using pvc

[scooter11]

hey guys, im going to be building a rack to house 28 quarts for my males. i usually use good quality plywood for my builds but i was thinking of using pvc for a change. i have no experience with it, but ive read up as much as possible. i have a few remaining questions that i was hoping could be answered. hopefully some of you guys out there have experience with it. the build will be done using 1/2" fyi. all of the racks ive seen built have been done in half inch so im assuming that its plenty sturdy and i like the fact that its lighter than 3/4 in plywood. i have not broke down whether or not i want to do three tubs across or two. when i get into the best usage of the sheets i will decide that. here are my questions.

1) if i do decide to go three across, is it sturdy enough that i dont have to add a support in between each tub? does anyone notice it sagging towards the middle at all?

2) can you treat this just like wood as far as the drilling and screws? what size screws did you guys use and do they hold just like they would in plywood?

3) someone mentioned that they used super glue and that it acts like a weld by melting the plastic together. do you just do it after it is assembled at the joints or do you put it in between the two pieces before you screw them together like a wood glue?

4) what is the difference between xpvc and pvc? when looking online or calling plastic supply companies what exactly did you ask for/search for? was it just a sheet of pvc/xpvc at the dimensions you required or was there other terminology?

5) when cutting the sheets, did you just use a regular table saw and does it hold a crisp edge or does it crumble or break off in chunks at all?

hopefully some of you guys can help me out, i have my fingers crossed.

[jclaiborne]

hey guys, im going to be building a rack to house 28 quarts for my males. i usually use good quality plywood for my builds but i was thinking of using pvc for a change. i have no experience with it, but ive read up as much as possible. i have a few remaining questions that i was hoping could be answered. hopefully some of you guys out there have experience with it. the build will be done using 1/2" fyi. all of the racks ive seen built have been done in half inch so im assuming that its plenty sturdy and i like the fact that its lighter than 3/4 in plywood. i have not broke down whether or not i want to do three tubs across or two. when i get into the best usage of the sheets i will decide that. here are my questions.

1) if i do decide to go three across, is it sturdy enough that i dont have to add a support in between each tub? does anyone notice it sagging towards the middle at all?

2) can you treat this just like wood as far as the drilling and screws? what size screws did you guys use and do they hold just like they would in plywood?

3) someone mentioned that they used super glue and that it acts like a weld by melting the plastic together. do you just do it after it is assembled at the joints or do you put it in between the two pieces before you screw them together like a wood glue?

4) what is the difference between xpvc and pvc? when looking online or calling plastic supply companies what exactly did you ask for/search for? was it just a sheet of pvc/xpvc at the dimensions you required or was there other terminology?

5) when cutting the sheets, did you just use a regular table saw and does it hold a crisp edge or does it crumble or break off in chunks at all?

hopefully some of you guys can help me out, i have my fingers crossed.

I can answer a few of your questions. Regular super glue will not melt PVC or plastics to creat a "weld", that being said that are plastic specific "super glues" that will work for seams, you can also use PVC glue, which does melt the plastic and bond it together creating a "weld". XPVC or Expanded PVC (PVC foam board" is PVC with a foam core. It insulates really well and the foam core is soo dense that it can hold screws really well. It is also a little lighter that regular PVC and a bit cheaper. That being said for building a rack it may work fine, I purchased some XPVC to build a cage for my lizards and am not a fan. It scratches if you look at it wrong, but as far as being sturdy enough you should be fine. I would still do some center bracing to help with sag overtime though, I am using 1/4inch XPVC and it bends and flexes quite a bit.

[scooter11]

Okay that pvc glue must have been what they spoke of. After doing the math with the sheets, I can get more out of doing two across. I can get 5 shelves per sheet plus one sheet for the sides and an additional shelf. Which will give me enough material to go 10 rows of two two tubs each. I'm going to call some suppliers next week and hopefully get this done in the next week or two. Still not sure what size screws to go with. I guess I'll ask the supplier what they recommend. Thanks for your help

Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

[jclaiborne]

No problem. They should be able to help you with screw size.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk