Real wood or Ply or Mel

[jollygeoff]

Hi There

Quick question

If I want a natural wood finish on my vivarium would it be best to use real wood or chipboard? I am assuming melamine is out because of it's finish.

geoff

 

[hartungs]

Geoff,

I think it really depends on how "handy" you are working with wood. If you know what you are doing, then I would use a veneer covered wood and make your vivarium out of that. Veneer is great to work with because you can get it in many types of wood and then there are many different ways to stain and finish it to match your furniture.

If you are looking for a more natural wood finish then do not use plywood. Plywood is just a "hodge podge" of woods that have been glued and pressed together. This makes it very difficult to finish because of all the adhesive properties in it.

Melamine is a great product to work with because it doesn't need to be finished and cuts easily. You can get melamine in different colors and fake wood grains. With that said, the wood grains are harder to find. Most stores will only carry white or tan.

Good luck....

 

[jollygeoff]

It's not so much a question of what I am capable of working with, I won't be building it myself - my brother in law is a carpenter and is bloody excellent at all carpentry type stuff.

The question is more: Is there any reason I shouldn't use solid wood?

 

[hartungs]

I can't think of any reason not to use solid wood, as long as you seal it properly. I would hate to have a nice vivarium built and have the wood warp or rott out because of water, poo, or anything else that may possibly spill in there.

 

[jollygeoff]

Thanks for that - ok - lets say I am going to use solid wood, which one is best for the purpose - and what method of sealing it would people recommend?