Bottom deck (pallet)
Also called: bottom face, base
The bottom deck is the lower layer of deckboards (or a perimeter, runner or panel base) on a double-face pallet. It spreads the load onto the floor, rack or conveyor and stabilizes the stringers or blocks.
In depth: Double-face pallet: construction, reversible vs non-reversible
The bottom deck is the underside of a double-face pallet. A single-face pallet or skid has none. On stringer pallets the bottom deck is a row of deckboards across the stringers. On block pallets it can take several forms.
Bottom deck styles
| Style | Pallet class | Entry effect |
|---|---|---|
| Deckboards across stringers | Stringer | Boards must stay clear of notches |
| Perimeter base (frame) | Block | Full 4-way for forks and pallet jacks |
| Unidirectional runners | Block | Pallet jacks from 2 sides only |
| Cruciform (perimeter plus center boards) | Block | Full 4-way |
| Panel with cutouts | Block | Depends on cutouts |
A GMA-style 48 × 40 has 5 bottom boards: 2 × 5-1/2 in lead boards and 3 × 3-1/2 in boards grouped in the middle, all 5/8 in thick.
Why it matters
The bottom deck spreads weight when pallets are floor-stacked, stops stringers from rolling over, and carries the load on roller conveyors. Its layout also decides where pallet-jack wheels can drop to the floor. Boards placed under a notch block fork entry, and bottom lead boards are often chamfered so pallet-jack wheels ride over them. See bottom-deck coverage.
On a spec sheet
The same rows as the top deck (count, thickness, width, length), plus the spacing rule (for example "ends flush, interior cluster equally spaced"), chamfer details and the base style for block pallets.
Related
- GlossaryTop deck (pallet)The top deck is the load-carrying upper surface of a pallet, made of deckboards or a panel fastened across the stringers, stringerboards or blocks.
- GlossaryBottom deck coverage (pallet)Bottom deck coverage is the percentage of a pallet's underside covered by bottom deckboards. A GMA-style 48 × 40 bottom deck covers about 45%, less than the top deck, to leave room for notches and pallet-jack wheels.
- GlossaryPerimeter base (block pallet)A perimeter base is a block-pallet bottom deck made of boards running around all four edges, like a picture frame, which gives full four-way entry for forklifts and pallet jacks.
- GlossaryChamfer (pallet)A chamfer is a bevel cut along the edge of a bottom deckboard, usually a lead board, so pallet-jack wheels can ride up and over it instead of hitting a square edge.
- TypesDouble-face pallet: construction, reversible vs non-reversibleA double-face pallet has a top deck and a bottom deck. Most are non-reversible: the bottom deck has fewer boards and only the top carries product. A reversible double-face pallet has two identical load-bearing decks. The bottom deck spreads load onto the floor or the load below and stiffens the pallet in racking.
- GuidesParts of a pallet: deckboards, stringers, blocks and fastenersA wood stringer pallet has top deckboards, stringers (often notched) and bottom deckboards, joined with nails. A block pallet swaps the stringers for 9 blocks and 3 stringerboards. The outermost deckboards are lead boards. Openings between the deck layers take the forks.
More in Components and construction
- GlossaryActual dimension (pallet and lumber)An actual dimension is the measured size of a pallet or component at manufacture. Pallet spec sheets state component sizes as actual dimensions, for example a 5/8 × 3-1/2 × 40 in deckboard.
- GlossaryBlock (pallet)A block is a rectangular, square or cylindrical spacer between the decks of a block pallet. Most block pallets have 9 blocks in a 3 × 3 grid, and the block height sets the fork entry height.
- GlossaryCenter block (block pallet)The center block is the middle block in the 3 × 3 grid of a nine-block pallet. It supports the middle of the deck and, on EPAL pallets, carries the producer, date and treatment marks.
- GlossaryCorner block (block pallet)A corner block is one of the four blocks at the corners of a block pallet. Corner blocks take the most fork and pallet-jack impact, so the Uniform Standard requires more fasteners there than at interior blocks.
- GlossaryCross-board (pallet)A cross-board is a board that runs at right angles to the main deckboards of a pallet. The term is informal: it usually means a block pallet's stringerboard, or the center boards of a cruciform bottom deck.
- GlossaryDeck coverage (pallet)Deck coverage is the percentage of a pallet deck's area that is covered by deckboards. A GMA-style 48 × 40 top deck covers about 59%; a solid deck covers 100%.
Last reviewed 2026-09-24. 245 words.