New piece of furniture

[Troyster]

As my collection continues to grow, so does their needs including upgrading to bigger enclosures.
This is an enclosure i build out of a cheap corner tv unit i managed to come across in the classifieds.

First pic is how it looked when i got it home:
Second pic is after the old stain had been stripped off:
Third pic was taken after it had been re-stained:
Forth and fifth pics is with tracks and glass fitted:
Last pic is of the completed enclosure with new tenant already moved in:

Please feel free to comment and ask any questions you may have, constructive critism also welcomed.

 

[Umbral]

I really like it Most of my favorite reptile enclosures are converted furniture, have to love eBay.

 

[Marzzy]

You must have heaps of space in your house wish I had more space. I need more Activity space.

 

[Troyster]

Thanks guys, and yeah I have a nice garage to work out of so that helps

 

[Schnecke]

Hi Troyster - Just wanting some advice as I'm about to get cracking on converting a TV unit I bought today.

Will be using the whole space (cutting out large holes in the shelving (leaving less than 50% of the shelves and finishing them properly (and adding an extra shelf) and I love your conversion. I am unsure how I want to go about doors. I prefer the overall look of glass tracks, but as I'm keeping the top shelf as an "above heat panel basking zone" I don't think that'll work, so was considering using slimline door frames (also replacing the bottom ones) and having glass inserts (lots to think about, I'm in no rush as this will be my Jungle's life long enclosure.

ANYWAY! (lol) My question is about stripping the stain... I've always done the hard job of hand sanding and re-staining (going darker) but I was wondering if you had an easier way? A chemical stripper etc.

Ta

 

[caleb96]

You could turn the top little section into a hide by putting a hinged door on the front and then cut a hole in the floor so it can get in just a thought

 

[tyson001]

got the exact same corner unit for free a couple of months ago was going to be trousa's home but then a mate gave us a fully glassed enclosure instead so it now has the tv in it.shame because you just showed how great it can turn out.

 

[Schnecke]

You could turn the top little section into a hide by putting a hinged door on the front and then cut a hole in the floor so it can get in just a thought

All 3 sections will be accessible

I'll have large holes cut into them with branches up throughout the whole thing (the shelves will become basking areas (the top shelf will have a heat panel attached to the bottom it with another shelf put below it to form a basking hot spot but as the panel will also heat the space above, it will be the perfect warm little space

I'm thinking the best look would be to have 2 x full length glass doors with slimline timber frames (trying not to detract from the view) or sliding doors to all 3 sections. The track system means no doors frames, but the small top section would "appear" even smaller, so I think I'll do a mock up of 2 styles with cardboard and take some photo's and decide with them side-by-side (this is Moose's forever home, so I want to get it right)

 

[Fridgy]

Hi Troyster - Just wanting some advice as I'm about to get cracking on converting a TV unit I bought today.

Will be using the whole space (cutting out large holes in the shelving (leaving less than 50% of the shelves and finishing them properly (and adding an extra shelf) and I love your conversion. I am unsure how I want to go about doors. I prefer the overall look of glass tracks, but as I'm keeping the top shelf as an "above heat panel basking zone" I don't think that'll work, so was considering using slimline door frames (also replacing the bottom ones) and having glass inserts (lots to think about, I'm in no rush as this will be my Jungle's life long enclosure.

ANYWAY! (lol) My question is about stripping the stain... I've always done the hard job of hand sanding and re-staining (going darker) but I was wondering if you had an easier way? A chemical stripper etc.

Ta View attachment 263575

Have you tried an electric sander? I used to use one to do that job. Takes all the elbow gtrease out of the job

 

[Schnecke]

I have a mouse sander for the tricky bits, and access to a belt sander. I don't mind a bit of work rubbing it back, means I will take more pride in it when I'm finished

Attached is a photo of what the basic layout of the enclosure will be (please excuse my shocking excuse for graphic design!! haha)

* Blue section is extra basking shelf.
* Red section is heat panel
* Black parts are the large holes that I will cut into the shelving (retaining the shelf "skeleton" so to speak, for support and structure, and to maintain as many flat areas as possible, as Moose is a percher and a giant donut when he wants to be)

And you get the idea of what I want to do with one large branch, plus I will have other plantings and other branch fixtures as well (the main one will help support the shelf weight too)



Naturally this will be tweaked for lighting (pretty sure I want to mount the light fitting on the shelf left hand side so the light is in the main part and the top area is darker (so, back corner) which will make it fairly discrete in the big picture (the light I use throws out HEAPS of light so having it in the very corner won't be an issue)

 

[Sunnyfront]

That's the same cabinet I'm just about to start. I have taken the top shelf out for the extra 250mm and running full length sliders as mine will be for presentation in my house as a feature when the little fella grows up I'll be cutting a hole into the bottom for a hide with heat mats in there I'm going to sand mine back this week I want it really dark.

 

[Schnecke]

Yeah I want mine really dark too I'm going for a dark jarrah/mahogany stain colour (I've used it before and like the result)

I find many enclosures don't have enough surfaces for their reps to lay on (Moose seems to like "spreading out" so I want to make sure I give him enough opportunity to do so and instead of making the bottom a dark hide I'm encorporating it into the whole enclosure from the beginning.

I was considering taking some of the front shelf section out (so I can have 1 set of sliders for the top sections and one set for the bottom section, but that means cutting the shelf backwards (removing about 2cm of it, so the glass can pass over the front of it, but I think until I have a good look at it I'm undecided.

I am going to get a quote from a cabinet maker for some slimline glass framed doors (as I am currently using a display cabinet with paneled doors and I like the effect) or an almost semi-framess look for the entire front (which means no removal of and part of the fronts of the shelves (I hope I'm making sense)

The other option is removing all of the shelving and making it one large open enclosure, full height doors and installing shelving seperately (which is structurally less stable - as we live in rental accommodation I need to look at this as a factor for at least the next 5-6 years) and I've moved empty un-shelved cabinets before and it doesn't always end well.

Just trying to go for a well rounded cabinet to suit Moose the best I can....

Soooooooo many options! It's hard to know which option to take!

 

[Sunnyfront]

I just posted pics of the colour I stained mine go check it out