building for Godzilla- help?

[simpleyork]

talking to the wife this past week, said she would prefer Godzilla to move out back when I build his final enclosure . . . so my question is how to go and build a building and keep it temp controlled year round as we hit highs in the 90's summer and lows in the 0 F for winter any Ideas as the sooner I know what to do the better it is for Godzilla.
Thanks for any help or ideas
needs to be 14'x12' at least with a hight of 7'
Chris York

[infernalis]

I would build a shed or small barn first, insulate the living heck out of it, install central heating for the winter, and then put up a cage inside that.

Insurance against all variables.

I would also install a propane backup heater with a thermostat to kick in when winter storms knock down wires.

[simpleyork]

should i worry too much about the summer heat, my house is not insulated and only get around 85 max during the summer heat in the south facing rooms, we have one window mounted cooler and its on the north side of the house so doesn't effect the south rooms at all.

At work right now and drawing up plans on my spare time .
As far as the ground goes should i dig down and put a barrier there or put a barrier on the surface and bring in dirt? opinions and ideas, all are welcome

[infernalis]

insulating against winter means the floor too, so the whole shed should be on a foundation, or have a slab floor with radiant heating in the slab.

The frost line can sneak in from the sides and get under the shed.

[Rudiman]

Jokingly I wood move the wife to the shed. Jk. For summer I would have a thermostatically operated vent, or fan to remove any excess heat. Living in the north eastern part of the country, I am having a tough time wrapping my brain around this one.

Scott

[simpleyork]

my wife puts up with a lot so I do have to take her side once in a blue moon and this is that time.
I'll get some ideas drawn up and get them on here tomorrow morning hopefully

[Rudiman]

I just gave mine a new finished crafting room behind my vive, but I know and do see your point. Is this something you can attach to the house?

Scott

[simpleyork]

No, it will be a lone structure not too far from the house(still have to ask my wife where she wants it on my break time)
It will be on a foundation

[Aanayab1]

Not sure if it was home depot or lowes that I saw a book titled something along the lines of the how to design and build your own shed. They are pretty decent books that walk you through every little detail. Do you have any past in construction (structural wise not cages) at all or is this a first for you? I do construction as my main source of income and can help you out with any and all questions you may have.

Antonio

[simpleyork]

i've done some construction, but will definately ask when I have a question
just talked to the wife and she gave me more of the backyard, I think she's
just excited that it wont be in the basement once I get It built.

[simpleyork]

how does everyone feel about a 8'x18'x7' or 10'x16'x7' for two ornates?
depends on which side of the yard I put it on.

[Pirarucu]

Woah, woah. Two?!

Both of those sizes sound ok to me. Go for the bigger one!

[simpleyork]

I figure my wife owes me for moving Godzilla out of the house. If she doesn't have to deal with it and it doesn't howl all night then she'll be okay with it.

[Pirarucu]

Very good, I am liking this plan.

[Aanayab1]

I'm so jealous! I wish I had space like that! although I don't have any lg monitors, I may want some one day

[simpleyork]

skylight windows a yes? thinking about two for the natural sunlight
also thinking a misting system for humidity
I like the fan Idea for removing extra heat if there is any
also for the shed it will be a slopped roof from north to south.

[infernalis]

My wife and I are constantly dreaming about building a large heated "monitor barn" , I bet she would never leave it once I got it done.

I feel blessed, since it was her that got me into monitors in the first place.

[simpleyork]

anyone know what unit will do 4000 BTU heat ? I think that was the figuring for my enclosure size

[Gatorhunter1231]

Been down this road twice before and just finished up my third time. My temps range from 0F-110F in Oklahoma. Insulation is key to protect you from the heat or cold. I use r-19, foamed wall edges, put up 6mil plastic barrier before insulation. In the past I have used propane with lights. Propane failed and lights weren't strong enough (first fail). Propane runs the risk of fire so make sure to take precautions. A malfunctioning regulator burned both my sheds down recently and put me down about 11Gs and pets that can't be replaced (2nd fail, of coarse this took 9yrs and two moves).

This time I got a heat and cool window unit. They are around $650 at lowes and will do heat and cool. I will still do a small propane back up but every safety will be on that thing and will be replaced every few years now. Thinking about building cages out of metal this time. One of my cages will already be stainless steel industrial freezer that I'm going to convert. My cover cages I build will sheet metal.

Anyways, get ready to drop around $2500-$3000 total. Shed probably be around $1200-$1500, the rest will be more studs, insulation, wiring, more plywood for cover up insulation, plastic wrap, nails/screws, the list just continues and nickels and dimes you to death it seems.

[infernalis]

We are going the radiant heating direction, The actual boiler will not be in the barn, however a broken PEX tube could spray scalding water all over the place if precautions are not in place for that.

Was even discussing with Dorothy just the other day that I want to install a smoke detector with a trip switch in my existing Sav enclosure, so if one of the CFL lights goes bad, it kills the power to the cage completely.

If you have ever seen a compact florescent bulb fail, they spew black smoke and could be toxic to the lizards, also thinking that a ventilation fan (12 volt with battery backup) would be wise to draw the smoke out of the cage in the event that the system triggers.

[jhinton6932]

infernalis is a wealth of good ideas. what are the compact flourecsent bulbs?? the swirly ones? ive gotten away from flourecent alltogether since the powersuns came out. they are 100 watt but put out uvb up to like 2 feet i think which helps when a cage is like 6+ feet tall and you really dont lose to much humidity with them

[simpleyork]

thanks for the replies that helps out a bunch.
I'll be gathering the stuff over the winter and putting it up next spring(another promise to the wife on the timing)may have to build a fort for my boys as well, or even get a pool for my wife (gosh they're expensive, wives are lol)

So something like this right?
Amazon.com: window air conditioner heater (http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=window+air+conditioner+heater&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=22746038035&hvpos=1t3&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11426680232006234510&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_5ts4im6ldw_b)

as far as insulating i was thinking -3/4"plywood-3.5inch fiberglass insulation- 3/4" plywood- vinyl siding

[infernalis]

infernalis is a wealth of good ideas. what are the compact flourecsent bulbs?? the swirly ones? ive gotten away from flourecent alltogether since the powersuns came out. they are 100 watt but put out uvb up to like 2 feet i think which helps when a cage is like 6+ feet tall and you really dont lose to much humidity with them

Yes, a CFL is the swirly ones. I have witnessed twice in my household fixtures the thick black smoke spewing out.

Scared me enough I won't leave any on in the house at all when we leave home for anything.

Unrelated, but plug in air freshners do it too, my mom had a glade plug in go up in smoke once. Danger! - Common Household Item Could Burn Down Your House (http://pjkartist.hubpages.com/hub/Danger-Common-Household-Item-Could-Burn-Down-Your-House)

http://www.varanid.us/toast/Brn.jpg

http://www.varanid.us/toast/yuk.jpg

[Aanayab1]

Yea I hate the CFs! I do not use them anywhere, period. I do not care about the 5.00 or so a year it might save when it could cost me and my loved ones including pets our lives. I can not remember where I saw the report on them but it also included that the if a retail store that sells them has even one break in their facility they are required to close until they have a hazmat cleanup crew clean up the air and surrounding area of the break?! My mother emailed me the report so I will see if she can again. If I am not mistaken it was in the MSDS book at the hospital she works at.

[Aanayab1]

T5HO fixtures put out way more light and less heat. Down side is they cost a bit more... then again I don't know if I can put a price tag on the safety of my family, animals or myself?

[Gatorhunter1231]

Yep those types. Lowes has a 1year warranty. Not sure what amazon has. Don't sell yourself short on btus for heating.

[Gatorhunter1231]

Also check voltage. Some are 220 and some are 115.

[simpleyork]

I'll make sure that I supply enough heat, that was just what came up first on the Google search
what I'm thinking as far as an entrance goes will be a walk in area about 3'x8' with another door to the monitor enclosure and viewing window.

[simpleyork]

the four red circles are where the corners will be so the final measurement is 10'x18'x7'
http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af276/simpleyork/P1010587.jpg

[Aanayab1]

That is going to be awesome! I can not wait until spring to see your progress.

[simpleyork]

i'll probably work on grading it some this weekend

[Pirarucu]

Awesome! I'd love to do this in my backyard..

[Danimal]

We are going the radiant heating direction, The actual boiler will not be in the barn, however a broken PEX tube could spray scalding water all over the place if precautions are not in place for that.

Are you, or have you heard of anyone using a wood-fired boiler for heat? I've done a little research on it for heating a barn and possibly the floor in my house, seems like it might be a viable option to provide heat for a reptile outbuilding.

Was even discussing with Dorothy just the other day that I want to install a smoke detector with a trip switch in my existing Sav enclosure, so if one of the CFL lights goes bad, it kills the power to the cage completely.

If you have ever seen a compact florescent bulb fail, they spew black smoke and could be toxic to the lizards, also thinking that a ventilation fan (12 volt with battery backup) would be wise to draw the smoke out of the cage in the event that the system triggers.

Are you just using CFLs for light or uvb too? I love CFLs and have used them throughout my home with only a couple of exceptions for over 10 years but I have never like the idea of putting something, that already gets pretty hot during normal use, into an enclosure that will be kept at a constant high temp. Anyone using LEDs or know why we shouldn't?

[infernalis]

Hi Danimal...

I live in a very remote town, so yes I know lots of people with wood boilers.

They are fantastic, all the smoke and soot stays outside, and the heat is very nice inside.

The only hard part, is going outdoors in the middle of the night in your pajamas to stoke the fire mid January in two feet of snow.

L.E.D. lights are great, but just don't throw out the lumens for a monitor cage.

I use L.E.D. lights on a couple snake cages, and in my living room, I like them. Super cheap to operate.

[Aanayab1]

I have all LED lights on my moray eel tanks and love them! Blindingly bright but they put out virtually no heat.

[infernalis]

We have a whole bunch of the 12 volt ones, I use them at camp in the summer, and for power failures to light my home in the winter.

Out here in the sticks, one ice storm could mean a whole day without electricity.

We have a propane backup heater to stay warm, and keep the reptiles alive.

[Danimal]

I am about to start replacing my CFLs with LEDs but until I read this thread and started thinking about lighting, it never even occurred to me to use them as a daylight source in an enclosure. Thanks for the input.

I was going to incorporate the boiler (+small generator) in as a back up but, like you, I will be in the sticks only with much milder winters. If I were doing radiant heating in my back yard now, I might consider a tankless water heater. At least here in the south. What about that?