DIY wooden rack

We finally got around to building a new rack this week, and couldn't be happier with it!! We had a second-hand melamine one with back heat that was starting to crumble EVERYWHERE and could not keep up with our cold basement. We'd been wanting to switch to belly heat for a while now anyway, so we figured we might as well just build a rack we could be entirely happy with.

It turned out to be incredibly easy to make and really could've been a one-person job.

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/files/2/4/1/3/0/01.jpg
Materials:
four 2x4x8
four 1x2x8
one 2x2x8
one 4x8' sheet of tempered hardboard (we had them pre-cut this to ten 18x24 inch pieces) plus another 2x2' sheet of tempered hardboard, since we needed eleven shelves
1" deck screws
2" deck screws

thin solder
1 roll electrical tape
1 roll aluminum tape
5 dollar store extension cords
15' of flexwatt

plus some tools, which we already had- some clamps, a drill, a circular saw, and a level.

The rack we built is based on the one that morphmart did a youtube tutorial for: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYQ5J...ztKYqIopO7l_w&

First, we cut all the 1x2x8s into four 2' pieces, and cut down the 2x4s to 70", the height of our other rack. Using the clamps to hold the 1x2 still, we mounted them, two per shelf on the long side like so:
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/files/2/4/1/3/0/03.jpg
and then screwed them in place from the other side with three 1" deck screws:
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/files/2/4/1/3/0/02.jpg
pre-drilling helped to keep the wood from splitting.

We did that with all ten of the shelves, and then the eleventh piece, which was to be the bottom, we wanted to be more stable so it has the 2x2 screwed on.
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/files/2/4/1/3/0/10.jpg

Once we had all that done, it was time to assemble. We put down a piece of chipboard, since the floor wasn't as level as it should be. Technically the rack is built from the top down, so we put down one of the normal shelves, followed by a tub, and another shelf. (We used 8 cds here to hold up the tub so that it would have a bit of clearance when all is said and done. Our other rack was too snug, the tubs had to be practically shoved in, and we were getting sick of water everywhere...)
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/files/2/4/1/3/0/09.jpg

Then we stood up two of the 2x4s at the front of the shelves and screwed them in, with the 2" deck screws, making sure to keep them really level.
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/files/2/4/1/3/0/08.jpg

Once that was done, the other 2x4s went on the back the same way, and we began adding more shelves on top, screwing them each in as we went. (The second tub helped give a bit of added stability, we found it easier to build with that in there.)
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/files/2/4/1/3/0/07.jpg

After we got all those in, including the sturdier bottom shelf, we flipped her over and it looked something like this:
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/files/2/4/1/3/0/06.jpg

It was still really wobbly at this point, so we threw on some 2x4 pieces across the front and back below the last shelf. This went a long way to making the whole thing stable.
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/files/2/4/1/3/0/05.jpg

After that it was done, except for the flexwatt, which unfortunately we don't have any pictures of but this is (one of the many) videos we found helpful for the wiring: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QWlF2GdMGQ&
We did 4" flexwatt, and put it across the back about 4-5" in from the edge of the shelf. All the wiring comes out the side closest to the wall, so we don't have to look at it.

Once that was all done and the thermostat was up and running, we put in our bins (Rubbermaid 2221s, which we already had) along with the snakes, and voila!
http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/files/2/4/1/3/0/04.jpg
We didn't build this thing for aesthetics, but I actually like the way it turned out, especially with the raw wood showing. Once we replace our hydrofarm thermostat with a herpstat, we'll be good to go! :)

Lovely article hunnie!


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nice rack good job

Thanks. It's so much better than our old one. And the snakes seem much happier.


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:thumbup: good job :thumbup:

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easy, simple, affordable, full details...what else could you ask for? (actually, just the heat setup) lol

Ya sorry. We forgot to take pics of the flexwatt stuff but the video we posted has all the info you will need and it's the one I used. Grand total was somewhere around 130ish with the flexwatt making up most of that.


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THANK YOU SO FRAKKING MUCH! I have been looking for a good DYI Rack that i wouldnt have to pay over $400 for. I give you one heart for my love of this and you for posting it <3.

LoL thanks a lot!:gj:

-reptiliachnids :banana:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by reptiliachnids

THANK YOU SO FRAKKING MUCH! I have been looking for a good DYI Rack that i wouldnt have to pay over $400 for. I give you one heart for my love of this and you for posting it <3.

LoL thanks a lot!:gj:

-reptiliachnids :banana:

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No problem! :) I am so happy with this rack, and so glad that we didn't end up going with melamine (which we originally were). Melamine is so much more expensive, AND SO HEAVY!!

rack looks great! i'm actually going to reconsider my option and look into building this.....a couple of questions, if you don't mind. what did you do with the flexwatt? did you go through the back or the sides for it? and also on the hardwood board, did you use the smooth on both top and bottom, or just the smooth on one side and rough on the other?
thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vdubya98

rack looks great! i'm actually going to reconsider my option and look into building this.....a couple of questions, if you don't mind. what did you do with the flexwatt? did you go through the back or the sides for it? and also on the hardwood board, did you use the smooth on both top and bottom, or just the smooth on one side and rough on the other?
thanks

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The flexwatt is belly heat wired all from one side. I used 4" and placed it across the back of the shelf about 4-6 inches from the very back of the shelf. The top 3 shelves have one plug, the next 3 have one plug, then the next 2, and finally the last 2. I went with this in case one of the flexwatt strips goes bad I won't have to take all 10 off. Lol. The hardboard is shiny on both sides. If you can only find hardboard with 1 smooth side, I would put the smooth side inside the tub. I feel like the rough side would hold moisture and you may run into mold problems. Hope this helps! :)

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Looks good. How cold does your basement get though? With it all open like that the ambient temps of the room have to be kept pretty high i would assume.
Im eager to see how the wood will holdup with the humidity its exposed to and see if itll warp at all. (Im not saying i hope this happens lol, just saying its certainly a possibility.)

The cold side is about 77 and the hot side is 90. I know its a little cool, but I came up with an idea to help. I wana put some extruded styrofoam on the outside to insulate a bit. Also next time I'm going to use 1/4 inch hardbord because its sagging a bit. But realisticly it can only sag into the bin below it so it aint much.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by interloc

The cold side is about 77 and the hot side is 90. I know its a little cool, but I came up with an idea to help. I wana put some extruded styrofoam on the outside to insulate a bit. Also next time I'm going to use 1/4 inch hardbord because its sagging a bit. But realisticly it can only sag into the bin below it so it aint much.

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No thats fine. Mine get as cold as 75 sometimes at nite and theyre all A-ok. During the day theyre usually around 78-80 so its all good!:gj:

Yea true, it cant really sag anymore than that bc the other bin would be there lol.

What type of wood did you use for this rack?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fionayee

What type of wood did you use for this rack?

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We used plain old pine 2x4 for the main bits. Also plain old pine 1x2 and 2x2s. Im not sure what kin of wood the hard board is but it doesn't really matter. Thanks

Building a 6 tub rack for my snakes this helped a lot

Thanks alot