Use Old Wood Pallets To Smooth & Level Gravel Driveways With A Smart DIY

Often constructed out of heat-treated lumber boards, wood pallets are commercial transportation devices that can often be found for free at construction sites, behind stores, or on Facebook Marketplace. They are versatile resource that can be transformed into an array of exciting projects you can DIY at home. But besides being a wonderful material to use to make fun projects, you can also use an old wood pallet to smooth and level a gravel driveway.

Gravel may be of the cheapest materials used to pave driveways, but it's far from a poor-quality option. On the contrary, gravel is a durable choice that can last well over a decade with proper maintenance. One of those maintenance tasks is occasionally re-grading and leveling the driveway to smooth the gravel and fill any potholes that may have developed. A common tool for this is a box blade, which are heavy-duty, metal ground levelers that are pulled behind a tractor. These can cost several hundreds to thousands of dollars, and many require 3-point hitches in order to be properly used.

A wood pallet, on the other hand, is an often-free material that can be hooked up to a chain attached to a standard ball hitch, and towed behind a riding lawn mower or ATV. On the front underside of the pallet, you can attach angled metal blades to make a pseudo-box blade and catch more stones. However, a pallet on its own will do a decent job of leveling your driveway. 

As it is dragged over the surface, the front of the pallet will collect the loose stones in a pile as you move along the driveway. Whenever you cross over an uneven spot, the collected pieces will fill the areas low on gravel and create a level surface. You will need to go over your driveway a couple times in order to get everything as level as possible.

One of the potential downsides of using a pallet as a gravel driveway leveler is the fact that it might not be heavy enough to do the job. A box blade is a substantial piece of equipment, while a standard 48-inch by 40-inch pallet only weighs between 32 to 44 pounds. As such, it could potentially lift off the ground when pulled. There are a few ways around this, though. You could add weight to the pallet to keep it connected to the earth, or drive slowly so the speed of your machine does not pull the pallet upwards.

While an ATV is a fun option for pulling the pallet, it may be a less-common vehicle to own. Luckily, a riding lawn mower can do more than cut grass. For safety, you should remove the mower deck before you make several rounds over your gravel driveway. The disturbed gravel can hit your lawn mower blades, potentially nicking and dulling them for future use, as well as fling harmful debris.