most, reducing the need for excess GPM).

To do the task, I found the Noritz EZ Series Pro Condensing Tankless Water Heater. This water heater can deliver up to 11.1 GPM, so we will use two. There are pros and cons to using this tankless water heater, starting with the cons, this heater relies on natural gas for heat generation, making it not the most environmentally friendly, but it makes up for that by boasting a 0.98 UEF (Uniform Energy Factor). This means that it is extremely efficient and thus, wastes less energy to do its job.

By using two of these, not only will each unit be able to withstand many appliances needing heated water at the same time, but it also will take less resources to do so.

For the appliances, we will be using ones suited for multi-family use to support the multiple families using them. The following are my choices for kitchen appliances:

1. Dishwasher: Beko Tall Tub Dishwasher - $759.99 - Large, fast, quiet, and and most hygienic dishwasher that will be able to handle 4 families of tenants worth of dirty plates
2. Sink/Food Disposal: InSinkErator 5XP Badger - $179 - A reliable, quality, and budget-friendly food disposal
3. Refrigerator/Freezer: LG MAX™ French Door Refrigerator - 1,799 - A large capacity refrigerator and freezer that has a ice maker and a water dispenser.
4. Microwave: TOSHIBA EM131A5C-SS Countertop Microwave Ovens - $139.99 - A robust, reliable, budget-friendly microwave oven.
5. Ovens/Stove: 30-Inch 5 Burner Electric Double Oven Convection Range - $1,799 - A large capacity oven and stove combo with "True Convection" and a zone to keep food warm.

These choices are a combination of affordable and quality appliances meant for many people. There will be 2 refrigerators/freezers and 2 ovens/stoves in each unit to allow for more room for each tenant.

For the home security, we will use security cameras around each unit. We will use a Ring doorbell and three 180º cameras, two on the outside near the windows and one on the inside overseeing the hallway, kitchen and living room. The cost for these are shown below.

1. (3) Security Camera : Reolink Duo 2V PoE : 3x 139.99 : 419.97 - 30 ("Buy more, save more" discount) : $389.97
2. (1) Ring Doorbell + Chime (speaker) : $69.99

The reason for including security, among many other reasons is that is makes the community safer by discouraging burglars from breaking in. In fact, safehome.org states:

Before a break-in attempt, 83 percent of burglars look for an alarm and 60 percent would look for a new target if they found signs of an alarm.

They also mentioned that:

Only 13 percent of burglars would continue an attempted burglary if they discovered an alarm during the attempt. More than half of the burglars always stopped the attempt if they detected an alarm, while 31 percent sometimes retreated.

This makes the community safer, making it more family friendly and a generally safer place of living.

Due to our main choice of building materials being pallet planks, I thought it would be appropriate to design the planks to scale first.

To begin, I went to places around my community that had pallets and measured the dimensions of the planks. I found the average measurements to be 40"x1"x4" ((Length)x(Width)x(Height)) per plank. I took this and designed it on Tinkercad.

The file for the plank is below

Next, I took the plank mentioned above and duplicated it and arranged the duplicates into the walls (180"x1"x108") shown above*. I left a 5" gap between the 2 sections of the wall in order to allow for insulation. This gap is more than the legal requirement due to the necessity to retain heat.

*Pro Tip: Don't press Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, instead, click the duplicate button and move it into the place you want. If you press it again, it will place what you duplicated in the next corresponding place.

(For example, If you duplicate a plank and move the duplicate 4 inches up and 20 inches to the side, if you press the duplicate button again, it will be placed 4 inches above and 20 inches to the side of the previous duplicate.)

For this step, I duplicated the shorter wall (180"x1"x108") and fitted the wood planks to make a longer wall (360"x1"x108"). There were also additions made to allow for the insulation to be placed in in the next step and an added door to serve as a reference at to how large the room will be.

Next, I designed the insulation and floors. For the Insulation, I made the length 5" longer than the inner walls each side ( to allow for the 5" thick insulation on both sides. Again, following the regulations, I made a concrete floor that is one foot thick (more than the average requirement in each state), and long and wide enough to support the walls. I did this to allow for a strong, sturdy base for the AHC. Due to the file size, I had to take out some details, leaving the blocky walls, instead of the planks on the walls. The measurements for the insulation and floor are shown above.

For this step, I decided that four rooms works best, so I used the duplicating tip to arrange them how I liked. I then added the flooring for the hallway with some extra space for the bathrooms.

Next, I added some more walls, a toilet, shower, and set of sinks in each bathroom. I also decided to add a bed and a closet to each bedroom. The files for the toilet, shower, set of sinks, and bed are attached below.

Unfortunately, my computer was not able to render this, nor the living room, roof, or any other parts of the rest of the unit. Thus, there are now sketches to represent this and the rest of the envisioned models. Also, attached are the files for the Couch/Lounging chars for the living room and a dining table.

1/2-Refrigerators/Freezers

3-Open Work Area

4-Stove Tops/Ovens

5-Pantry

6-Microwave

7-Open Work Area with Dishwasher Underneath

8-Island table for food, chairs, etc.

For the community, I planned to have something like the picture above, with the homes circling around the community center. Due to file size (as previously mentioned), I wasn't able to model it, but still, it would allow for many homes to be located to the community center. The community center itself would be home to washers and dryers for tenants, a pool, a playground, and more, ensuring convinience, entertainment, and a spot for tenants to socialize.

For this, I decided to make each popsicle stick (~4.5 inches long) equal to 15' for the rooms. This meant that each ~0.3" is equal to 1' in the scale. Meaning the scale model will measure ~9"x~4.5x~2.7". With that figured out, I began building

I began by cutting popsicle sticks to 2.7" across (the height) and gluing then to seven parallel ~4.5" across popsicle sticks (as shown above). This allowed me to make six "15' walls". I then glued two of the walls parallel to each other twice to make the longer "30' walls".

For this step, I used a square piece of metal I had laying around to make square corners. This worked better than I expected and made the room a perfect rectangle. With the walls in place, I just hot glued the corners and let them set.

The final part of the build, the roof. I used the same method as i did for creating walls for the roof tiles. This was quick easy and with a little hot glue, sturdy.

If I had more time to work on it, I would have:

1. Built a larger, more detailed replica of the unit.
2. Taken more time to explain the systems
3. Created an in depth diagram for the community center
4. and plenty more

I hope you enjoyed reading the research, looking at the designs, and watching an idea become a design, which also became a scale model.

Thank you for your time and have a great day (or night)