How to build your own wooden vivarium

[SeanEK4]

amazing write up!

i cant imagine how long that took you!

anyone who wants to self build, this it the only thread you will ever need!!

Sean

[Breadrun]

Amazing thread! I'm gonna try this very soon lol - just an idea for your next guide should you do one........a viv stack? lol

Also whats the difference between using furniture board or white board apart from the price? oh and what about sealing or is the wood safe? soz for all the questions but im a bit of a DIY novice

[Vardamir]

Definately gonna give this a go, it seems pretty idiot proof, exactly what i need

[nick gilchrist]

Originally Posted by Breadrun

Amazing thread! I'm gonna try this very soon lol - just an idea for your next guide should you do one........a viv stack? lol

Also whats the difference between using furniture board or white board apart from the price? oh and what about sealing or is the wood safe?

As far as selecting either white face or wood effect furniture board..it makes no difference. other than price. both are effectively the same thing, laminate covered chipboard.
Under normal circumstances this is effectively as water repellant as its larger version..the kitchen worktop, However i would recommend using an aquarium sealant around all the inner edges which will help in prolonging the life of the unit..as any spilt water or similar will seep into the joins and over time cause warpage of the exposed chipboard edges.

Other than that it is completely safe as it has no resins etc..i will hopefully see if i can spend some more time doing a 4ft vivstack build with 3 units in it...

[nick gilchrist]

Originally Posted by Breadrun

just an idea for your next guide should you do one........a viv stack? lol

Working on this one for you....

[Breadrun]

That looks fab, I've thought about building vivs and I'm quite good hands on so am looking to take a chalenge up and if im good I mate even start building for business (as there arent any viv builders in East Anglia (or not many anyways)

I'll be looking forward to your stack thread because I would have no idea where the support would go, It seems simple enough to build a box for a viv but as I said I would have no idea on the support issues and how to structually build it so it doesnt fall over :P

I've drawn out diagrams for a 4X2X2 viv and I'm gonna slowly buy some tools and thing I need so I can start building it in the summer (all thanks to this thread)

[badgerboy]

Exellent post, I hope it encourages more people to think about building their own.

Originally Posted by nick gilchrist

Starting with cutting a board EXACTLY 380mm wide leaving the long thin strip shown..(We will use this later)

The piece you now have should measure 2440mm x 380mm. from this cut lengthways 2x pieces EXACTLY 760mm long. then 2 x pieces EXACTLY 430mm long. there will be a tiny offcut.
Then retuning to the long strip, cut 2 x pieces EXACTLY 430mm long. the remainder is offcut surplus

Minor mistake, long strip should be cut to 2 x pieces 730mm long.
This is correct in the final list, but should be noted if someone is building it 'by the book'.
It should also be noted that these dimensions are designed for 15mm boards, some furniture boards are 18mm deep and this would lead to inaccuracies.

I'm currently building 2 x 4ftx2ftx18" for a refit of our living room/reptile house, & need to build at least 3 or four more before I think of finishing.
I recomment people have a go, it's fun and you get exactly what you want. It's not that hard, and significantly cheaper than buying ready-made, especially if (as I am) you build with MDF.
I wouldn't recommend MDF for anything other than arid type reptiles though, as even sealed properly I don't think it's as water-resistant as melamine boards. It is cheap though... £32 for the MDF to build the two I'm doing now. Sealed with watered down PVA I quite like the golden brown finish.

Steve.

[nick gilchrist]

Originally Posted by badgerboy

Exellent post, I hope it encourages more people to think about building their own.



Minor mistake, long strip should be cut to 2 x pieces 730mm long.
This is correct in the final list, but should be noted if someone is building it 'by the book'.
It should also be noted that these dimensions are designed for 15mm boards, some furniture boards are 18mm deep and this would lead to inaccuracies.


.

Thanks for spotting the error You are absolutely right...it should have said 730mm for the strips.

The board calculated on was 15mm thick as this is the only size Homebase stock. much the same with B@Q stock. but again you are correct occasionally thicker boards are sold. more especially in the white format.
thanks again.

[pearl]

SHOCK Hello Nick

[darloLee]

excellent guide mate carnt wait to get the glass in my 3ft D.I.Y viv hopefully taking your advice will avoid glass size mishaps