Phil's New PVC Enclosure Build

[MarginatedMooney]

Yesterday I started working on building Phil's new enclosure. It's based on @Sterant 's sticky thread and it's going to be 6'x3'x2'.

So far, I've cut out all the pieces and sanded down the edges. Next, I'm going to attempt to glue them together with pvc glue. Fingers crossed they'll fit together and the glue holds. ?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Yesterday I started working on building Phil's new enclosure. It's based on @Sterant 's sticky thread and it's going to be 6'x3'x2'.

So far, I've cut out all the pieces and sanded down the edges. Next, I'm going to attempt to glue them together with pvc glue. Fingers crossed they'll fit together and the glue holds. ?

Those are very interesting.
Please keep the photos coming

 

[Markw84]

Yesterday I started working on building Phil's new enclosure. It's based on @Sterant 's sticky thread and it's going to be 6'x3'x2'.

So far, I've cut out all the pieces and sanded down the edges. Next, I'm going to attempt to glue them together with pvc glue. Fingers crossed they'll fit together and the glue holds. ?

Be sure you keep the bottom piece you are cementing on a very flat surface while you hold with pressure the piece you are cementing to it. When cementing long pieces together you have to be sure there is good even contact throughout the entire length. Keep it still and keep pressure on it for a few minutes. Be sure the piece is perfectly vertical to the piece it is cementing to.

 

[MarginatedMooney]

Be sure you keep the bottom piece you are cementing on a very flat surface while you hold with pressure the piece you are cementing to it. When cementing long pieces together you have to be sure there is good even contact throughout the entire length. Keep it still and keep pressure on it for a few minutes. Be sure the piece is perfectly vertical to the piece it is cementing to.

I got everything glued together today.
Thanks Mark, yeah I learned that the hard way. I got the back on with no problems but the first side failed on the first try because I didn't have it clamped down enough. I made sure everything was clamped down approprately after that and didn't have any more issues.

 

[Yvonne G]

Lookin' good!

 

[Markw84]

I got everything glued together today.
Thanks Mark, yeah I learned that the hard way. I got the back on with no problems but the first side failed on the first try because I didn't have it clamped down enough. I made sure everything was clamped down approprately after that and didn't have any more issues.

Looks good!! Helps a ton that you have the right clamps, including corner clamps and straight edge.

A good cemented joint is far stronger than screws. And with good contact along its length - totally waterproof.

Keep the progress photos coming.

 

[Mrs.Jennifer]

Yesterday I started working on building Phil's new enclosure. It's based on @Sterant 's sticky thread and it's going to be 6'x3'x2'.

So far, I've cut out all the pieces and sanded down the edges. Next, I'm going to attempt to glue them together with pvc glue. Fingers crossed they'll fit together and the glue holds. ?

My husband and father made one for my Russian tortoise last year (best birthday present EVER!!!). You can’t go wrong with an @Sterant tutorial!

 

[MarginatedMooney]

My husband and father made one for my Russian tortoise last year (best birthday present EVER!!!). You can’t go wrong with an @Sterant tutorial!

That was very nice of your husband and father! That's a great birthday present, both for you and the tortoise lol.

Yes, the tutorial and this forum in general have both been super helpful and have inspired me to do this. I have some basic woodworking skills and had most of the tools already, but I had never worked with pvc sheets or pvc glue before besides gluing pvc pipes together. So I would have been hesitant to do this without the tutorial and the other help I've received on this forum!

 

[MarginatedMooney]

Yesterday I got the internal edges and corners all caulked, got the door tracks put on, and cut the doors to the right size.

 

[Mrs.Jennifer]

Yesterday I got the internal edges and corners all caulked, got the door tracks put on, and cut the doors to the right size.

Looking good!!

 

[MarginatedMooney]

Today the build was finished! I got my LED lights mounted, the cup hooks put in for hanging my lamps, and holes drilled for all the cords.

I moved the enclosure inside and added a 65 watt incandescent bulb (in a temporary spare fixture I had). Then, I added orchid bark, a hide, and a pothos plant.

I'm planning on introducing Phil to the new enclosure slowly, over a week or so, so most of the equipment and items that will go in this enclosure are still in use in his original enclosure for now.

 

[Mrs.Jennifer]

Today the build was finished! I got my LED lights mounted, the cup hooks put in for hanging my lamps, and holes drilled for all the cords.

I moved the enclosure inside and added a 65 watt incandescent bulb (in a temporary spare fixture I had). Then, I added orchid bark, a hide, and a pothos plant.

I'm planning on introducing Phil to the new enclosure slowly, over a week or so, so most of the equipment and items that will go in this enclosure are still in use in his original enclosure for now.

How exciting! I hung plants in pots from the ”ceiling.” It helped humidity and created interest and plant cover without the threat from a little tortoise bulldozer. I hung them at different heights and it created some aesthetic interest. Just a thought…

 

[MarginatedMooney]

How exciting! I hung plants in pots from the ”ceiling.” It helped humidity and created interest and plant cover without the threat from a little tortoise bulldozer. I hung them at different heights and it created some aesthetic interest. Just a thought…

Thanks! That sounds like a good idea. I'll have to consider that.
Phil definitely is a little bulldozer. Sometimes he'll climb up into his spider plant pot, bulldoze over the spider plant, then dive off the other side. I don't think he's flipped over doing that but it scares me and I'm not sure how to fix that situation. Hanging the plant would keep him from doing that and would create more shade.

 

[dd33]

That came out great. Do you know what your total build cost was?

 

[MarginatedMooney]

Thanks, I think it turned out well!

The total cost was around $835. Definitely expensive but I felt like I was saving money by not having to pay shipping costs if I had bought an enclosure and had it shipped. It was broken down like this:

3 8'x4' 1/2" PVC sheets, $90 each from Home Depot which came out to ~$300 after tax.
Various things from Lowe's:
4'x4' 1/4" acrylic sheet used for doors, several 3" and 36" clamps, corner clamps, speed square, marine caulk, pvc glue, cup hooks, 1 1/2" drill bit, and command cable hooks, for a total of ~$330.
From Amazon: Pack of 2 2ft LED fixtures and a digital timer, total $45
6' Door tracks and handles, $100
4 24-qt bags of repti-bark from Chewy (on sale) $60. (I had a 5th bag already as well and some coco coir that I also used.)

 

[MarginatedMooney]

Phil got some time in the new enclosure today. He was very interested in roaming around and checking everything out!

 

[MarginatedMooney]

Two days ago, everything moved from the old enclosure to the new one and Phil started living in it full time. I feel like I need to get more plants because this is so much more space.
Phil adjusted to it better than I thought he might. We allowed time in the new enclosure each day and each day increased that time from the previous. It took 6 days for us to feel like he was fully comfortable in his new home. He seems to appreciate the extra roaming space and seems a bit more active.

 

[MarginatedMooney]

So, I found out the hard way that acrylic sheets warp in the presence of humidity and it makes it more difficult for them to slide on the door track when that happens.
I replaced the acrylic doors with tempered glass today and so far they seem a lot nicer.
For anyone else who is building a pvc enclosure similar to this design, I would say don't use acrylic for your doors, use tempered glass as suggested in Sterant's sticky thread.

 

[Mrs.Jennifer]

So, I found out the hard way that acrylic sheets warp in the presence of humidity and it makes it more difficult for them to slide on the door track when that happens.
I replaced the acrylic doors with tempered glass today and so far they seem a lot nicer.
For anyone else who is building a pvc enclosure similar to this design, I would say don't use acrylic for your doors, use tempered glass as suggested in Sterant's sticky thread.

I had opted for tempered glass because I wouldn’t be able to stand any scratches on acrylic doors. Glad to know there are other benefits. Well done!