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I made a rack!

raynefyre said:
Wow that's a pretty awesome rack!!! :D:D:D

How big are the shelves' dimensions? I want to build basically what you did for the same size tubs except taller to hold 8 - 40qt tubs. Do you have plans or anything to show how you built it?
Click to expand...

Doh! I meant to post my plans/measurements a week ago, but clearly I forgot. Right now I'm at work, so I don't have all the exact specs with me... I'll try to post them tonight.

In the meantime, I *think* my shelves are 28" wide, 16" deep, and 6.5" tall. (16" was the widest melamine board I could find.) I think I paid about $60 total for the materials. Plus, they cut them for me in-store. :)

Hope that helps for now! I'll post the exact measurements soon.
 
Thanks so much! I can't wait to see the plans. :) I hope to build my rack next week so a few more hours won't hurt. Lol.
 
Also, how do you heat the tubs? I want to use heat tape but I'm not sure what width and length to use.
 
You are definately more talented than I am. My husband builds our racks. But I LOVE how organized you are! I'm the same way. Drives Jason crazy I'm sure! Very good job!
 
Heck of rack system you built! Love the color coding.

I remember our first rack...you learn how to make it easier and better everytime. We took a short cut once, never again!

Are the UTHs the stick on ZooMed type? Or are you using FlexWatt heat tape?
 
Bleh... I can't get my scanner to work, so I can't share the drawing of my plan.

Anyways, here are the dimensions I used:

Vertical sides (x2) = 29"
Shelves (x4) = 28"
Top (x1) = 32"

Space between shelves (for tubs) = 6.5"

I used 15-3/4" wide melamine boards (they were labeled as 16"). I bought two (2) 8-ft boards and one (1) 4-ft board, which the hardware store cut to my measurements for me.

The boards are 3/4" thick. If you make a rack like this, BE SURE TO TAKE THE THICKNESS OF THE BOARDS INTO ACCOUNT!! (I almost didn't. LOL!)

I built from the bottom up, using a carpenters square to be sure I was making right angles. When I had the bottom shelf attached to both of the vertical sides, I measured, "test fit", and marked the other three 28" shelves into their places. I used screws straight through the vertical sides into the shelves (later I painted the screw heads with whiteout and covered them with round sticker labels from an office store). For the top, I put the screws through the top into the vertical sides... Not the prettiest solution, but the 20L viv sitting up there covers those holes very well.

To finish the side edges of the rack top, I used some iron-on edging tape. I found it near the melamine boards while I was buying supplies.

For heat, I'm actually using 11x11" Ultratherm UTHs from Reptile Basics. (http://www.reptilebasics.com/ultratherm-heat_pads/) It's what I happened to have already, and I really like them. For the 15qt tubs, I just put one exactly in the center of each shelf near the back, so the tubs each have a corner on the UTH. I have the UTHs taped down to the shelves with aluminum tape.

If (when) I add more snakes to the bottom two shelves, I will probably switch to Flexwatt. For now, though, this setup is working very well. :)

Hope that helps! Please feel free to keep asking questions. I may have forgotten to mention something. :D



ETA:
Thank you all for the compliments! :)
 
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Another question. Lol. How much do you pay for 40qt tubs? Online at walmart they are $7 each but in store they are $9.50 each. Do you think they will honor their online price if I take it in?
 
Nice work! Not only does it appear to be versatile but it looks more like another piece of furniture rather than an out-of-place tower of wood!
 
raynefyre said:
Another question. Lol. How much do you pay for 40qt tubs? Online at walmart they are $7 each but in store they are $9.50 each. Do you think they will honor their online price if I take it in?
Click to expand...

You know, honestly I haven't bought any 40qt tubs yet. LOL! Reggie's the only snake I have big enough for those right now, and he's in the viv.

Sorry, but I'm not much help on that. Like you said, I would try going in to WalMart to see if their honor their online price in-store, so I think you're already on the right track there. :)


jamay said:
Nice work! Not only does it appear to be versatile but it looks more like another piece of furniture rather than an out-of-place tower of wood!
Click to expand...

That was my goal! :D Thanks!
 
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