2 bay enclosure

[beardy_boy99]

Hey everyone,
Me and my dad want to build a 2 bay enclosure for my blue tongue and beardie, because i am going to use the beardies tank for a stumpy.
Anyway i would like to know an approx price to build a 4 (L)x 2 (D)x 4(H) melamine enclosure, excluding vents, including 2 pieces of 4x2(H) sliding glass and tracks.
Also, i plan on putting mesh on the top, to place my beardies UV and heat on, and screw the UV and drill a hole in the back of the enclosure and drop the heat lamp in for my blue tongue, do you think this will work?
CHeers and thanks heaps
Dylan

 

[slacker]

I bought enough HMR melamine from Bunnings to build two double-bank 4x2x2 enclosures with for about $140 as I recall, with some melamine left over. Just in case that's not clear, that's four enclosures, but only TWO separate units. Glass for one double-bank has been quoted at $84, but I haven't shopped around yet.

You'd probably be better off going somewhere a little more expensive and having the HMR cut to size, however. Bunnings won't do a good job and most people wouldn't have the best equipment for the job at home.

You can drill a hole in the back of the enclosures with a holesaw of appropriate diameter, and then use cable ducts to pass the plug through and keep it secure so your animals can't escape.

I hope that made sense ;-)

 

[beardy_boy99]

thanks aspidites, always there to help
my only problem with the glass is because theres 2 enclosures, when i open the door they both will open, so theres like a chance 1 will get out, if you know what i mean, so i thought i would need 2 pieces cut to size?
Cheers

 

[slacker]

Sorry, missed the part about glass tracks.

I think the tracks for mine were about $18 each, from Bunnings. I'd suggest you get two sets of tracks, one for each of the enclosures, and then get four pieces of glass cut--two for each enclosure. This way you can open each of them separately. Only additional cost is that of the extra tracks, but I think it's more than worth it!

 

[beardy_boy99]

ok so i have 2 buy 2 tracks, 1 for each enclosure and 2 2x2 pieces of glass that i can open seperately? can you give an approx price for 2 tracks, the glass and the wood together?
thanks aspidites!
Dylan

 

[slacker]

I'm assuming you're doing what I'm doing: a double bank, each enclosure 4 x 2 x 2? If so.... here's some rough figures:

$150 - HMR, cut to size
$36 - Glass tracks
$84 - Glass, cut to size (rough figure, quoted from one place only, I haven't shopped around)
$9 - Cable ducts
$8 - Liquid nails to glue the glass tracks down
$8 - Sealant to seal the edges

The price on the HMR is very rough. I bought enough for twice what you're needing and paid $140, but that was from Bunnings and is a lot cheaper there than other places I've found. As I said before though, the problem with Bunnings is that they can't cut accurately, and the saws they use screw up the melamine on the edges where the cuts are made. You might be able to find a better price by buying the HMR from Bunnings and going to some board cutters, but maybe not.

You'll need a table saw and a scribe to cut melamine properly yourself at home, which most people won't have. Luckily for me, my uncle had one, so got him to cut all mine down to size. If you don't have one of these, there ARE other methods of getting a good cut, but I haven't tried them and I'd probably prefer to just get it cut properly in the first place.

Add to that the cost of your wiring and anything else you need, of course ;-)

 

[slacker]

Sorry, forgot to add the total, which is $295, based on those figures.

 

[slacker]

And I forgot to add... you'll need to buy some melamine edging for the edges, otherwise it'll look pretty average.

I think 30m rolls might be about $30 from Bunnings off the top of my head.

So yeah... make that $325

I also bought some light cages, ceramic fittings and wiring all in one from the Valley Reptile Supplies for about $42 each, which saves you the trouble of getting a sparky or illegally wiring your own.

It all adds up pretty quickly and at the end of it, you have to ask yourself, would it have worked out that much more expensive to just buy one and save yourself all the time and effort? Remembering that time is money, it can be a costly activity, especially if you make any bad mistakes!

 

[Rocky]

about 3 hours ago, i came home from buying the exact amount of melamine you would need, it cost me $65 from a timber store.

 

[Rocky]

i got a 3 meter track for 5 dollers from the same timber shop, dont go to bunnings, they x every thing by 3 and sell it to you.