The big racks finally done...omg

[Homegrownscales]

Finally and I say finally bc this was quite the under taking. We had a couple temporary racks while I was saving for another freedom breeder and I got it in my head to build one. As all of us DIYs know. Easier said than done. I needed a big rack. I needed it to hold males, juveniles, and babies. All in one rack. So we came up with the plan and for about 1/2 the money I was planning on spending on the fb and 2 months of my bf weekend warrioring it. It's done. Total somewhere around 550-600$. Not bad. It's an 11 shelf, melamine, 96 x 28 x 43" big mamma Jamma. Lol. Goes from floor to ceiling pretty much. It's Our first DIY rack and has a couple imperfections but it was a great build, with very few frustrating moments. Anyways I thank everyone's ideas that I got from all the other DIY racks on the site. They were incredibly helpful. As well as the awesome plans that some of you folks layed out. Thanks again everyone here's a picture of the final product! Enjoy


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

[Jessica Loesch]

Woowowowwoowwwwwwww

That's a biggun

[jason_ladouceur]

it looks good. especially for a first attempt. i'm curious though why it cost you so much. by my calculations 1 4x8 sheet should have given you for shelfs. so you needed 3 sheets and what in the picture appears to be spruce 2x4's i would think you could buy all that material for under $200. unless i'm missing something.

[akaangela]

wow. How do you control the temps and check on the animals on the top shelves? Do you use a ladder or are you really tall I stink at DIY and am in the middle (for the last year) of building a chinchilla cage 30 inches x 24 inches x 36 inches. So something like what you built would take me.....like the rest of my life.

[adamjeffery]

NICE RACK!!! i always like saying saying that...lol

from what i can tell....it appears that metal brackets were used on every shelf, that can add up quick. also the cost of the flex watt and thermostat could be included in the price?
other wise i cant see materials being that much either.
i will suggest that you rip some strips for center support. i have a diy melamine rack that is wide and its starting to droop and bind on the lower tubs.
when i get a chance i will take a pic of it. doesnt droop enough to see it just enough to bind a few tubs. im planning on taking it apart and re purposing it into 2 smaller racks anyway.
adam jeffery

[Homegrownscales]

Thanks guys for the comments. The melamine was the most expensive part but I'm only estimating on The cost. The boyfriend did most of the material buying. But If I remember correctly The melamine altogether cost around 350.00. We got a little more than we needed because origanally this had a few more shelves. We got heavy duty castors, and the metal brackets. Those were a little bit of an extra expense, but mike felt safest using them. The lumber came to another 70.00.
He has ripped a few of the middle braces so for. They kind of slide anywhere you need. So I'll have him finish those and stick them in.
Beyond that I had a tstat that I was using on my temp racks, as well as enough heat cable. So beyond The basic materials I didn't have to buy anything else. I really can't wait to do another. I believe we will be using the extra supplies for another rack, most likely a completely separate one for the little ones. I'll try and get a better layout for it but for the size, materials, it wasn't nearly as hard on my wallet as some of the racks we've bought.
As for reaching everyone I'm 5'3 so even for my smaller racks I need a step stool but I might need to get a ladder for this rack.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com