Well i made this rack...

[Zach]

Well i made this rack. Im gonna make sure with you guys first that its safe. If not ill use it for a TV stand lol .

Its a plywood rack that I staind with water based polyurethane cherry stain. Then i put clear semi gloss polyurethane on it to seal the wood with.

Given enough time to air out (a week or so) do you think my snakes would be affected by the chemicals at all?

If you need more info let me know.

PICS OF THE RACK---

[catfish307]

Did you use water based poly or oil based? If you used water based, shouldn't be a problem after it dries for a day or so.

[chapskis1]

Personally, I think that if you let it air out long enough, it doesn't really matter if you use water or oil based. I used oil based sealant for my custom enclosure (that was a year ago). I let it air out for about two weeks -- until I could not smell the sealant anymore.

My snake is doing great, with no issues. The reason I used oil based is because I could not find any of the high quality water repellant sealants that were water based.

[Zach]

well i used water based urethane for the stain BUT then i used normal polyurethane gloss/sealer to make the wood shiny and glossy, thats the part im worried about

[catfish307]

I'm no expert but I would think as long as it is cured and there is no smell, you should be safe. You might check for the smell of it also after you've got your flexwatt heating. Don't know if heat will make a difference and I'm suspecting it wont.

[martinarquero]

I dont think you have a problem, as long as you let it dry about a week should be good.

[BPelizabeth]

totally off the thread question....what are you doing for heat

[Zach]

totally off the thread question....what are you doing for heat

flexwatt 11 inch most likely

[AcePythons]

totally off the thread question....what are you doing for heat

I have an off topic question too.... how much did it cost you to build it? I was just talking with my BF about building a plywood one. The one we built that houses the snakes now was very expensive and I was hoping to do something quite a bit cheaper.

what you built looks VERY nice IMO and I'd love to do something similar.

As for the smell, I would, along with some others above me, think that if you air it out long enough it should be ok?

[Zach]

I have an off topic question too.... how much did it cost you to build it? I was just talking with my BF about building a plywood one. The one we built that houses the snakes now was very expensive and I was hoping to do something quite a bit cheaper.

what you built looks VERY nice IMO and I'd love to do something similar.

As for the smell, I would, along with some others above me, think that if you air it out long enough it should be ok?

I built it at my school and they supply at the matierials and tools in my woodshop class. But i think it took 1 or 1 and a half sheets of 4x8 plywood to make. which are 30-40 bucks a piece i think? It can house 3 41 quart sterilite tubs and its pretty big. kinda afraid to use it so it has a fsh tank on top of it right now. The tools i used were pretty much just a table saw and a table saw with a dato blade then wood glue and a nailgun. then the stain and poly.

and thanks