Converting entertainment unit into a Beardie enclosure!

[ferretgirl]

Hello All! I'm new to the forum and would like a little advice/guidance in building my first custom enclosure. For some reason photobucket wont allow me to upload from my cell so I cant provide pictures...why cant we upload attachments on this site??
I will be converting an entertainment unit into the enclosure but am stuck on how to do the interior. Its 5' long, about 32" high by 22" deep. I am going to be using a 48" T5 fixture for my UV bulb and putting my current dome basking lamp on a chain system to adjust heights as needed. I'm still figuring out the doors as well. I'm stuck between using full plexiglass hinged doors (like your kitchen cupboards) or having a wood frame around those pieces of plexi. Now for my real problem. The interior. I will be sealing it with Polycrylic and then putting laminate tiles down and on the "walls"...time is a big factor in building this enclosure which is why I opted for the TV unit. My Bella is in a 55gallon aquarium right now which she is outgrowing quickly and I cannot keep her temps up easily(COLD weather here) in glass. I like the looks of foam rock backgrounds and ledges but have neither the funds nor time to build something like that. Ive been toying with the idea of wooden shelf like ledges for basking spot and to take advantage of the vertical space in this enclosure but can't seem to find many picture examples of this. Would wooden ledges/shelves work? Does anybody know where I can find examples of this idea? I don't need it to look like the wild but I don't want it to look junky either. If I built my shelves and stairs etc. And then painted them with a 'rock' paint would that work? Home depot sells this paint to put on fireplaces or decks and such that gives the texture and color of rock.... Any input advice ideas and pictures are MUCH appreciated. Any threads on converting furniture around here??

 

[jturner82]

This is my current progress on an old wooden dresser. I gutted the entire thing and the drawers are non-functional. My basking bulb and UVB strip are mounted to the top behind that area (hubby and I can't stand to see equipment). The back is screened to allow humidity to escape, and I used the melamine board purchased at Home Depot, screwed it to the frame, in order to make the "cage" area. I'm currently waiting on Drylok to dry on my custom foam background before placing it in the enclosure! The top of the "cage" is left open, because I don't plan to feed my BD in this cage (too many places in the foam for bugs to hide)

I bought this track: http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-Hardware-40-3426-Plastic-Coated/dp/B000NHLJE6 and 1/4" tempered glass panels to make sliding "showcase" doors that I can lock since I have twins! The panels were $25 each!

I plan to place some fancy trim around the opening too, so the sides of the melamine and the plastic door tracks are invisible

Don't know if this helps, but the dimensions on your entertainment unit are very close to the dimensions of my enclosure. Seems to me you want to go the route I did and make it look like a nice piece of furniture in your room

 

[ferretgirl]

Thanks for the reply!! That looks great and thanks for the link to the tracks! Ive decided to go with 1/4" plexiglass sliding doors and this town can be BAD for finiding reasonably prices special order or custom products. I'm going to try to insert pictures of my progress here so forgive me if it doesn't work my first try Ive never used links to photo bucket before from my cell, I'm used to being able to just upload directly...

 

[ferretgirl]

First picture is of what I started with. The next pic is the unit torn apart. TIP for all : wood putty/filler and sand paper is VERY handy to have on hand. I ended up having to use a power saw to get the dividers out and this left the dowel inserts and their holes in the top and bottom for me to sand and fill with putty.


The next picture is of my Birch plywood backing, with the vents in place for tracing the cut out hole . The vents were only $4 and open/close if I need to adjust ventilation.


I'm thinking of starting an instructional thread for this project - I haven't found much of a full comprehensive; tip filled thread of how to convert furniture, with tips from anyone who has done it. I never would have thought about needing wood putty till I ripped apart my unit, I was just lucky to have some lying around, that would've been a nice tip to find online from people who have done this before.
I'll post more updates as they come.

 

[ferretgirl]

And idea for the basking shelves, I threw it together with poster paper in a cardboard box.
The triangle in the left corner is a reptihammock and the little square in the right corner is a possible removable dig box.
Today I managed to tile the interior and attach the back panel, as well as secure the vents.
Next is to attach the lighting, build shelves and get the plexi doors put on.


What does everyone think?

 

[ToothlessC]

I think it looks great! I've been thinking about picking up an entertainment center from goodwill, I decided against using an extra from the house because it would have been a lot more work. What did you use to seal it?


@ Jturner, if you haven't already gotten the glass panels and have a little extra room in your budget, plexiglass might be a better bet if you have twins. It is much harder to break. Though, I am not sure on how much stronger tempered glass is vs. regular glass. I do know that in order of strength it is plexiglass > laminated glass > tempered glass > regular glass.

 

[ferretgirl]

Its DONE!!

 

[rempop]

That looks great. Nice job.

 

[ferretgirl]

Thanks! Its super exciting! I couldn't wait to get Bella out of her 55 gallon. Shes got so much more space now, spoiled dragon if you ask me Right now I'm trying to find a place for her repti hammock and making sure all her temps are good in the bigger space.

 

[jturner82]

Very nice job! It's amazing the things we can do if we set our minds to it! I was super anxious when brainstorming my dresser conversion, but I dealt with problems/issues as I went along and solved them!! I've kinda been eentertaining the idea of putting tile on the bottom of mine also. Right now, it is Dry-Lok'ed, and that is a pain to clean!