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Ailurus

i am wanting to build a viv stack. i have sent off for quote, but wanted to price up and see if it was cheaper to do it myself.

however i am struggling to find large sheets of wood, i am talking big. I want 5 pieces measuring 180x45cm thats 6foot x 18inches. and wanted to make it from like one or 2 pieces of wood, so i would need pieces like 6 foot x 4 or 5 foot. I am after maple/beech/pine effect contiboard.

i priced up the wood at B&Q and made a cost of £150!! which i think is a bit too high, especially since i have not brought any glass yet, and i swear people on here have built stacks for alot cheaper than that including glass. i have priced it up with white contiboard as well, which is alot cheaper, like half the price, but doesnt look as nice imo.

anyway here is my design:

any other help or advice would be greatly appreciated
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Tom

Snakes: :Pantherophis: :Coelognathus: :Lampropeltis: :Heterodon: :Antaresia:
Lizards: :Rhacodactylus: :Pogona: :Goniurosaurus:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Ailurus27

Devon_Paul · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 9:12 pm Post subject:

Hi there Aillurus, may I be the first to respond as I am currently in the middle of building a similar stack of 5 vivs, one which is really big for my Bosc at the bottom with 4 smaller vivs and cupboard space integrated too. My advice is to avoid DIY stores for timber. Not only is the quality very poor, but they are very expensive. I got some prices from Wicks and took the quote down to my local timber yard and they knocked over £100 off of the price, including delivery. Given that they only charged me £230 for the lot, it amounted to a very big saving. I have lots left over too for making hides etc.
The other thing I would recommend is to build the vivs seperately. Although you will end up using more wood, it will be much easier when you need to move your set up for whatever reason.
Good luck though anyway,

regards, Paul.
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1.2.0 Bearded Dragons
0.0.2 Blue Tongued Skinks
1.0.0 Bosc/Savannah Monitor
0.2.0 Cats!!
∞.∞ Cockroaches - Lobsters, Dubia and Turkistans

Ailurus · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:22 pm Post subject:

hmm timber yard, thanks for the info. Do you have to treat the wood?

why would you recommend building them all seperately? i wanted like a wall of vivs lol, guess i am just getting carried away...again.

how is yours coming along?
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Tom

Snakes: :Pantherophis: :Coelognathus: :Lampropeltis: :Heterodon: :Antaresia:
Lizards: :Rhacodactylus: :Pogona: :Goniurosaurus:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Ailurus27

Devon_Paul · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:26 pm Post subject:

Hi, I said to build them separately simply in case you need to move them. Having a wall full of vivs full of substrate/logs/reps etc, they are VERY heavy. If you ever need to move them for whatever reason, ie moving house, repair or whatever, a unit such as you are proposing will be impossible to move easily. I have not treated the wood, but used MDF and then painted with a magnolia emulsion paint - B & Q currently sell a value range which is great. This will seal the wood and make it look much better than having bare wood. I used MDF, which would need to be coated in some way, which has the added advantage of being strong and cheap Very Happy

Mine are coming along nicely, I just have 2 out of the 5 to finish, which I will hopefully be doing this weekend. If I succeed then I will post some photos.
regards, Paul.
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1.2.0 Bearded Dragons
0.0.2 Blue Tongued Skinks
1.0.0 Bosc/Savannah Monitor
0.2.0 Cats!!
∞.∞ Cockroaches - Lobsters, Dubia and Turkistans

Ailurus · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:48 pm Post subject:

oh ok, if thats the only reason i may just leave it as a wall, havent decided yet tough. i appreciate the input.

pictures would be awesome.

magnolia. isn't that purple?
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Tom

Snakes: :Pantherophis: :Coelognathus: :Lampropeltis: :Heterodon: :Antaresia:
Lizards: :Rhacodactylus: :Pogona: :Goniurosaurus:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Ailurus27

Jack · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:54 pm Post subject:

its creamy whiteish
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jack
http://z3.invisionfree.com/snakechat/index.php

Stuart · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 12:14 pm Post subject:

Also bare in mind you will get a lot of heat transfer from vivs heating..unless you insulate inbetween each one..
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SteveL · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 12:44 pm Post subject:

Yes its always best to build seperate for the above reasons

Build the fronts and sides with decent materials but use cheaper materials for the rear and the bottoms and use yaught varnish to seal cheaper wood .it saves you lots of cash in the long run and also when you have to move them around it does'nt become a nightmare !
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Ailurus · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 9:00 pm Post subject:

oh thats a good idea steve, thanks. So i could use like white board for the bottoms and wood effect for sides and front. and for the back i am going to use that thin hardboard stuff, i had already decided that.

i thought of that stuart, so i thought would it work, if i put all the heaters down one side, so none of the cool ends get too hot. i was also going to run each one off a seperate thermostat. would that work. or would you still suggest building them seperate?
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Tom

Snakes: :Pantherophis: :Coelognathus: :Lampropeltis: :Heterodon: :Antaresia:
Lizards: :Rhacodactylus: :Pogona: :Goniurosaurus:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Ailurus27

Stuart · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 9:16 pm Post subject:

You will still get heat transfer mate... Confused

Personally I would place some sort of insulation between the vivs...
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