Inquiry.

[Blakeybutt]

Hello beardie lovers.

Upon receiving my tax return, I plan on building Sally a custom enclosure. The typical 4x2x2. I want to build a stand to go along with it. Is there a favored type of wood for this? How much, on average, do they cost to build? Also, I'm not an electrician or anything.. How would I go about wiring the whole thing? Is there a tutorial I'm missing?

Thanks!

 

[doe222]

I Used solid oak and oak paneling, probly one of the more expensive woods but if you want somthing that will never break and looks like a real piece of furniture use oak and miter your corners and set your screws. As for the wiring the most simple way to do it would to just run some small extensions cords to where your going to want your lights than cover it with a wood box or somthing like that. I mean you could wire the thing up professional but whats the point of that? if you dont cover it, it will look uglier and if you do why did you do it the hard way? Just run some extension cords, small indoor ones. And in total with the saftey glass and the screen sections, the wood, and hardware i think materials came out to be around 250$ with the benifits of having contractor discounts. but i went above and beyond, somthing you do not need to do. There are how-tos on youtube and on the net for cheaper vivs. Or you can buy stud wood and some plexiglass and build yourself a viv for around 50-60$. But itl look like crap.

 

[danielpentz]

Hey there. This is one of ny posts from another thread. Hope it helps

Hey M. Its pretty easy. You can either buy a big sheet of melamine and cut out your enclosure yourself. A 1200x2400 sheet will do a 4x2x2 with a glass front. Providing you have a circular saw and the right jig your cuts will be nearly or as good as a panel saw.
Or you can get a cabinet maker to get the melamine and do the cuts and you can just screw it together. All you need is a drill and screws really. But a square and a couple of drill bits one to pilot and one to countersink. Just give them a plan of what you want.
Or you could get them to assemble it for you. A lot quicker than doing it yourself because that's what they do all day everyday. Including the glass it should cost between $190-$250 depending on if you get them to assemble your design as well. I all this because I just went through it. I don't mean to tell you things you may already know, just wanted to share some direct insight, and I am also pretty excited. So with this you will have a large unwired viv usually priced around 500$ for easily half of that. Then comes the electrical. You can wire it yourself if you know your way around electrical. I am an electrician here in Australia so I'm fortunate enough not to have to pay someone for the works. But I have done a lot of shopping on ebay for my electrical control. Including a digital temp controller, 3 position switches and heat globes. So if you would like a list of the stiff I used. Or a wiring diagram let me know.
I will end this essay now, thanks for reading !
Cheers