Shopping for new rack shelf material.

[Godzilla78]

So I am renovating my current rack, I bought it homemade from a guy off craigslist as package deal.
(it came with 6 snakes!). The heat tape setup, and the tubs are perfectly fine, but the rack shelfs are made of fiberboard, which is not humidity resistant, and they are warping and they are basically crap! So my plan is to save the current tubs and heat tape, but remove the old fiber-board rack shelves, and replace them with more water-resistant higher quality rack shelves. I looked into buying sheets of PVC, as it is very strong and totally water-proof, but the sheets are a $fortune!!!, especially when you consider shipping! I might as well just throw the whole rack in the garbage and buy a new Commercial made rack for the price of PVC shelf panels! Plywood seems to be the best choice, as it is more economical and I can get it anywhere. WHAT KIND OF PLYWOOD is humidity resistant? there are so many kinds! I plan on getting ¾" thick sheets to prevent warping under the tub weights, and I want make sure to get something that is resistant to humidity and water, and won't warp like the current el-cheap-o fiber board that the last guy used.

Any suggestions on good rack-shelf materials? I was going to go with a high-grade plywood, and then maybe laminate it with an acrylic paint, or other sealant.

[JBRHerps]

Melamine is the most common DIY rack material out there I believe. It is typically white and can be purchased from Home Depot, Lowes, or similar at 35 dollars for a 4x8 foot sheet, 3/4 inch thick. It is humidity resistant and sturdy, but it can get heavy. They also sell edging in roll form that you apply heat too to make the edges match the rest of the rack if you like a visually appealing rack system. There are loads of DIY videos and guides to help with the process as well.

[Godzilla78]

Melamine is the most common DIY rack material out there I believe. It is typically white and can be purchased from Home Depot, Lowes, or similar at 35 dollars for a 4x8 foot sheet, 3/4 inch thick. It is humidity resistant and sturdy, but it can get heavy. They also sell edging in roll form that you apply heat too to make the edges match the rest of the rack if you like a visually appealing rack system. There are loads of DIY videos and guides to help with the process as well.

It looks kind of junky, but the protective coating makes all the difference I suppose. Definitely cheaper than high-grade paint-coated plywood! Thanks for the tip.

[hollowlaughter]

Might want to consider something like this, as well. That way you can go for a thinner melamine, or top the solid panels making your "lid" with other humidity resistant materials like adhesive linoleum over eucaboard/plywood/etc. Also won't have to worry about trimming out the raw edges.

Assume something like HDPE sheeting would work too. Just gotta check what your materials are made out of and assure they're snake safe.

[piedpiperballs]

I use XPVC since my labor time is considerably less and the racks are easier to maintain since they don't absorb moisture over time. The 4' x 8' x 3/4" sheets run about $125 in white. The upfront cost stings but when the racks are put into use I have no regrets about the higher cost of a quality material. Just be sure to spend the necessary time planning the cuts wisely to avoid waste.

[KevinK]

If you can find PVC sheets and can afford them, they would obviously be the material of choice......for me, in an area with PLENTY of construction supplies I cannot find them for the life of me.


My vote is for Melamine if you REALLY want to build you own racks. Cheap and it will last quite a while as long as you keep moisture off of it to some extent. It is very heavy though.

[JodanOrNoDan]

If you keep the tops on the tubs you can build a rack pretty cheap. Mine cost me about $30. Holds between 16 and 24 animals depending on tub size. You can see one in the background of this pic.

[mdb730]

I just finished my new rack, after shopping around for materials I settled on melamine. I sealed it with silicone and used rods and nuts to keep it from sagging. It's very heavy so I put it on casters.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Godzilla78]

Thanks peeps, if you read my original post, I wanted to get xPVC, but the cost is exorbitant for me, and I would have to get it shipped in, which would cost small fortune also. I hadn't considered melamine as being high enough quality, but now that I have looked into it, I think I was wrong. I am going to use melamine because it is so affordable, and I just bought my kids bunk beds, got a huge medical bill, and money is super tight!

Since xPVC and HDPE are such expensive plastics, one day, I will just buy a prefabricated rack from Vivarium electronics and enjoy the professional quality! I wouldn't save enough to be worth it to build my own pvc rack.

[Godzilla78]

I just finished my new rack, after shopping around for materials I settled on melamine. I sealed it with silicone and used rods and nuts to keep it from sagging. It's very heavy so I put it on casters.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Excellent build! Thats very close to what I will have when I am done.