Rack is all finished...well sorta...

[LeapinLizards]

Well it's been a LONG time since I got this rack built, and now it's finally finished! At first we just wired up the needed space (3 rows, for 12 geckos), and finally had time to wire the rest, and put the switches on the side.

The ONLY problem...the LED rocker switches we got were defective...they DO work, but the LED lights did not light up. We tried EVERYTHING, and finally contacted the seller, who is having us ship them back to him :main_angry:. So we are waiting on those!

The rack is up and running though, and holding a temperature perfectly. We wired it daisy chain style, but connected the heat tape to the chain so if anything happens we can easily replace the heat tape, and don't have to take apart the switches. We used 18 gauge lamp wire, after doing all of the calculations, finding out amperage, etc.

A few people have asked for pictures, so here they are...
The whole rack. switches on the right, to turn on each individual row:

Close up of the geckos snug in their homes :

Wiring sticking out for the switches to connect to...then they push back into the holes and sit flush with the wood:

Right side wiring, from the heat tape to the rocker switches...you can see where we connected in, instead of running straight to the tape:

Heat tape on the shelves:

 

[Pepper]

That's really cool!

How many gecko's total?

 

[LeapinLizards]

How many that I have now? Or how many the rack can hold? I have 12 now, the rack can hold 40, but has 4 breeding tubs new the bottom (30qt tubs).

 

[PacHerp]

Heather, you've got to give me a call sometime so we can chat about your building process! I'm going to outfit my gecko room with some custom racks here pretty soon... nothing too fancy, but I am very OCD about things matching and being uniform. lol.

FANTASTIC job!

 

[LeapinLizards]

Thanks Brittney! I am extremely OCD about everything...everything I have is in rows, organized...LOL look at the extra water/food dishes in the bottom shelf. All lined up. I make myself laugh sometimes I'm so bad.

I'll PM you with my phone number...give me a call whenever you want!

 

[THE WHISPERER]

Nice rack, I'm guessing that thing just about reaches the ceiling? If you don't mind me asking what do you think your total cost was on that (w/out tubs).

 

[LeapinLizards]

You want including heat tape, or not including heat tape Rick? Yes, it does almost reach the ceiling!

 

[THE WHISPERER]

w/tape and wires.

 

[LeapinLizards]

OK...let me get the figure, I'm looking for the Home Depot receipt! I'll add it all up, and post in just a few with the breakdown.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Heather, THAT is an awesome rack!!!

 

[LeapinLizards]

Thanks Marcia Now you know your babies are housed well!

 

[LeapinLizards]

Ooook...here's the breakdown:

$140 -> Birch wood...this includes all the trimmings, and the 1x4 up the sides
$88 -> 42 feet of 3" heat tape
$39 -> 18 gauge wire - we bought the WHOLE spool as it was .31 per foot...we didn't even use 1/4 of the spool though, I'm just including it with the cost.
$16 -> quart of child safe sealant

TOTAL = $283

It probably didn't cost QUITE this much, as we got really good deals here and there. Plus, I got the tubs for a steal...so all in all I probably have around $300 into this rack. The cost really didn't matter to us though...we just wanted a custom rack, one that will last forever, and is visually appealing. Plus...my father LOVES making furniture for us

 

[Greyscale_Geckos]

That's an amazing price considering how many geckos you can fit! Veeery niiiice.

I have no building skills what so ever, so I'm very envious.

 

[THE WHISPERER]

Ooook...here's the breakdown:

$140 -> Birch wood...this includes all the trimmings, and the 1x4 up the sides
$88 -> 42 feet of 3" heat tape
$39 -> 18 gauge wire - we bought the WHOLE spool as it was .31 per foot...we didn't even use 1/4 of the spool though, I'm just including it with the cost.
$16 -> quart of child safe sealant

TOTAL = $283

It probably didn't cost QUITE this much, as we got really good deals here and there. Plus, I got the tubs for a steal...so all in all I probably have around $300 into this rack. The cost really didn't matter to us though...we just wanted a custom rack, one that will last forever, and is visually appealing. Plus...my father LOVES making furniture for us

cool thanks, Thats not bad at all especialy for how nice it turned out.

 

[LeapinLizards]

Thanks Hannah, you know if you ever want to build one I'll come over and help!

Rick - No it's not bad AT ALL. I plan to build another one after this season...probably next fall/winter that matches this one. I think it turned out perfectly, especially for the first attempt

 

[sushikam]

Very awesome rack! Great job!! Wish you could take a ride down to LA and help me out! LOL !

 

[fallen_angel]

Very awesome rack! Great job!! Wish you could take a ride down to LA and help me out! LOL !

I second that !!

 

[shadowx362]

I am so jealous! You did such a good job on it! My racks didn't turn out that well :main_laugh: Maybe next time I'll do better.

 

[LeapinLizards]

Thanks guys Anyone can mail me a plane ticket and I'll be MORE than happy to come help

 

[lillith]

Wow. Maybe I can pick you up from Seattle next spring

That is one gorgeous setup. I'm forwarding this thread to a friend to see if he could help...do you have specs or blueprints for it anywhere, or does your dad? I mean, it might be terrible to be a copycat, but it's just brilliant! We could probably figure from the photos, but I just thought I'd ask...