Pretty proud of my build

[damo77]

Finally got my Bredli moved in today. I am really happy with this enclosure build. Its my second build and i am lovin the huge glass door. Bit of a PITA making the frame for it and it was a bit of a worry dealing with a sheet of glass 4ft high but all went well. The enclosure itself is 1500 x 1200 and the entire cabinet stands 2200 high. The thermostat is an ebay buy and has some great features as far as timers for lights etc. Its not dimmable but I can live with that. I sprayed the entire inside of the enclosure with pond sealer so hopefully no dramas with smells staying in there. Light cage i made myself which was simple. I am going to make another and spray it with black high temp exhaust paint then bake it in the oven to cook it through. The background is grouted expanda foam.

Need to put up a big thanks and a recommendation for JP Glass at Bundamba near Ipswich. I got the glass for that enclosure and two sliding doors @ 850 x 400 for a total of $110. The guy even went back to his workshop at 6:30pm so i could pick up the glass. John at JP gave me a heap of advice and was really understanding that i knew bugger all about glass. He is recovering from the floods out here so if you have a need for glass in the area he is happy to do the small jobs. Let him know its for reptiles.
His contact details are John 3282 4444 18 Mining st Bundamba QLD. (I have no connection with this guy other than being a really happy customer).

Anyway here are a couple of pics of the enclosure and our 2yo Bredli "gugarra". Excuse the mess but a build does that to a loungeroom. Tried to go for a central Australian rock face look.

Any suggestions for the next one would be great
Cheers
Damian

 

[Tassie97]

Nice!!

 

[cagey]

Impressive... well done

 

[ejames]

very nice enclosure

 

[BigWillieStyles]

Fantastic enclosure, a million times better than those plastic boxes people keep them in!

 

[Renenet]

Nice job. The glass looks great. Did you make the frame for the glass?

 

[crosswire]

Very well done! I like it!

 

[damo77]

Nice job. The glass looks great. Did you make the frame for the glass?

Yup and it was a pain. worth the effort though.

I was contacted by a member who asked me how i went about the build. He suggested i post the reply i sent him so here it is
Cheers Timm

I made the background by using expanda foam and just basically spraying it on. Let it dry overnight then i cut away about 80% of it and ended up with a foam version of what you see. After that i used terracotta and brown tile grout from bunnings. If you want a red look like i wanted only use a tiny bit of brown. I plastered it on fairly thick with my hands while wearing rubber gloves. I then used a cheap painters brush to rough up the surface to give it texture. After it had all dried i mixed up some plain kids acrylic paint to a reddy brown and dabbed it on sparingly (for a bit of contrast on the rock). Then i wiped most of it off with a wet cloth. To make the dirt looking stuff I rubbed a thick coat of black silicone where i wanted dirt then used coir that you can get from bunnings. It comes in a dehydrated brick that needs to be put in a bit of water to rehydrate. Before you can use it though you need to dry it completely so I laid it out on tarp in the hot sun for a couple of hours. Basically tip the coir on and pat it on to the silicone. Thats about it. By the time i was finished i was over it but now that i look at it I am bloody happy

None of this is ground breaking stuff. I picked up most of the techniques from forums and a few from my failures and successes.
Give me a yell if you need more info
Cheers
Damian

Sorry
Had to add this pic i just took. I installed LED step lights on either side of the enclosure for night lights. This is what i can see with no ambient light, only enclosure night lights.

 

[Marzzy]

Nice looks Great Just like a Stein = ) Id be impressed with myself.
Looks nice and Square for a large enclosure.


How'd you deal with the foam being so sticky ?

 

[damo77]

Nice looks Great Just like a Stein = ) Id be impressed with myself.
Looks nice and Square for a large enclosure.


How'd you deal with the foam being so sticky ?

I just let it set overnight. It wasnt sticky at all.

 

[hissnbits]

Awesome job well done - You should be very proud!

 

[Exotic_Doc]

Awesome build, everytime i have a go at building something it all falls apart lool. Lets just say it isnt my strong point

 

[Monitor_Keeper]

spectacular : )

 

[Chris1]

great job!!

 

[snakes123]

So you should be it looks amazing

 

[damo77]

Thanks for the positive comments. I think the whole thing fully wired with thermostat would come out at around $300. Number three is almost complete with just the wiring to do. Not as big as this one though. A corner cabinet for a young hypo bredli female if i can ever find one. After number three will be number four which is destined to house some Beardies the kids have been begging me for. If anyone knows of a cracker post about an excellent beardie enclosure build please link away.
Cheers
Damian

 

[Renenet]

If anyone knows of a cracker post about an excellent beardie enclosure build please link away.

Yes. Please.

 

[bigjoediver]

can you post a link for the thermostat you got from ebay?

 

[damo77]

can you post a link for the thermostat you got from ebay?

eBay Australia: Buy new & used fashion, electronics & home d�r

Not dimable but i have two running and have had no probs with them. The probe cord could be longer but thats the only negative so far. Yet to see if they will last the distance.

Mods if i am not allowed to post ebay links feel free to delete away.

 

[bigjoediver]

thanks, seen those before not sure if they were any good, and didn't know you could mount them the way you have. (panel mount style). Not bad value if they go the distance.

Great build by the way.