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Post by krazypara3165 on Jul 2, 2015 10:23:12 GMT
Current JH 5FT cage is starting to show signs of wear, its hard to replace shelves and keeping the mess contained is a never ending battle. So I am in the planning stages to build a new cage over summer. sizes are a rough estimate for now but are measured to fit into a space and to use the sheets of wood that im planning on buying without leaving much waste. The design is below. It will be built with 18mm plywood with mesh on top and sides for ventilation and glass on the front.  as you can see there will be 4 levels connected by ramps and I plan on adding ledges and smaller levels too. the two main bases will be covered with tiles to prevent the wood underneath rotting due to faeces (stainless steel current baser already takes a hammering) open to criticism, recommendations and ideas  |
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Post by Maravilla on Jul 2, 2015 10:49:49 GMT
How do you plan to seal the plywood? Degu urine is really nasty and I made the experience that even 3-4 layers of coating were not enough to prevent it soaking into the wood.
Any chance to make it a little bit longer? Would be great for your degus, they really would appreciate the length.
Are the two levels in the middle really planned as half levels? At least in the draft it looks like this. Then they do not really count as levels. Why don't you make them as full levels too and only leave small holes (e.g. 10x15 cm) for the connections?
Both, length and full levels, could be important when you have to separate the cage for some reason.
Ventilation looks great and enough for the cage.
Looking forward to seeing its progress.
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Post by krazypara3165 on Jul 2, 2015 11:02:39 GMT
How do you plan to seal the plywood? Degu urine is really nasty and I made the experience that even 3-4 layers of coating were not enough to prevent it soaking into the wood. Any chance to make it a little bit longer? Would be great for your degus, they really would appreciate the length. Are the two levels in the middle really planned as half levels? At least in the draft it looks like this. Then they do not really count as levels. Why don't you make them as full levels too and only leave small holes (e.g. 10x15 cm) for the connections? Both, length and full levels, could be important when you have to separate the cage for some reason. Ventilation looks great and enough for the cage. Looking forward to seeing its progress. Cheers, the plywood will be painted and I plan on lining the floors of each level with tiles. I originally thought ceramic but a member has pointed out that vinyl could be an option. I also plan on lining the first 2" up from the floors with tiles. I don't think it can go much longer as I have a turtle tank and a discus breeding tank against the same wall. this will already be encroaching into the space where the filter is sat so I need somewhere to put that... it will also bump up the cost of the build by more than £50 due to the size of the offcuts and needing more wood. The middle levels will be around 3/4 with a gap of around 6" between them and the glass to allow ramps and large sticks. as the unit will be in a corner with no direct light it will also brighten up the rear of the enclosure. I've had to separate goos in the past, so like my current way, I wanted to be able to separate sections if needed. the floor halfway up the cage will have a metal hatch that can be closed when needed (cleaning ect) I'm hoping ventilation will be enough but there will only be an inch (if that) either side of the cage for that reason I may add a pc cooling fan to the lower section if needed. |
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Post by krazypara3165 on Jul 2, 2015 18:16:00 GMT
So, I may getnthis started sooner than planned!! Been to a few diy stores, b and m sell vinyl tyles for next to nothing, or they also sell full rolls. I was thinking using full rolls and then running them an inch or two up the sides and back although I'm not sure whether the goos could peel it off if I run it up the sides.
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Post by Bexi87 on Jul 2, 2015 19:48:10 GMT
Good find! Trip to B&M for me this weekend then |
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Post by krazypara3165 on Jul 2, 2015 22:15:19 GMT
Good find! Trip to B&M for me this weekend then I think by the roll 1sqm vinyl was around a fiver, tiles were considerably cheaper less than two quid per pack. Oh, in the gardening area there was square mesh at 1.90 per roll. That's more than a tenner less than my local diy store! |
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Post by Bexi87 on Jul 3, 2015 7:12:12 GMT
Got to love B&M! Thanks for the heads up |
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Post by moletteuk on Jul 3, 2015 10:30:40 GMT
You can sometimes get vinyl tiles in Poundland. Just make sure the mesh is solid enough and the right spacing, if you don't need much you can buy really good quality squares of mesh in wickes, I think it's about £6 for 0.9x0.6m something like that.
If you run vinyl up the wall a couple of inches you will absolutely have to cover the edge either with a decent size softwood batten or with a piece of metal. You need to cover all edges of vinyl or they will make mincemeat of it (they might still make mincemeat of it!).
You will probably also need to run edging right round all the side vents. You can buy metal vents that you just screw over the space, but they don't let as much air flow as mesh.
Definitly make the 3/4 shelves as big as you can. I would suggest making a couple of shelf spacings a bit bigger to comfortably fit wheels and a couple a bit less. You can probably also fit a mini shelf or two in addition, mine love to nest in a low headroom space.
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Post by krazypara3165 on Jul 3, 2015 11:14:11 GMT
You can sometimes get vinyl tiles in Poundland. Just make sure the mesh is solid enough and the right spacing, if you don't need much you can buy really good quality squares of mesh in wickes, I think it's about £6 for 0.9x0.6m something like that. If you run vinyl up the wall a couple of inches you will absolutely have to cover the edge either with a decent size softwood batten or with a piece of metal. You need to cover all edges of vinyl or they will make mincemeat of it (they might still make mincemeat of it!). You will probably also need to run edging right round all the side vents. You can buy metal vents that you just screw over the space, but they don't let as much air flow as mesh. Definitly make the 3/4 shelves as big as you can. I would suggest making a couple of shelf spacings a bit bigger to comfortably fit wheels and a couple a bit less. You can probably also fit a mini shelf or two in addition, mine love to nest in a low headroom space. Cheers for that! Your currently saying what Ive been thinking so its nice to know that they are valid concerns! the vinyl ill probably get off the roll. its a little more costly but I can cut it to fit and roll it up the sides so there are no seams aside from the corners of the walls. I have already though about metal strips to cover it, just cant seem to find suitable metal. I also plan on spending a bit more and getting the flat sheets of mesh, simply because its easier to work with. the edging I had also thought about, I will be running a bit of timber behind the glass doors just higher than the runners and edging it so the goos cannot get to the runners. that said its costly and to do all the vents would add a considerable cost, I'm going to have to look outside the box for this, but placing them out of reach is a start. I forgot about the shelf spacing for the wheel, good call! although that could mess with my symmetric OCD haha. I also plan on adding little shelves and ledges here and there as mine dont spend any time on the floor aside from drinking. |
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Post by krazypara3165 on Jul 3, 2015 11:50:28 GMT
So a little update....
Started to get quotes now and prices so I have a rough idea of a cost.
Timber,
£70 for 3 sheets of 244x122cm birch plywood
£5 for 8m of kiln dried timber for shelves and boxes
£10 for woodstain and varnish for the outside (unsure if I can do the inside - doubt it)
Misc
£50 for four sheets of 6mm glass with unpolished edges (whatever that means) I can upgrade to safety glass for £75 but thats bumping up the cost again.
£10 for the runners,
£10 for the vinyl
£10 for the mesh
£20 for metal edging to prevent goos chewing runners
Thats it so far, there are still one or two obstacles to overcome.....
I require thin metal strips to cover the edges of the vinyl - have not seen any for a decent price....
Also need to look into the side vents. with mesh I will require metal edging which will bump the price up another 30, but this is my preferred option, I could also use pre fabricated steel vents but that restricts airflow and still would cost 20 for the set. the budget option is to use "car racing grille" that does not restrict airflow and is so fine the goos would struggle chewing behind it.
Thats it so far, If I can get on top of all the house jobs I will start the build at the end of this month.
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Post by moletteuk on Jul 3, 2015 13:20:07 GMT
The metal edging can cost quite a bit. Aluminium 'flats' look neatest but are expensive and degus can chew them if they really want to. You can buy steel flats in two or three different lengths at Toolstation (they also do cheap screws, hinges, drillbits, vents and other tools). You can get steel angle designed for plasterboard corners which is cheap but not so pretty.
You can use wood for edging but it does tend to add bulk, it's pretty cheap though (planed softwood or untreated CLS is even cheaper). I would use wood for the front of all the shelves, it depends how deep you want your substrate, anything from 1 to 4" or even more.
Another option for venting is to build in a slot all along the front at the bottom, covered with mesh and edged with wood, it will draw air for the full height of the cage and reduce the requirement for the side vents.
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Post by krazypara3165 on Jul 3, 2015 16:53:31 GMT
Just had a look, galvanised banding should do the trick nicely!
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Post by Bexi87 on Jul 3, 2015 18:09:55 GMT
I've just got back from B&M and I couldn't find the rolls - only tiles. I did however find this laminate protection film in the Range which could be worth investigating.  |
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Post by krazypara3165 on Jul 4, 2015 8:34:43 GMT
Hmmmmmm so it seems my width is 5cm more than the gap the cage is due to fit into. Im looking into re arranging the room and that should mean I can increase my width to 100cm. The only issue is its all in a smallish room and the two tanks cannot go anywhere that recieves natural daylight so it's going to be tricky......
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Post by krazypara3165 on Jul 14, 2015 9:57:02 GMT
The rooms getting jigged around next week and I have a week off in the first week of august so I plan on doing the build then.
Whilst I have made a little extra space I have decided to keep the dimensions the same. reason being is that I would need to double my plywood budget and a lot would be waste for the sake of a few extra cm.
Cant wait!!
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