18 tub 28 qt diy plastic rack for under $150....easy

so after seeing a cheepo rack build here in the sticky section 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.
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...0build/003.jpg
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.
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...0build/002.jpg
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.
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...0build/004.jpg
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...0build/005.jpg
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...0build/006.jpg
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...0build/007.jpg
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.
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...0build/008.jpg
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...0build/009.jpg
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...0build/010.jpg
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.
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...0build/011.jpg
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.
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...ckbuild001.jpg
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...ckbuild002.jpg
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.
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...ckbuild003.jpg
cuts like butter!
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...ckbuild004.jpg
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.
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...ckbuild005.jpg
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...ckbuild006.jpg
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.
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...ckbuild007.jpg
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

Nice work Adam...Looks Great !

:bow::bow::bow:Very nice:bow::bow::bow: I plan on eventually building all my racks out of those HD racks. I regret not doing it from the start, live -n- learn.

thanks guys. i just wanted to add that this is a temp rack and i will still eventually replace this with better professional racks once i get my out building built. i prefer my animal plastics rack but have been looking into the boaphile racks as well. many people like both company's so why not. if i really like this rack after using it for a while i may retract this statement...lol
adam jeffery

Just out of curiosity, how are you going to heat it? I've considered trying to do one of these myself. But I dont know how steady the temps will hold up in my room.

im planning on flexwatt. i will have to fill it with tubs and shavings but no snakes and see how temps run before any snakes go in. i may have to add sides of insulation board to hold temps steady but i wont know for sure until i get the flexwatt.
adam jeffery

Very nice job! I used the exact same shelving unit but did not add the bathroom paneling because I had 32qt sterilite containers with the lockable lids. I heated mine with 4" Flexwatt across the back of each shelf. Now granted I keep my rack in my son's bedroom and put an oil heater in the room to keep the room temp around 75 degrees in the winter. My temps and humidity have been just fine. No problems with stuck sheds etc and plan making another rack like this before the end of the year. Again great job! :gj:

That looks great! What brand of 41 qt tubs do you have that will fit onto those shelves? I looked all over for a shelf unit and none of the ones I found had enough clearance to slide in the tubs (sterilite). I'm sure I looked at that shelving unit at HD so I would like to switch to whatever brand you found that fits!

sterilite, ill take a pic for you when i go down to clean my rats tonight.
adam jeffery

here are some quick pics i took for ya. the tubs have to slide in from the side, there isnt enough room to slide in from the front. hopefully you can see what i mean from the pics.
through in a pic of my rat racks since i was down there. excuse the mess on the floor, its cleaning day.
adam jeffery

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...akerack001.jpg
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...akerack002.jpg
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...akerack003.jpg
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...akerack005.jpg
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...akerack006.jpg

Adam, thanks for the pics of the 41 qt tubs, the tubs I was planning on using are the sterilite 1960 and the only difference (besides the height) is an eighth inch greater width. How much extra clearance do you have when you slide the 41's in from the side? If i'm calculating correctly on the 24 inch shelf minus 5 inches for the posts there should be ample clearance but it's kinda hard to tell in the pics. . .

more than enough room. lots of clearance on the 24 inch side and a couple inches on the 36 inch side
adam jeffery

That's exactly the same way that I built my rack except it only holds (8) 26qt tubs, I suppose I could always expand though. Your project came out great. I still haven't decided how to heat mine though, what direction are you going to go heat wise?


Mike

I wonder if the 18 inch shelf would work sideways for 41 qt. tubs. they are 35 bucks i think?? or would the legs be in the way?

Just letting you know, I'm about to turn up i-tunes on my computer and make this right now! Just got back from home depot!

so how did it turn out man?
adam jeffery

i just got done building one of these yesterday. i could only find 18 in wide shelves and my 41 qt tub didnt fit in there so i had to cut the legs at the top of the shelve for the edges of the tub (it really looks kinda like a rail) and then a little bit of the edge on the back of the tub at the other legs. its pretty tight but i just see that as a security measure for her not to push the tub open.

i also did mine a little different, when i tried to glue the paneling on the bottom it didnt stick as there was only one or two places where the glue touched so i cut a 1x1 in piece of some sort of wood i had around and screwed that to 8 different places around the outside of the shelf. then i used 2 finishing nails per block to attach the paneling.

its not as pretty as gluing it but i also didnt have to leave it sit overnight and i trust screws and nails more than i do glue. but i wouldnt have had this idea without your thread so thnx for the writeup.

altogether my cost was 56 for the shelf, and 15 for the 4x8 panel. i had the screws, nails and flexwatt around the house already, and decided to go with belly heat. the supplies are cheapier and easier to find then melamine so ill be doing the rest of my racks this way.

cool beans, post some pics up. you never know when your way might be able to help someone where mine cant. good job:gj:
adam jeffery

i already built the whole shelf but will be building at least one more next week and will take pics of where my way strays from yours. here are some pics of how i got the 41 qt done. yes i did melt the legs and tub away but i dont have a dremel yet although i will definitely get one to use for this next time. the third pic is where the back of the tub hits the legs and i melted the corner off which allows it to fit pretty square. you can also see how i screwed and nailed it in. its the first shelf that got put together so theres a gap but every other shelf i got to sit flush.

http://i657.photobucket.com/albums/u...0-22172207.jpg

http://i657.photobucket.com/albums/u...0-22172216.jpg

http://i657.photobucket.com/albums/u...0-22172302.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by adamjeffery

so how did it turn out man?
adam jeffery

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Sorry, I forgot about this thread. It turned out great!! I only did one shelving unit because I don't have many snakes at the moment, but it holds temps fine and looks nice as well! I'll post pics maybe later tonight! Thanks for the idea!

Here is how I have mine set up right now.

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...0/P1020440.jpg

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...0/P1020441.jpg
I monitor the flexwatt in between the tubs.

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...0/P1020444.jpg
I taped the thermocouple to the side closest to the thermostat. Just seemed like the convenient thing to do.

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...0/P1020442.jpg

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...0/P1020445.jpg
My russian tortoise chills on the top of the rack. (Sorry for the tortoise turds in the pic.)

Again, Mike, thanks for the idea. very simple, light, cheap, and efficient.

Matt

ill make sure i let "mike" know...lol
adam jeffery

haha! I don't know why i wrote mike! Maybe because I know a Mike Jeffery. Sorry about that. Embarrassing...:oops: