Quote a new build
Send footprint, deck configuration, species and load profile — or just attach your drawing by email.
Four situations where we stop arguing.
- A documented programme that specifies virgin lumber — pharmaceutical and medical device audits usually do.
- Cleanroom or controlled environments where no prior-use history is acceptable.
- Non-standard footprints with no recycled pool to draw from. If nobody has built it before, there is nothing to recover.
- Engineered load cases — heavy point loads, racking spans, or anything where you need calculated capacity rather than graded capacity.
Three habits worth breaking.
- 'New looks more professional.' Your customer's receiving clerk has never once commented on this.
- 'New is more reliable.' A correctly repaired platform of the same construction carries the same rated load. The variance is dimensional, not structural.
- 'It is easier to just order new.' It is one email either way, and the recycled one costs roughly a third.
What we need from you to build it.
Give us these eight lines and we will come back with a cut list and a unit price. Miss them and we will come back with questions.
| Line | What to tell us | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Footprint | Length × width in inches or mm | Drives everything downstream, including trailer fit |
| Construction | Stringer or block; two-way or four-way | Determines whether a pallet jack can enter from the side |
| Deck boards | Top count / bottom count, flush or wing | Controls deck coverage and carton bridging |
| Lumber | SYP, Appalachian hardwood, or mixed | Hardwood is stiffer and heavier; pine is lighter and cheaper |
| Moisture | Green, air-dried, or kiln dried to ≤19% | Mould risk, weight and dimensional stability |
| Treatment | Untreated or ISPM-15 heat treated | Export compliance; must be specified before assembly |
| Load | Weight, static or dynamic, racked or floor | Decides board thickness and stringer dimension |
| Volume | Units per release and frequency | Lets us price the run rather than the piece |
No 5,000-unit minimum
We will quote a run of 25. A lot of mills will not, which is how customers end up with four years of inventory in a yard.
Regional lumber only
Appalachian hardwood and southern yellow pine from mills inside a day's drive. A new pallet shipped across a continent defeats its own purpose.
Treated and stamped in house
Our heat chamber is on the same four acres as the assembly bench, so treatment adds hours rather than a subcontractor.
What goes into a new build.
Species, moisture, fasteners and footprint. These four decide how a new platform performs and how much it costs, and all four are specifiable.
| Species | Group | Specific gravity | Stiffness | Nail holding | Weight | Cost | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern yellow pine | Softwood | 0.51 (oven-dry sg) | Moderate | Moderate | Light | $ | Plantation-grown, abundant, dimensionally stable once dried. The default for new builds. |
| Appalachian red oak | Hardwood | 0.63 | High | Excellent | Heavy | $$$ | Stiffest common option. Best for racked spans and high-cycle closed loops. |
| Poplar / tulipwood | Hardwood | 0.42 | Moderate | Good | Light-medium | $$ | Light for a hardwood, clean-looking, favoured on the millwork bench. |
| Maple (soft) | Hardwood | 0.54 | High | Very good | Medium-heavy | $$ | Common in mixed Appalachian loads; good all-rounder. |
| Sweetgum | Hardwood | 0.52 | Moderate | Good | Medium | $ | Prone to warping if dried badly. Fine in a repaired platform, awkward in millwork. |
| Mixed Appalachian | Hardwood | 0.42–0.63 | Variable | Good–excellent | Medium-heavy | $$ | What a recycled hardwood load actually is. Strong, heavy, and genuinely inconsistent. |
A recycled load is a mix by definition, because the recovered pool is a mix. We sort to a single species group on request, which costs more and takes longer.
| State | Moisture content | Mould risk | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green, off the saw | 60–120%+ | Very high | Heavy, moves as it dries, blooms readily. Rarely what you want. |
| Air dried, yard stored | 15–22% | Moderate | Typical of outdoor recycled stock in a humid month. |
| Kiln dried | ≤19% | Low | Below the biological threshold for mould. The usual specification. |
| Kiln dried, millwork grade | 8–12% | Very low | For cladding and interior work, matched to heated-interior equilibrium. |
| Reclaimed, long service | 10–16% | Low | Years of cycling beat any kiln schedule for stability. An under-appreciated advantage. |
Moisture content is water weight divided by oven-dry weight, which is why green softwood can exceed 100%. Heat treatment is not kiln drying — see moisture explained.
| Type | Withdrawal resistance | Drive speed | Typical use | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smooth shank | Low | Fastest | One-way economy platforms | Loosens over repeated cycles. Acceptable where the platform will not return. |
| Helical / screw shank | Good | Moderate | Hardwood assembly | Twists as it drives, cutting a thread. Strong in dense species. |
| Stem threaded (annular ring) | Excellent | Moderate | All our repairs, durable builds | Rings bite against withdrawal. The industry workhorse and our default. |
| Staple | Low–moderate | Very fast | Collars, light assembly | Fine for non-structural joints. Not used on deck-to-stringer joints here. |
| Steel plate, through-nailed | Highest | Slow | Stringer break repair | Strongest repair available. Check conveyor clearance before specifying. |
One line in a specification — “stem-threaded fasteners, staggered pattern, driven flush, no protrusion” — is the difference between a platform that lasts two years and one that lasts five. The long version.
| Footprint | Inches | Millimetres | Construction | Top / btm boards | Weight lb | Dynamic load | Racked load | Board feet | Positions per 53′ van |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 × 40 GMA | 48 × 40 | 1219 × 1016 | 3-stringer, notched | 7 / 5 | 33–48 | 2,100–2,800 lb | 1,500–2,500 lb | 37 | 30 |
| 48 × 40 heavy | 48 × 40 | 1219 × 1016 | 3-stringer, thicker | 7 / 7 | 46–58 | 3,000–4,000 lb | 2,200–3,000 lb | 44 | 30 |
| 48 × 40 economy | 48 × 40 | 1219 × 1016 | 3-stringer | 5 / 3 | 28–34 | 1,200–1,800 lb | Not recommended | 27 | 30 |
| 48 × 48 | 48 × 48 | 1219 × 1219 | 4-stringer or block | 7 / 5 + perimeter | 52–68 | 3,000–4,500 lb | 2,000–3,000 lb | 46 | 26 |
| 42 × 42 | 42 × 42 | 1067 × 1067 | 3-stringer, notched | 7 / 5 | 32–44 | 2,000–2,600 lb | 1,400–2,200 lb | 34 | 30 |
| 40 × 48 | 40 × 48 | 1016 × 1219 | 3-stringer, notched | 7 / 5 | 33–48 | 2,100–2,800 lb | 1,400–2,300 lb | 37 | 30 |
| 48 × 42 | 48 × 42 | 1219 × 1067 | 3-stringer, notched | 7 / 5 | 35–50 | 2,200–2,900 lb | 1,500–2,500 lb | 39 | 30 |
| 40 × 40 | 40 × 40 | 1016 × 1016 | 3-stringer, notched | 6 / 4 | 28–40 | 1,800–2,400 lb | 1,200–2,000 lb | 31 | 30 |
| 48 × 36 | 48 × 36 | 1219 × 914 | 3-stringer, notched | 7 / 5 | 30–42 | 1,900–2,500 lb | 1,300–2,100 lb | 33 | 34 |
| Euro / EPAL 1 | 47.2 × 31.5 | 1200 × 800 | 9-block | 11 + 3 bearers | 50–57 | 3,300 lb nominal | 2,200 lb nominal | 33 | 40 |
| Euro 2 / industrial | 47.2 × 39.4 | 1200 × 1000 | 9-block | 11 + 3 bearers | 60–70 | 3,300 lb nominal | 2,200 lb nominal | 41 | 30 |
| Euro 3 / half | 31.5 × 23.6 | 800 × 600 | Block | Varies | 20–26 | 1,100 lb | Not rated | 17 | 80 |
| Quarter / display | 23.6 × 15.7 | 600 × 400 | Block or moulded | Varies | 9–14 | 550 lb | Not rated | 9 | 160 |
| Asia standard | 43.3 × 43.3 | 1100 × 1100 | 9-block | Varies | 48–60 | 2,200 lb nominal | 1,800 lb nominal | 36 | 28 |
| Australia standard | 45.9 × 45.9 | 1165 × 1165 | Block | Varies | 55–66 | 2,200 lb nominal | 1,800 lb nominal | 40 | 26 |
Capacities are indicative ranges for recycled stock, not certifications — see load capacity for how the three ratings differ. Trailer positions assume the better of the two orientations on a 630″ × 98″ floor. Usable floor of a 53-foot dry van. Reefers and curtainsides run shorter and narrower.