My Custom Built Rack :)

[FronZilla]

Hey everyone so over the past 2 days I have been building my custom rack and thought I would share how I did it and how I saved alot of money!!

Originally I was going to fork out the money and do the Ikea Pax rack... which would have cost me around £130 for the frame and the shelves...
After doing research and wanting to save money I decided to build my own from scratch since I am master of DIY The largest tubs in my rack that are ASDA 42litre lidless. I went to B&Q and paid £18 for a peice of mdf which was 2240mmx1240mmx18mm, I had this cut while there into 9 pieces, each measuring, 80cmx40cm, 1 cm wider and deeper than the 42litre tubs. Then, i worked out that the approximate height of the rack, so each 42litre tub is 18cm high + 1.8cm thick of mdf per level, so.. make it 20cm per level for a small gap ( lidless tubs ) and thats 160cm high which the sides panels would have to be. So again, back to B&Q, had another sheet on mdf cut so I had 2 sheets, 160cm high x 40cm wide to match the depth of the shelves. While there I also purchased Radiator Foil to insulation the entire back of the rack which is tacked on to provent heat loss, (one roll is 5meters long and 60cm wide).. and a tin of indoor wood varnish, which is low voc so no nasty fumes and 4 hour complete dry time. Once home I predrilled the holes in the shelves, 5cm in from the edge on each side. And then did a repeated process of shelf, tub, shelf, tub, shelf, tub ..... with each tub having a CD under each corner to allow for the gap and no sticky rubs when pulling open! Then, with some help from my woman I measured in 5cm drilled a into the side panel which met the holes of the shelves, and screwed it together with countersunk screws. Once the screws were in all nicely, I took the CD out from under the tubs and there you go ! all tubs move in and out nicely with the perfefct 2-3mm gap THEN!! I removed all the tubs from the rack and got out a large paint brush and did a heavy coat of varnish, i cannot stress enough how much MDF needs to be varnished, if its not and it becomes wet, your rack will fall to peices and will be a breeding ground for bacteria. So, one coat done, had some sleep, DAY 2, a very gentle sanding all over of the rack, outside, with a face mask on, MDF particles are not very nice... And then brought back inside for another complete coat of varnish, left to dry, wiped down gently with a damp cloth to remove any sticky residue and there you have it. One rack, then its just up to you to do the electrics ready for the reps to move in

So, overall this cost me..
2 MDF SHEETS £36
Indoor wood varnish £9
Radiator Foil £ 7
Feeling very proud of myself, priceless.
Overall... £52
It will be housing 6 adults and 6 hatchlings.

I hope this is some help to people who would like a rack system If anyone has any questions please ask! Thanks for reading.

[d_b]

Any Pics ??