building a boa enclosure. - Page 2

Xanafein · 04-14-12, 03:00 PM

Hey man, What id you Pay for your Birch Plywood Panels, Im starting a Cage build myself and im having a hard time locating any for less than 50 bucks Per 4x8

Also, Radiant heat panels Are not that Expensive at all when you compare them to the bulb cost and replacement and the initial fixture cost, not to mention they are more cost effective as well, 40 watt RHP will heat the same area you need a 100watt ceramic with ease, and it doesn't dry the air as bad. factor that good ceramic bulbs are costly and do need replacing on occasion and i find them to be a good investment If you go with a floor Lining, I recommend Vinyl over corrugated plastic, as the corrugated plastic seems like it would be more difficult to Clean

Also, Instead of those pucks, You should Order some LED light Stripping, and the asseble yourself fixture, I got enough of em to put to LED bars in 5 cages for like 125$ got a low light red strip for night time, and a "Soft Glow" strip for daytime lighting, Im debating getting a timer for them as well, right now ive got a wireless remote for em, Whats really cool is that they have bars for em that fit in the corner from the back and top and can run the full length of the cage

Also if you are using birch ply, i highly recommend going for a natural finish because IMO birch has one of the prettiest grains of the common hardwoods

KORBIN5895 · 04-14-12, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xanafein

Hey man, What id you Pay for your Birch Plywood Panels, Im starting a Cage build myself and im having a hard time locating any for less than 50 bucks Per 4x8

I bought shop grade ( one side good) . It cost $40 a sheet. I searched the WHOLE stack for the sheet I wanted. I am also staining it very dark to match my other furniture. As for the back sheet I only purchased a ⅜ piece of plywood underlay which cost $10.

Also, Radiant heat panels Are not that Expensive at all when you compare them to the bulb cost and replacement and the initial fixture cost, not to mention they are more cost effective as well, 40 watt RHP will heat the same area you need a 100watt ceramic with ease, and it doesn't dry the air as bad. factor that good ceramic bulbs are costly and do need replacing on occasion and i find them to be a good investment If you go with a floor Lining, I recommend Vinyl over corrugated plastic, as the corrugated plastic seems like it would be more difficult to Clean

I already have the che and they last about three years. It would cost me about $7 an enclosure for the heating fixture if I were to go that way. I am going with the Rhp though. I also bought a piece of remnant vinyl for the floors.

Also, Instead of those pucks, You should Order some LED light Stripping, and the asseble yourself fixture, I got enough of em to put to LED bars in 5 cages for like 125$ got a low light red strip for night time, and a "Soft Glow" strip for daytime lighting, Im debating getting a timer for them as well, right now ive got a wireless remote for em, Whats really cool is that they have bars for em that fit in the corner from the back and top and can run the full length of the cage

I only paid $20 for the xenon puck lights. LED are quit a bit more than that. They will be hidden anyway so I don't need to go for strip lighting. These will also add to the ambient air temps. I am also putting an opaque diffuser over it.

Also if you are using birch ply, i highly recommend going for a natural finish because IMO birch has one of the prettiest grains of the common hardwoods

We have the box put together and the top finished. We will attach the top tomorrow and maybe put the trim boards on.

Xanafein · 04-14-12, 07:04 PM

ah, so you went shop grade, I went Furniture Grade :| both sides good

Other than that, I have only two thumbs to give, but your cage plan Makes Me happy

KORBIN5895 · 04-14-12, 08:25 PM

Yeah furniture grade is $80 a sheet here and I am way too cheap to spend that.

Xanafein · 04-14-12, 08:27 PM

Jesus, Where are you shopping?

KORBIN5895 · 04-14-12, 08:32 PM

Kents, Home depot and home hardware. Canada ships all of their raw lumber over to the USA. The USA mills it and ships finished product back to Canada. It's a great system.

Xanafein · 04-14-12, 08:56 PM

That is a bummer man, Then again its not like the interior is going to be as Visible, just Sand it nice and smooth and seal it

KORBIN5895 · 04-14-12, 09:10 PM

I may go with a dark stain inside also. But like I said I went through every sheet of plywood to get this one. All of the imperfections will be covered or have been cut off. The dims changed a a little bit. The actual enclosure height is 46 inches now. The interior dims are 46½"x22½"x22⅞". LxWxH.

Xanafein · 04-15-12, 07:58 AM

Lemme know how the construction goes, sounds like you are going to have a nice attractive Cage

KORBIN5895 · 04-16-12, 07:34 PM

So we put a coat of pecan stain on the interior and a coat of Tudor on the exterior tonight.

KORBIN5895 · 05-06-12, 09:54 AM

So it's almost done and I wanted to post some pics of it. My father in law did 95% of it. I basically held stuff and did the staining ( my wife helped stain also.)

Lankyrob · 05-06-12, 01:06 PM

Looking good

05-06-12, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KORBIN5895

So it's almost done and I wanted to post some pics of it. My father in law did 95% of it. I basically held stuff and did the staining ( my wife helped stain also.)

Is this the same father-in-law that you are posting about as being Wacky in the Let's talk - I'm bored forum?

USMCgunner11 · 05-06-12, 08:02 PM

Coming along nicely. Anxious to see the finished product. Good luck

youngster · 05-06-12, 08:06 PM

Nice cage Kevin!

Quote:

Originally Posted by WackyInLaw

Is this the same father-in-law that you are posting about as being Wacky in the Let's talk - I'm bored forum?

Seeing as your sister was already banned from the forum I do think it would be wise to stop posting family matters on here for the world to see.