Anyone making and selling a proper Sulcata House California

[lightsout2184]

Hate to say it but I just don't have the time to build one right now. Every time I find one for sale on CL etc they are more like dog houses. I would love to buy one from someone in socal that makes them roughly like Toms guidelines. I almost have my new outdoor enclosure finished but the House is going to be the final part so they can still roam every where for now lol. They still use the new enclosure it just has a 5 foot opening on the side. Thank You

 

[wellington]

Have you asked Tom about making and selling one to you or are you too far from him to pick up? I would send him a pm and see if he would have the time. I know they are very heavy so you would need a few men, like four to help you load it into a truck for transport. He has made quite a few, he may be pretty fast on building them by now. I'm sure it wouldn't be cheap though, he doesn't build them cheap either, so it would last you a long time and would be worth the money.
Sorry @Tom if I put you on the spot here, but if I lived near you, well, I'd be talking to you about the same thing, for my leopards that is

 

[Tom]

I love building the boxes, I just don't have time. Like anything else, you either do it yourself, or hire someone to do it for you. There are lots of "handymen" for hire around SoCal. Should be an easy build for anyone with any carpentry skills. I'd be happy to explain the fine points to anyone building a tortoise box.

 

[Abdulla6169]

I love building the boxes, I just don't have time. Like anything else, you either do it yourself, or hire someone to do it for you. There are lots of "handymen" for hire around SoCal. Should be an easy build for anyone with any carpentry skills. I'd be happy to explain the fine points to anyone building a tortoise box.

Any idea the amount it'll cost?

 

[Tom]

Any idea the amount it'll cost?

No.

4 sheets of plywood, 2 sheets of 1.5" rigid foam insulation, a bunch of 2x2, 2x3, and 2x4s, crews, caulking, primer and paint, hinges, a latch... Then you need all the electric stuff to heat it. I'd allow $300 for the electrical stuff and $200 for the box. Then you'll need to pay the labor for your builder. Each box takes me about 12 hours to build, spread out over a week or two. Add another 4 hours for painting.

And they are not that heavy. Easy for two people to carry, especially if you remove the lid. I carried the last one into place by myself.

 

[Abdulla6169]

No.

4 sheets of plywood, 2 sheets of 1.5" rigid foam insulation, a bunch of 2x2, 2x3, and 2x4s, crews, caulking, primer and paint, hinges, a latch... Then you need all the electric stuff to heat it. I'd allow $300 for the electrical stuff and $200 for the box. Then you'll need to pay the labor for your builder. Each box takes me about 12 hours to build, spread out over a week or two. Add another 4 hours for painting.

Money... My wallet will hurt

 

[kathyth]

Maybe you could look at Craigslist, under " free". Often contractor type people will have wood, bricks, cement, etc for free. God knows what you could pick up.
Good Luck!

 

[Abdulla6169]

Maybe you could look at Craigslist, under " free". Often contractor type people will have wood, bricks, cement, etc for free. God knows what you could pick up.
Good Luck!

Craigslist isn't a hit here... people will probably throw away most unused items they don't need!

 

[kathyth]

Craigslist isn't a hit here... people will probably throw away most unused items they don't need!

Right! Forgive me.

 

[mushmouth26]

No.

4 sheets of plywood, 2 sheets of 1.5" rigid foam insulation, a bunch of 2x2, 2x3, and 2x4s, crews, caulking, primer and paint, hinges, a latch... Then you need all the electric stuff to heat it. I'd allow $300 for the electrical stuff and $200 for the box. Then you'll need to pay the labor for your builder. Each box takes me about 12 hours to build, spread out over a week or two. Add another 4 hours for painting.

And they are not that heavy. Easy for two people to carry, especially if you remove the lid. I carried the last one into place by myself.

Tom do you have a thread or plans for one of these boxes you have built? Im wanting to build one in the early fall once things start to cool down.

 

[Tom]

Several variations here:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-best-night-box-design-yet.66867/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-effective-night-box.86632/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-night-box-thread.88966/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/daisys-new-enclosure.28662/

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Tom do you have a thread or plans for one of these boxes you have built? Im wanting to build one in the early fall once things start to cool down.

Disizdalife and I have both copied Tom's boxes. We, too made step by step threads in hopes of helping others I know I had to save Tom's photos and look at them a billion times just to try and understand exactly what to do (I had no carpentry/building skills pre-torts) LOL

 

[Abdulla6169]

Disizdalife and I have both copied Tom's boxes. We, too made step by step threads in hopes of helping others I know I had to save Tom's photos and look at them a billion times just to try and understand exactly what to do (I had no carpentry/building skills pre-torts) LOL

Can you post the step by step thread, I'm very bad at building

 

[lightsout2184]

No one out there? lol

 

[Blakem]

Your best bet is to use a handyman. My dad and I built one in just a few hours. Just have some sort of blue print!


———-------------------------
(This is my signature)
Here's some great plant identification websites I use.

http://www.tlady.clara.net/TortGuide/diet.htm#plantlist

http://africantortoise.com/edible_landscaping.htm

http://m.thetortoisetable.org.uk/m/plants_19.asp

 

[lightsout2184]

Your best bet is to use a handyman. My dad and I built one in just a few hours. Just have some sort of blue print!


———-------------------------
(This is my signature)
Here's some great plant identification websites I use.

http://www.tlady.clara.net/TortGuide/diet.htm#plantlist

http://africantortoise.com/edible_landscaping.htm

http://m.thetortoisetable.org.uk/m/plants_19.asp

Yeah I know I just have tons of home projects going on.

 

[Jtort]

We're going to build a 4x3x2 house on Wednesday for our (my) leopards. This will be our first time doing this so we'll see how it goes....

 

[Levi the Leopard]

We're going to build a 4x3x2 house on Wednesday for our (my) leopards. This will be our first time doing this so we'll see how it goes....

You might as well do a 4'x4' box. You'll be glad you did.

 

[Tom]

You might as well do a 4'x4' box. You'll be glad you did.

I agree. No sense cutting that extra foot off when the lumber comes in 4x8 sheets.

 

[samsmom]

No.

4 sheets of plywood, 2 sheets of 1.5" rigid foam insulation, a bunch of 2x2, 2x3, and 2x4s, crews, caulking, primer and paint, hinges, a latch... Then you need all the electric stuff to heat it. I'd allow $300 for the electrical stuff and $200 for the box. Then you'll need to pay the labor for your builder. Each box takes me about 12 hours to build, spread out over a week or two. Add another 4 hours for painting.

And they are not that heavy. Easy for two people to carry, especially if you remove the lid. I carried the last one into place by myself.

just wanted to add that we are right at the $550.00 mark including all the electrical, building materials and paint for our 4x3x2 box and its being built with the labor of love!!!