Reptile & Amphibian Forums

so after seeing a cheepo rack build on another forum and doing some research i found where someone else had already done a 28 qt rack like mine. it hasnt been posted here and i thought it deserved a place.
i own animal plastics racks and many many melamine racks that i built my self already, but wanted something different, lighter and cheaper.
time has come that i have to empty the snake room for my growing family. so now the snakes have to go down in the dungeon i call a basement. the melamine wont last long down there if it has to sit on the concrete, and i do get water penetration at times.
so i started searching for cheap alternative plastic racks that i could make myself. i can get xpvcx for 110 a sheet but i also have to drive an hour and a half to get it...and i recently sold my truck for a car with better gas mileage...so id have to borrow one.
hence how this came about.

first thing i did was head to home depot and pick up (2) 5 shelf plastic storage units made by workforce for 49.99 each.

while i was there i also bought (2) 4x8 sheets of 1/8 inch white bathroom paneling for 13 dollars each.
i had them make 3 cuts while they were stacked together. 1 cut to make them 2x8. then 2 more cuts making 3 foot lengths. i didn't get pics at this step.
once home i cut 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 cuts out of each corner. keep the corners you cut out for a later step.

please excuse the crappy cuts as my trim saw didnt have a deep enough cut and had to finish it up with the recip saw. so at this point i have (8)2x3 foot panels with the corners cut out.
before i could adhere the panels to the shelves i had to remove all the plastic slag from the forming process. some didnt have to come off but would look better if you did.




so after trimming all the slag and bumps of plastic of each shelf i can adhere the panels to the BOTTOM of 9 of the shelves, 8 in my case but ill explain later. i used a general all purpose adhesive.



once all the shelves had the panels glued on i stacked them and let them dry over night with a little weight on top of them.

the next available time i had i went ahead and measured and cut the uprights for assembly.
measuring the depth of hole in each shelf from the inner lip to the surface measures 1 1/8 inch from either side. i then placed my spacers(corners you cut out earlier) and tubs on the shelf and placed another shelf on top of the tubs.


i measure 5 13/16 in the pic you see it reads 5 11/16 but that is because the tape is on top of the 1/8 inch panel. so each "leg" has to be cut to 8 1/16.
when measuring each leg to cut, if using a chop saw like i did with a stop then you have to add 1 1/2 inches for the smaller diameter on each leg. you can see this section sitting against the wood block on my saw. if your cutting by hand then you can measure from the beginning of the larger diameter or smaller. which ever is easier for you.

cuts like butter!

i checked my first shelf space with tubs and it worked great but i wanted a little more space between the tub and shelf for ease of tub use. i adjusted to what i prefer with the next cuts.


once i was happy with the spacing i just went ahead and cut all the legs and then using a razor blade cut off the plastic burrs left behind from the saw and assembled the rest of the rack.

now you will notice i only have 8 shelves and space enough for 16 tubs. well i have a height limit of 5 foot 11 inches in the basement. i cant fit the last shelf on...lol
another note. since these units are not made to be stacked, so you wont have enough uprights to add the last shelf. so you have to take the scrap from the legs you cut earlier and just cut some more that do not have the smaller diameter section. also you will only have 8 panels from the bathroom panels you had cut at home depot. if you take the scrap left over from the panels you can cut 2 pieces and make one shelf's worth.
the unit i made with 8 shelves stands at 67 inches. each shelf from the bottom of one tub to the bottom of another tub is 8 1/8 inches.
i do suggest screwing the shelves to the uprights once its all together. it doesnt like to stay assembled when carrying it sideways into a basement...lol
hope this helps someone.
total bill:
(2) shelf units at 49.99 each = 100 bucks
(2) white bathroom paneling at 13 each= 26 bucks
glue = 5 bucks
so for $130 dollars you have a rack that will hold up to (18) 28 qt tubs
OR GET THIS...UP TO (9) 41 QT TUBS!!! if slid in from the end!
i already had the tubs since i am replacing a melamine rack with this one. but they arent that much. i know 41qt tubs are 10 bucks each and i thing the 28qt tubs are 5 or 6 each.
add heat and a thermostat and your all set.
an after note...you will see in some pics that i have little "feet" sticking out of the bottom of one of the shelves. these are optional but useful to keep it up a little.
also due to the manufacturing process of these shelves these measurements may vary from shelf to shelf and some shelves had a slight real slight dip in the center of each shelf.
adam jeffery
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" a.k.a. farfrumugen "
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

This looks pretty nice.

If you wanted to build it a little fancier, you could also use dairy board rather than shower board.
Dairy Board is made of solid plastic type material...it has texture on one side and is smooth on the other.

The advantage is... that in high humidity areas shower board will tend to warp and swell. (anyone who has installed it in a shower will know what I mean) Dairy Board is impervious to moisture! Great stuff for building cages.

Sliding tubs in and out of the rack is certain to wear on the painted side of the shower board eventually. And once the paint is worn...it will begin to take in moisture even faster.

Granted, the Dairy Board will certainly cost a little more, but in the end...your rack will last a LOT longer.

Great Post. A simple and economical build. Thanks for sharing.

Harlin Wall - WALL TO WALL REPTILES
970-255-9255

im not familiar with that product. ill have to search for some and see if its a viable option for me. this is only a temp rack but dont see why someone couldnt use it permanently if they use what your talking about.
thanks
adam jeffery
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" a.k.a. farfrumugen "
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

These are the 2ft by 3ft racks, I also use the 18 inch by 3ft rack, two racks deep, making it 3ft by 3ft (one rack in front of the other) for the 41 qt tubs.

what did you end up using on the bottom of each shelf? have they held up pretty good?
adam
also i was going to use foam board insulation in th eair gap of the shelf to help with temps. have you noticed if its necessary or do temps hold pretty well?
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" a.k.a. farfrumugen "
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

Temps aren't a big issue here in S. Fl. I have pegboard on the back to keep the tubs in, On the bottom of each shelf I have used the "dairy board" Harlan mentioned, but most are coraplas. I doubt I spelled that right. It is the plastic cardboard sign companies use. It is the plastic signs you see on the side of the road on the metal wire posts. It is cheap. The sign supply places might not want to sell to you without a sign license, but if you go in person and explain you aren't making signs and competing with sign companies you will have better luck.

then you have to add 1 1/2 inches for the smaller diameter on each leg..

Question...What did you use to make the smaller diameter on each leg.

Travis
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LAIR OF DRAGONS

i worded that wrong. your measurement needs to be 1 1/2 inches longer. the smaller diameter is already on the legs but it recesses into the shelf then into the leg below. if you take your measurement from the end of the leg then you have to add the 1 1/2 because the smaller diameter has nothing to do with the assembled height of each leg. if you want i will pm you a video link that explains it better. video isnt mine so im not sure i can repost it here or not.
adam jeffery
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" a.k.a. farfrumugen "
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

Question...What did you use to make the smaller diameter on each leg.

They come that way. They are designed so one leg slides in to the leg above it.

I never understand why anyone calls these economical. That's $130 before the heat and tubs. You can build 2, 11 tub tall, single tub wide melamine racks, out of 4 sheets of melamine and a box of screws. That's around $125 here (melamine $30 a sheet and $5 for screws). So it's right around the same price for a solid sided rack made of melamine.

Now when it comes to the weight, yes far and away these are better.

Melamine rots. I have many, they are fine until something happens. I sat a bag of frozen rats on top of one and ruined the top. Even a glass of cold water will condensate and cause them to bubble. Most people don't have a table saw or the tools to cut and assemble melamine.
What I don't like about the home depot racks is the 2 inches between each level, it cuts out a couple of levels per rack. I have several of these, but won't build more.

I did see that his are going into a basement that takes on water, so melamine would be a bad idea there.

I have one just like this in use here for cornsnakes and do like the design because it's easy to build, around the same cost as melamine, and lightweight. I don't like it for BP's because it's too open and provides little security or heat retention. Winter room temps get down into the mid 60's so that's what is most important here.

I have melamine racks that I built almost 10 years ago that are still in use with no sagging, no rotting, nothing. Maybe a couple of coffee rings on the top of the 4' tall one but nothing serious.

i was replacing my melamine. i needed something durable and lightweight as well as cheap. so this is economical for a plastic rack. i could build a rack for free if i wanted to use plywood but it doesnt fit my needs. this will be used as a temp rack only. not a permanent addition. i prefer my animal plastics racks. i have a solid sided 1756-10 rack that i love but its too tall for my basement. i dont want to cut 2 tubs out of it so this is the next best thing for me on the cheap. i will be building an out building next summer and once its built i will be using only animal plastics and boaphile cages in there. maybe some melamine hatchling racks, as i have a few with discontinued tubs. i dont feel like dishing out the cash for that many more tubs.
adam
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" a.k.a. farfrumugen "
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

I was replying more to other comments and just what I see generally when this design comes up.

The best part about this design is how easy it is to wire up with flexwatt. No router needed.

.....Nice job...nice rack...I still like the lazy version of emailing and getting them delivered....

....Nice...Good Luck....!!!
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........JY

What's the lazy version of earning the $2000? Is there a market for all those mushrooms? Maybe just let the water in your basement and grow mushrooms down there.

......not lazy.....worked the 2 jobs ....20 years....

now...one job....

.....cash now...I might steal the souls of others and sell them to Kevin?.....cheaply....

....?

what the hey...?....

...
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........JY