Today, I’m sharing with you a fun little DIY AC Unit Cover project that literally took us 45 minutes to complete while the little guy was napping.
Also, we literally spent NO MONEY on this, which is always a win in my book. After the last few crazy weekends we’ve had, we needed something simple!
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Guys, do you ever feel like you’re running a marathon without a drink of water? That is what homeownership has felt like the last few weeks months.
We purchased our little fixer-upper a year and a half ago and have been slowly working through renovations since. (UPDATE: Check out all the before and afters of our entire renovation here!)
Don’t get me wrong, we have made great progress and I can’t wait to share with you some of the major strides we made on the interior pre-baby.
Our little home is a completely different place than it was when we moved in. However, the “joy” of homeownership and especially home renovation is that it NEVER ENDS.
We’ve got about 246 projects in the queue that we would love to tackle as soon as we have the time/energy/money.
Ready to see this DIY Pallet Wood AC Unit Cover?
The week I was due to have our baby we got A/C installed at our house.
Yes, it was a rushed added project before the little one came. Yes, it was expensive. Yes, it was worth every penny.
I can’t imagine how dreadful this summer would have been with a newborn and no A/C.
Ever since the air conditioning was installed we’ve been talking about how we want to need to cover the A/C unit.
Gannon, our dog, loves to go potty on anything and everything in our backyard, so we’ve been a little worried that he was going to “mark” it, hence the need to add an AC unit cover.
Also, you can see the A/C unit from the street and we wanted to cover it up to add a little “curb appeal”.
Our goal for the cover was to keep it simple and frugal. 45 minutes and free? Mission accomplished.
All you need for this Pallet AC unit Cover project is some basic tools), a handful of outdoor wood screws (which we already had on hand from building our fence), and three pallets.
If you’re having trouble finding pallets, check out your local Craigslist, or Facebook groups, or try asking grocery stores if they have any you can take. Check out these other places to find cheap or free wood.
AC Unit Cover with Pallet Wood: Video
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This AC unit cover post contains affiliate links, but nothing that I wouldn’t wholeheartedly recommend anyway! Read my full disclosure here.
Supplies for AC Unit Cover:
- Circular Saw
- Drill
- Outdoor Wood Screws – 2 inch
- Three Pallets
- Pallet pry bar (optional)
- Wonder bar
- Handnd saw or Sawzall (if needed)
Step 1: Cut Front Pallet Down To Size
Our A/C unit is about 2 feet wide, so we cut our pallet down to 3 feet to allow for about six inches on each side of the AC unit.
For the front pallet, you want to be sure that you cut both ends of the pallet off and you’re only left with the horizontal boards and the vertical supports.
You’ll need to pry some of the backboards off of the vertical supports. To do this, we used our handy Pallet Buster, which is a lifesaver if you are doing a lot of work with pallets.
Pallets are surprisingly really hard to dismantle and this thing has helped us save a ton of time over the years.
We’ve taken apart TONS of pallets with our Pallet Buster for furniture projects around the house (like our DIY Reclaimed Wood Bed or this DIY Pallet Wood Side Table ).
You may also need to remove some old rusty nails from the vertical supports. We use a wonder bar to do this and if they’re stuck real good, a hammer can be used to push them back into the wood.
Here’s what the front pallet piece of your AC unit cover should look like once it’s all ready.
Step 2: Cut Side Pallets Down To Size and Attach With Wood Screws
Measure each side of the AC unit, leaving about 2-3 inches between the end of the pallet to the house for wiggle room.
When you cut the side pallets, you’ll be cutting just one end off (rather than both ends like on the front pallet). This helps keep the pallet structure and support and gives you something to drill into.
We drilled in a wood screw on each board of the front pallet into the side pallets. Start with the top corner screw (shown in the photo below).
Get everything lined up and flush, drill in the screw and then move down to the bottom corner. After the top and bottom are screwed in and everything’s lined up you can finish with screwing in the middle boards.
Step 3: Attach Top Trim Pieces (optional)
The top trim pieces are totally optional, but we thought they tied the whole AC unit cover together and added some additional support. It also makes a great shelf for a small potted plant or drinks.
We had the wood leftover from the removed part of the front pallet anyway, so why not? We just used three scrap pallet wood pieces cut down to size and drilled into the bottom pallets.
You may have some pallet boards that need to be cleaned up a bit in order to put the trim pieces on, like this one. If needed, simply use a hand saw or a Sawzall to cut these pieces off.
Learn more about the different types of saws for woodworking here.
That’s it! Seriously this Pallet AC unit cover is one of the easiest DIY projects ever. Set a timer and see if you beat us at 45 minutes. Ready, set, GO!
How To Make A DIY Pallet AC Unit Cover
Looking for a quick way to hide your AC unit? This DIY pallet wood AC unit cover is made from upcycled pallets, and comes together easily and quickly!
Materials
- Outdoor Wood Screws
- Three Pallets
Tools
- Circular Saw
- Drill
- Pallet pry bar (optional)
- Wonder bar
- Handnd saw or Sawzall (if needed)
Instructions
- Cut front pallet down to size.
- Cut side pallets down to size and attach with wood screws.
- Attach top trim pieces.
Hello! This post could not be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of my
previous room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward
this article to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read.
Thanks for sharing!
So cool, but you’ll definitely want a cover for that if you have any trees nearby. I can already envision all the fun you’d have picking leaves out of there in the fall if you didn’t cover it up.
Yes, that’s a great point. We didn’t have any trees nearby. This also easily gets picked up and moved if needed. It’s not attached to anything.
It didn’t cause any problems with air flow to the AC unit did it? I think it’s a marvelous idea and us being in Utah where you’re supposed to cover the AC in the winter, I thought it would be perfect to just put a tarp with maybe one of those moving blankets attached on the underside, just staple that to the outside of the pallet box, or even to the inside.
I will have to show my husband and get his opinion (he’s an electrician and has worked with HVAC before).
Thanks for the idea though!
No issues, just be sure there is plenty of room around the unit for air to move, that there are gaps on the pallets for air to flow freely and there’s nothing on top of the unit.
Is the cover attached to anything or just pit into place? Wondering for cleaning of the unit when needed. TY
The cover is not attached to anything. It is just a U-shaped structure placed in front of AC. Can easily be moved.
Hello, I read how you built a surround for your outdoor A/C unit. I plan to do the same. In my case I’ll need only 2 pallets. Do you have any instructions on how to build a 2 garbage can enclosure with pallets? I remember reading about it but can’t find my pin. Thank you.
Hi there! Sorry I don’t have instructions on this for a garbage can enclosure, we’ve never done that! 🙂
That’s ok. I’m going to use your A/C as a prototype. It’s basically 3 sides, doors and a hinged top. I’ll try to take pictures. Thank you for your quick reply.
Perfect, I’d LOVE to see when you’re finished. Please share the pictures here or email them to me at [email protected]
you have really nailed it. I was facing this problem for some days. I would definitely try this.
awesome, glad you found it helpful!
it is a good idea to cover the air-condition it also prevents the child to touch the AC
Would it be difficult to hinge one side like a gate to allow access for maintenance? Would you have to add corner posts for that?
Depending on the type of hinge you used, you could probably get away without using a corner post. You just want to make sure that the hinge has enough room to allow the gate to open. But, remember this is NOT attached to the house at all, so you really just pick it up and move it if needed for maintenance. It’s not that heavy.
Good use of pallets, I will try this in summer, thanks for sharing
Wow, this project looks great! I just got a composite fence installed in my yard and would love to make a cover like this that matches the fence! Maybe I’ll use a similar stain for it…
This is such a smart way to cover up an ugly AC unit! I love it! I think I will officially add this to my summer to-do list. We are doing some kitchen cabinet refinishing first in June, but after that for sure!!!!
This looks fantastic! Last year I started to upcycle items around my home because I was tired of the rising costs of building supplies and the long wait for shipping Since our AC unit is off for the season I am going to put this together next weekend.
thank you!!!