Nightshade15":3vxm6gn2 said:
I know pine and cedar are bad but can I use any sort of wood otherwise?
Poplar? If you're sealing everything, that reduces the hazards of pine. Be aware that (AFAIK) most/all domestic plywoods (hardwood or softwood) use pine for the interior layers, including melamine, which uses pine particle board. OTOH, Baltic/Russian Birch uses birch for the interior layers as well as the veneer. It's incrementally more expensive than domestic, but has other advantages as well.
MDF is less expensive than plywood, but has its disadvantages as well.
MDF vs. Plywood
I’m of course looking for the cheapest wood I can use that will work.
IME, "cheapest" and "best" are mutually exclusive, and oftentimes, "cheapest" can/will end up being more expensive in the long run. When you actually price out a project like this, the difference between "cheapest" and decent quality is only a few (<10) percentage points.
I’m planning to paint and seal the wood so if anyone has any suggestions for type of wood, paint, and sealant?
Safe paints and finishes for reptile enclosures
I’ve seen a lot of people use melamine but it seems pretty pricey.
If you think melamine is too expensive, I really don't know what to suggest; it's about the cheapest thing I know of, but I'd never use it for off-gassing/toxicity and other reasons. (Same for MDF)
I’m planning to tile the bottom as I have lots of extra tile from a previous project
Tile is a great way to go. If you're going to use grout, best seal that too, and think about how you're going to clean & disinfect it repeatedly (i.e. daily). I used large (2' x 1') tiles with no grout. Under the tiles is a waterproof shelf liner. If I have to, I can easily remove 1 or all tiles, clean underneath (as well as the tiles) and replace the liner if/when necessary (hopefully only annually).
I’m planning to cut a square for a screen for the basking light(the uvb will be inside the enclosure) in the top panel of wood. I’m not sure what the best route for ventilation will be so any suggestions there are more than welcome.
I used 4" soffit vents, and put an ultra-quiet thermostatically controlled muffin fan behind the one on the hot side. Not sure why you need/want a screen over the basking light(?)
I’m thinking of putting in a plexiglass sheet that slides on runners to open the tank, but if there’s a better solution please let me know.
I'm not sure what you mean by "runners" or if they're really necessary. I used a plastic track (top & bottom) and the heavy 1/4" glass slides extremely well in just that. Same/similar track can be had in aluminum.
When I priced plexi vs. glass for sliding doors, glass was far less expensive for the same thickness, but with glass, it also pays to shop around. I found ranges between $32 and $50 per door (but I have pretty large doors on my enclosure.
CooperDragon has a good point about door style. My doors are quite large (28" wide), so opening only half at a time works for me (not to mention the weight of the glass).