Hey guys, this is my first build. It's a Melamine 4x2x2 with a plexiglass door front.
I have the exact measurements at my house if you need. I can also take more pics of certain parts if you want.
WHAT YOU NEED:
From Home Depot
-5 boards of Melamine 4'x2'x2'. (They come 4'x2' precut. 3/4" thick.)
-2 Sheets of Plexi glass. 36"x30" (If I can remember. I made the opening two big so I was 2in. short; I needed a 38" piece)
-Nails (Long ones, not sure how long)
-Nails 1/2" long (For the plexiglass and vents)
-2 Rolls Melamine Trim. (They are iron-on for the exposed sides)
-2 Vents
-1 PVC board 2'x8' (For the dam and bottom piece)
-Piano Door Hinge
-Locking Clasp (I forgot the name)
-16 Stick-On Tiles (For the back and sides)
-Wire Cloth (As a guard if you use a heat lamp)
-Bathroom Caulk
From Petstore
-Fluker's Clamp Lamp. (I bought the small 75w one instead of wiring for the ceramic light socket)
From Walmart
-Fluorescent Light w/housing & switch. 13"
1. Heres a pic of the vents and plexiglass I used. Don't mind the rest and my toy poodle.
2. Place the bottom 4x2 board and cut the other 4x2 board in half. Drill the sides and back into the bottom. Pre-drilling would be recommended. The more nails, the better.
3. Cut the PVC 2x8 in half to make the Liter dam. It has to be a little shorter than 4' to fit INSIDE. I nailed it from the bottom and sides with the 1/2" nails.
-Caulk the edges inside and let it dry
-You can also start sticking on the tiles if you want. Some pieces at the edges have to be cut. I filled up The back and sides.
-You can ALSO do the Melamine trim for the pieces you want which I did cause I was bored, but I suggest you wait to see which pieces you need to cover up. Place the Melamine trim on the exposed edge, start ironing it on. I used the hottest option. I pressed down with the iron and went over the trim a few times to make sure it sticks.
4. Now the tricky part..the front door frame. You can either use 4 pieces of wood and attach them or cut them out like I did. I left 2" all around except the bottom which is about 2 1/2".
After you have the door, measure and cut the plexiglass with a razor. I made the plexiglass about 1/2" larger and placed it on the outside. I cut out two separate pieces.
The 4x2 board isn't big enough to cover the whole front. That's where the other half of the PVC board comes into play.
Cut out squares on the sides for the vents. I used 2 vents. You can put in the vents now.
5. Get your Fluker's Clamp lamp, unscrew it from the shield and unscrew the wires. Remove the shield, screw it back in. Now you have your light socket.
6. I turned the enclosure with the front facing up. I placed the Door frame on top so I can measure how much of the PVC board I would need to place on the bottom. I placed the piano hinge there also so I can see how much of the PVC board I would need to cut. Once I figured that out, I let the drilled the PVC board in and let the excess hang towards the bottom and sawed it off.
I drilled in the piano hinges also. I stood the door frame up in the open position to drill in the other side of the hinge into the door frame. Now you have your door frame.
-I closed the door frame and placed the plexiglass on top. I used the 1/2" nails and drilled them the plexiglass edges into the frame. Pre-drilled would also be advised.
-I cut a circle on the top for the heat lamp socket. *What I also did was cut a hole small enough so that the threaded part of the inside piece of the heat lamp would fit but not the bottom end of it. Then I cut a wider hole on the top into half of the thickness of the melamine so that the top part of the heatsocket would sink in and screw in as if the melamine board is the new shield. Confusing..
-Buy wire cloth for a guard for the heatbulb
-I screwed in the Fluorescent light and DONE!
7. Test sizing. Here's my toy poodle and a tennis ball that I used to lure him in lol.
I DECIDED TO ADD IN ALL MY DECORATIONS AND SUCH.
CLICK HERE FOR THE PICS!
http://redtailboa.net/forums/boas/34...corations.html
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