CROSSFIRE MADE EASY **UPDATED - 3.09.2008** 56K Warning

[JayStation3]

**Updated**

 

[beardedwizard]

Finished product? Any more pictures?

Anthony

 

[Terrambo]

I have been using a 70W, which seems fine (though I have an electric heating stone under it as well). The average temp through the day is 105° F in that spot.

Great job though, I used some of your tips building mine:

thanks for sharing this with us, helped me out!

 

[ReptiGirl3]

WOWWWWW

I love your wall!!!!!!

Can you share some tips on how you built it??

Thanks

 

[Terrambo]

I started off by lining the complete wooden encasement with 3 cm think styrafoam pieces, just glued it on with some high rated construction glue in a tube (kinda like Silicon). Then I cut various corner off of extra styrafoam pieces that I bought at the hardware store to get the rocky ledges. Then glued them to the sides. The bigger pieces I used foam glue that they use for doors and windows in houses, this hardens very nice after 24 hours and you can cut it down to give it a nice form.

I then used a heat gun to roughen up the styrafoam so the grouting materials would stick to it better, going in closer with the gun to melt in small areas to take away from the straight walls.
Teh heat gun will melt this stuff very quick so keep a good distance away at first and go in slow, I put 2 holes in the wall within seconds at my first try. but when it cools back down it is hard as rock.

You will get some cracking in the grout, but that is normal, the wood and styrafoam will set after being heated up and cooled down each day

3 coats of grout, and paint.... done.

I lined the top with 1 cm thick plates of this styrafoam and the bottom as well. This will help reduce the wattage needed for the sun spot, and the lighting. I have one reptiglo 8.0 and a powersun 70W (don't know if you can get this stuff in the states, haven't been home for over a year now). I can maintain a temp from 90-110°F depending on how far out from the sunspot they are. I have also put in a slow warming low wattage heated stone under the sun spot, to make sure it stays hot enough. In Germany our electricity is the second most expensive place in the world, just one € cent lower than Italy, so it is important to think of way to keep things warm with the least amount of power possible.

I am now building a second one to put underneath this one, I am hoping it turns out better. I have seen many great ideas in these forums and this thread, along with my ideas and this one should turn out even better (I hope).

I am sure that they have this stuff in any hardware store in the US. I used all various sizes, 1cm thick, 3 cm thick and 5 cm thick, all were 50cm x 50cm plates of styrafoam insulation.

The biggest mistake I did was the plexiglass doors, I have ordered glass now, the plexiglass scratches too fast..... especially if you have 3 young Irish Setters that find the new additions to the family very interesting.....constant nose prints on the plexiglass :roll:

If anyone would like more info on materials, etc. pm me.

PS... Use toothpicks to hold the pieces on the wall in place until the glue dries, this will also work for a better hold when something sits on it.... use the foam glue to secure sitting areas, industrial glue is not strong enough. Put a good thick bunch of the foam on the bottom side and cut it down with a carpet knife into the shape you desire, but don't forget the toothpicks in the back side, very important though they are small----> this will hold quite a bit of weight.

 

[JayStation3]

Very nice man

 

[rastoma]

My wife would kill me if I got the carpet dirty like that by building a cage in the house LOL

Very nice work though. Makes me want to redo mine using melamine now... I used plain plywood. Looks good on the inside but the outside is ugly.

 

[JayStation3]

yeah - i can understand the issues the wife would have - but since mine doesnt do much cleaning...lol...she cain't say much about it...besides we live in an aptment, so we dont have a garage or anything else...so i didnt have much of a choice...

 

[rastoma]

yeah - i can understand the issues the wife would have - but since mine doesnt do much cleaning...lol...she cain't say much about it...besides we live in an aptment, so we dont have a garage or anything else...so i didnt have much of a choice...

HA... yeah I saw her playing Guitar Hero while you did all the building

was that GHII or III ?

 

[JayStation3]

**Updated**

yeah - i can understand the issues the wife would have - but since mine doesnt do much cleaning...lol...she cain't say much about it...besides we live in an aptment, so we dont have a garage or anything else...so i didnt have much of a choice...

HA... yeah I saw her playing Guitar Hero while you did all the building

was that GHII or III ?

Its GH3 for the PS3...and that's Kasper sleeping on the top of the couch...every once in a while she would look up at me as if to say - "Why do you keep making so much DANG noise!!"...lol

I have added a few more pictures for you guys tongiht, i am about to caulk the inside so i can finish up with the lights.

 

[Terrambo]

My wife would kill me if I got the carpet dirty like that by building a cage in the house LOL

Very nice work though. Makes me want to redo mine using melamine now... I used plain plywood. Looks good on the inside but the outside is ugly.

you can always use different things on the outside to cover it up. I have also built mine with plywood. I have a roll of adhesive decoration that I am going to cover it with. I have picked out a metal look, so that it gives the effect that I have a huge steel container sitting there.

The wood you all are speaking of and shown here (melamine)is nice, but I haven't found anything like that in Germany, so stuck with plywood. It is fairly cheap, somthing like you guys use would be outragiously priced over here.......the land of $7 per gallon gas, so you can imagine what everything else costs these days, to include wood.

You all will probably laugh too, but it was my wifes idea along with the kids to get our beardies and build the viv, so she did not mind a bit of mess.... thought I cheated and had the hardware store cut all the wood to avoid my lack in wood working skill screw this project up, and less mess :roll:

Have a nice day!

 

[lovemybabies]

looks very nice I also like the wall great job. I built mine in the living room and that is where it has stayed.lol

 

[JayStation3]

My wife would kill me if I got the carpet dirty like that by building a cage in the house LOL

Very nice work though. Makes me want to redo mine using melamine now... I used plain plywood. Looks good on the inside but the outside is ugly.

you can always use different things on the outside to cover it up. I have also built mine with plywood. I have a roll of adhesive decoration that I am going to cover it with. I have picked out a metal look, so that it gives the effect that I have a huge steel container sitting there.

The wood you all are speaking of and shown here (melamine)is nice, but I haven't found anything like that in Germany, so stuck with plywood. It is fairly cheap, somthing like you guys use would be outragiously priced over here.......the land of $7 per gallon gas, so you can imagine what everything else costs these days, to include wood.

You all will probably laugh too, but it was my wifes idea along with the kids to get our beardies and build the viv, so she did not mind a bit of mess.... thought I cheated and had the hardware store cut all the wood to avoid my lack in wood working skill screw this project up, and less mess :roll:

Have a nice day!

Yeah - i had my major cuts made at the hardware store as well... but then did my own trimming.

I updated my first post today

 

[JayStation3]

Although my VIV is only 95% complete - i went ahead and moved My BD into the enclosure. All i have left to do is trim and the edge banding. Which i can safely do with her inside the cage. I will post a few pictures at the top of the thread as well as a reply...I hope i made it easier to understand how to build one of these very simple enclosures. It only took me about a week to complete it thus far, working on it a few hours a day. Please -if you have any questions - dont hesitate to ask me...

I will be building a second enclosure for my adult and will take more pictures of that project as well...

 

[JayStation3]

Here are the last few pictures of my VIV after i mived my lizard in...i will be adding plants and limbs and stuff like that occasionally