ive built many of my own racks. still use many today. but obviously the original poster isnt a handy person or the question wouldnt have been asked. you can save money..no denying that. but in this situation id have to ASSUME that it would be best to buy one to save the trouble. also not enough info was posted of what the needs were. if you need to house 2 snakes then build one if you need to house 20 the buy one. ease of mobility is another concern. melamine racks suck to move around. plastic and abs are freaking fantastic if you move around a lot or need to get them out of the way to clean or recover that missing snake or dropped rat. not easy to find cheap places to buy plastic sheet around my parts to build your own racks out of.
adam