Melamine vs plywood

I have been told that plywood isn't as good of a material to make a rack from and melamine is better. But my thing is that melamine will ruin if gotten wet and plywood would mess with them somehow and stress them out. What is everyone's opinion on this subject.

I haven't built one yet, but I have done my research and the consensus is that melamine is the best material. Plywood can be used, but I would cover it with a couple layers of non-toxic latex paint just to be safe. It will basically seal the wood similar to the white layer covering melamine. Hope this helps.

melamine is laminated, it doesn't get ruined if it gets wet, thats why people suggest it. People will complain about the weight, bout it. you only have to watch the cut edges or you can seal the edges if you really want.

Mine is built from melamine. It can get wet, it just can't get waterlogged. If you left it out through several rainstorms or threw it in a lake it would eventually fall apart, but the laminate protects it from spills, humidity, etc. It also insulates better than plywood if you're doing an enclosed rack.

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I'd use melamine or save up for a PVC rack.

I had one of melamine but all since are plywood. Personally, melamine is heavy and if the edges aren't sealed properly the Mdf can't handle water exposure at all. Plywood is lighter and more forgiving to humidity exposure if you somehow don't seal it properly. Melamine sags before plywood will. I built my racks to last so I chose plywood.

Melamine did hold heat better in cold ambient temps. I didn't want white racks and finding/purchasing black melamine or black coating negated the savings over plywood.

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It's personal preference.
I have a sealed homemade plywood rack. It was customized to match my furniture. It works great. I haven't had heating or moisture issues yet. *knock on wood* (pun intended ;))


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...f/photo2-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...f/IMAG0350.jpg


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How did you seal it?

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That is a nice rack. I just need to wait till the paint smell is gone or minimal to put mine it.

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Originally Posted by toyota89

How did you seal it?

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I used Shellac after staining the wood.

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Originally Posted by bradthebanker

That is a nice rack. I just need to wait till the paint smell is gone or minimal to put mine it.

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Thank you. I really like yours. I will probably go your route the second time around.


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Plywood lighter, stronger, and higher moisture resistance. There are no issues with out gassing of phenols (phenolic resin glues) or Formaldehydes (urea Formaldehyde glue) There are moisture resistant melamine particle boards but it is the the 'normal' board it is the material marked for bathrooms and kitchens and costs more than the normal furniture particle board. Most plywood is highly water resistant (all in Canada) and much is submersion proof and some actually fully waterproof for under water line applications.

I painted mine with a couple layers of latex paint with polyurethane over it.

After making our first rack out of melamine, I quickly learned to hate the stuff. It's heavy, hard to handle, sags quickly, and is not worth the expense to me. Our second and third racks we built out of 1" X 2" boards, and faced the shelves with the same kind of thin lightweight tile panels people use in their bathrooms. It's lightweight and water resistant, and since it comes in 4' X 8' sheets, you get a lot of coverage out of a single sheet, based on the dimensions of your rack. You could also choose to enclose the sides with the same tile board if you desire a more closed in rack.

These racks are very lightweight and easy to move around, they are also extremely sturdy, the shelves can even hold my not inconsiderable weight. They can easily be made to any size you need, and are quite inexpensive. Both of ours cost around $60 to build, even the large one.

Gale

No one in my area sells the Melamine in anything larger than 11'' x 8' strips. So for me, I bought cabnet quality plywood, it was on sale both time I built racks:) and than I went to a sign store and bought the plastic stuff they make little sign out of, its like plastic card board. Than I would use contact cement and glue the sign stuff to the wood, let it air out for a couple of days, and than build my rack. The sign stuff protects the wood from any moisture, and I have had great success with it. I have built 2 racks using this method and I love them.:) And it was pretty cost effecttive, the sign stuff was $15 I believe for a 4'x8' sheet and the wood was $30 per sheet.

Here's my first rack
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...4/IMG_4818.jpg

And here's my second rack that I just built recently
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...4/IMG_5715.jpg
Just need to finish putting tubs in it:)