would like advise on a melamine enclosure

[Wilma]

Hello!

I have the basic idea planned out for this... basically its a shelving unti 4 ft tall, 3 ft wide, and 2 ft deep. Three shelf enclosures.. first one on the bottom is 2ft high, the other two are each 1ft high.

Now I figure I will need a 2inch lip or such to go on the bottom to prevent anything from comming through, and deeper on the larger enclosure of about 4inches.

I am trying to keep the constructon as simple as possible, is it possible to get strips of melamine precut? Or do I need to slice and dice myself? Actually a friend with tools is building this for me but needs my design :D

Now I thought the lip on each enclosure would be recessed as deep as the melamine so when the door is closed it is flush against the unit's frame.

Now the door itself would be a frame of melamine with mesh inside. would that be too drafty? I am thinking leos on the top and a baby cage for my beardie at the bottom till she grows into the bigger enclosure my adult girl is in.

Now about heating... I am pretty new to reptiles, 3 years of leos and 1.5 year of beardies, skinks, and garter snakes. All of these guys are in tanks with leat lamps.. basic set-up type thing. People have been talking about heat tape here and I hate to ask, but exactly what is it? how well does it work? is it easy to install and adjust the temp? I was thinking I could just as well put a heatlamp for the taller enclosure but the leos would need something that would fit better.

The inside will be all siliconed with aquarium sealent, but what do you think? any suggestions or comments?

Its probably a basic design to some of you, but its a first ever for me :D

[jason h]

you can get your cutting done if you buy at home depot they give 5 free cuts then a dollar a cut after that.

[crazyboy]

Heat tape is like the stuff that is insie an uth. You an cut it to any length you want but yohave to wire it up yourself. For controlling your temps you can use a rheostat or a them thermostat.

Making a rheostat
http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/show...=&threadid=8858

Wiring heat tape
http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/show...s=&postid=39153

[mark129er]

Is the shelf unit prebuilt or will you be constructing that too? If it is a prebuilt piece of furniture this may be a little more difficult. If you are starting from scratch you can just build 3 enclosures with sliding glass fronts and stack them on top of one another. A little more info and someone will be able to advise you better.

[bryne]

My dad built all the cages I used out of melamine. One thing you should look at right away is reinforcing the cages with 1x2 wood strips. If you don`t do that your melamine will eventually wear out and there will be screws falling out. all the edges should have 1x2 reinforcing strips to prevent this. Also, melamine would not work as well as real wood for the doors( because it chips and wears out). Try using 1x2 wood (you can get it cut at any lumber yard or home improvement store) for structural strength.
Beardies need UV lighting, do you have any plans for this?
Your cages could be wired for lights and they would give off quite a bit of heat, then you could just drill holes in the sides for ventilation. The cages I used for my snakes had glass fronts(we used melamine for the caging and used plexiglass for viewing windows.) You could try having the door on the side or on the back of the cages. Piano hinges would work better for your doors in the melamine so the screws don`t pull out as easy.
If you need more information send me an email and I will see about forwarding plans to you with the supplies you will need and the cuts needed to make the cages work.

[Wilma]

Its not prebuilt, but doing each cage individually will involve a lot more cuts and I would much rather have one unit.

Now, for the reinforced melamine, do you mean using the 1x2 pine screwed into the inside horizontally with the melamine shelf placed ontop and screwed into place? I hope I explained that well enough! I can see how that would help...
I was thinking if mesh isn't good as a door I could use plexiglass... I know it can scratch but considering i don't really know what I am doing I'd rather use something cheaper to replace than glass! If I could afford a professional unit I'd would of definatly paid the extra for glass.

mainly I am looking for something servicable, that can survive an upcomming move, and is mildly attractive. painting wont be an option since its too cold outside and a small apartment inside. Because of this melamine is the best option.
What would I need to use on the door frame to seal it? With a desser lizard i am not too concerned about humidity.