melamine - nail gun or screws?

Okay, couple questions
If you used melamine shelving to make your snake rack, did you use nails (nail gun) or screws?
Also, how did you lay your flexwatt? did you just lay it on rack and staple gun it along the plastic sides of the tape, use aluminum tape OR if you made a recess for the heat tape to sit in, how did you do it?
Thanks

Originally Posted by dreamwallaby

Okay, couple questions
If you used melamine shelving to make your snake rack, did you use nails (nail gun) or screws?
Also, how did you lay your flexwatt? did you just lay it on rack and staple gun it along the plastic sides of the tape, use aluminum tape OR if you made a recess for the heat tape to sit in, how did you do it?
Thanks

I haven't used melamine ( I used 3/4" finish plywood and painted it and water base finish) but i would predrill and glue and screw it than nailing it.
Also, I recess the flexwatt and cover it with pleixglass, silicone it in of course.

You can build it any way you want keeping in mind the safety of the snake and ease of cleaning.

I use screws for the melamine.

Many years ago I used flexwatt but changed to heat cable which I recessed 1/4 inch into the rack bottom.

Screws with pre-drilled holes. Nails don't hold as well and face nailing without pre-drilling would be a disaster. I also recommend sealing all the cut surfaces with a waterproofing paint before joining to avoid water damage.
I too like heat cable recessed in the shelf surface. I went one step further by adding a recessed flashing overlay to the groove in order to disperse the heat better and casters. Melamine is very heavy.

Terri

As a carpenter if we use melamine (which we do lots) to make shelves we actually use a crown stapler but a pin nailer works too!

Screws are a no-no

Screws are annoying because you need to pre drill. I used a pneumatic bradnailer with one inch nails. This was a hatchling rack though so it didn't have to be designed for much weight. If you have air tools,you'll save time and a major head ache.

For the flexwatt, I used a stapler. I never even considered tape though, I'd worry that it would start to peel eventually.

Originally Posted by bloutitt

As a carpenter if we use melamine (which we do lots) to make shelves we actually use a crown stapler but a pin nailer works too!

Screws are a no-no

For 3/4 inch melamine?

Do you use a dado or rabbet?

Originally Posted by El Jefe

For 3/4 inch melamine?

Do you use a dado or rabbet?

Rabbet and yes for 3/4 melamine I would use 1 1/2

Originally Posted by bloutitt

Rabbet and yes for 3/4 melamine I would use 1 1/2

Ahhh...that makes a whole lot more sense. For the average cage builder, however, I doubt they are making rabbets or other semi-advanced construction.

Based on that, if one wasn't going to use a rabbet or dado I would highly recommend pre-drilling and screws over nail gun.