Err...some rack questions, need help!

[shelliebear]

So, after a small incident this morning, Max and I decided there's no better time to build a rack for our snakes! We went out and bought the supplies...It was trickier than I thought.
We bought 2 huge sheets of melamine (4x8 feet) and had them cut them into 2 large rectangle pieces, I forget the exact dimensions, and then 6 smaller ones for shelving for the rack. We also bought peg board for the back end of the rack, as it will be SOOOOO easy to wire the flexwatt through because peg board already has holes! Good idea from Max.
Anyway, so we bought the melamine, 3/4" thick. The guy at Lowe's said he's noticed melamine can sometimes splinter and lose its strength when used with nails, so we also bought some TiteBond glue or something like that name.
First question:
Has anyone ever had an issue using screws with their melamine rack that was at least 6 tubs tall? I'm concerned that perhaps it will fall apart after we finish putting it together with screws. Should we glue the sides too, to be safe? I have this awful nightmare that we go to pick it up to move it to my place and everything falls apart.
Which brings me to my next question:
How have you transported your rack that was made of solid melamine, 6 or more tubs high? There's a staircase outside the door to our place, pretty tall too, at least like 20 stairs. But where do you grip it? Do you turn it on the sides and just pull it? Did you rent a dolly or just lug it? Will mine fall apart with the screws?
Right now as we insert the screws we are covering them in glue in the hopes that they will stay in better.
Do you think it will fall apart? Is melamine pretty stable with screws with this much weight and size?
Thanks for your help. I'm nervous if you can't tell.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Screws have far more holding power than nails do, and added with the holding power of the glue you used you should be fine. I'm sure that it weighs a ton. Personally I would have built it in the room it was going in. A hand truck/dolly will make it much easier. If you don't have one/can't get ahold of one 4 guys should be able to get it up. I wouldn't try it with only 2.

[The Serpent Merchant]

In fact every professionally made rack (PVC, Melamine, other) has been assembled with screws and not nails.

Now using the right size/kind of screws is very important. 1/2" long socket cap machine screws aren't going to cut it, but 2-3 inch long #10 partial board screws on the other hand would make that rack as sturdy as a rock.

[shelliebear]

The nails were definitely about an inch or maybe? more long.
I couldn't build it in the room I am living in; we have carpet here and it's an apartment, so not only would the noise have earned us a nice complaint but the sawdust from pre-drilling the holes for screws would have ruined the carpet!
I wished I could have done that though. So much easier.
If the nails are an inch long do you think that will hold, with the glue? We only have the bottom shelf and the sides and back glue together so far, no shelves in the middle yet. We moved it around today and it held up fine.
It does weigh a lot so far. I think a dolly would help--I see UHaul rents them for about 10$?? I might just nab one up. I don't want to drop this thing up the stairs! As lame as it sounds I struggle to pick up a single one of the side pieces.

[The Serpent Merchant]

1 inch should be ok, but bigger would be better. I would cut and drill any holes needed outside, then bring in the pieces and assemble it inside (little to no noise/mess)

[shelliebear]

Good idea for that and it might work this time but not so much when we have to move within the next year or so. Either way we have to figure out the best way to get this baby up the stairs and at some point get it back down!

[The Serpent Merchant]

Well depending on how much glue you use you should be able to take it apart to move.

I'm an apartment dweller as well so I feel your pain. All of my caged from AP can be taken apart if needed... It will be a pain and take a few hours to get all of them but it can be done.

[shelliebear]

That's why we only made it 6 tubs tall. If we need more rack space in future, we'll just build another one. 6 tubs is big enough!
I think we'll just rent a dolly. That will make this absolute cake. Even I can pull one of those, so two of us should be able to get it done. I don't know the exact mechanics of how the dollys work but boy do they help take the load off! Even with stairs.
It's only like 7$ to rent one, and we'd only need it for, what, 30 minutes tops? I'm sure they'd let us rent it. But I'll call to be sure.
Thanks for the advice! I'm so stoked for this rack! We've put painstaking work into it thus far and only the bottom parts of it are done!

[dart]

I personally would have made 2 racks of 3-4 slots instead of 1 rack of 6. Much easier to transport and you can use pins to make sure they sit on top of eachother correctly.