Why would anyone buy a rack?

[Skiploder]

Simple calculations on the amount of 1/2" XPVC required to build a 4x2x2 cage.

4 - 4x2 pieces (top and bottom, front and back). Some depending on orientation, measurements will be an 1" or so off in various dimensions.

2 - 2x2 pieces (sides)

That works out to about 72 square feets of XPVC - keep in mind that even for the front sections with the doors you still have to buy either a full piece and route out the opening or cut a bunch of trim pieces out.

At Tap Plastics, the materials alone would be $286.00. This does not include doors of any kind, any hardware or any heating. Once you add in plexiglass for the doors ($30), hardware ($10) and heat tape, the cost rises to $337.80. That does not even factor in the cost you have to pay some poor shmuck to fab it all up.

Check for yourself:

http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=342&

Animal Plastics will gladly sell you a cage of the same dimensions and made out of the same material for $339.00 + shipping.

http://www.animalplastics.com/

So in the end, your only savings on a cage of this sort is in the shipping costs. A whopping $50.00 or so. If you factor in labor, there is even less savings, if any.

The same pricing goes for racks. As I've said, I've built my own racks and I've purchased racks. The savings on an apples to apples comparison are trivial. If I were to compare the cost of building an XPVC rack to a metal rack, the results would be different - but no one would be dumb enough to debate the saving between building a wood rack versus one made from a more expensive material, would they?

In other words, been there done that. Built them big, and built them small. There is little to no savings to be had. People who opt to buy instead of wasting their time saving a few pennies aren't lazy - they are actually smart. In most cases, they are getting a better product for a comparable price.