building own pvc enclosure

ive been considering getting a PVC enclosure for any of my animals really and was wondering if itd be logical/worth it to build one on my own? itd be a few months from now before i have the money anyways but im just looking into it. itd be pointless to build one for my hoggie considering how small shes gonna be anyways

If you have building experience go for it. I wouldn’t build one for a hoggie though lol. What other animals do you have that could use a pvc cage?


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PVC can be expensive. If you have the tools already and access to a cheap glass company that can cut you glass panels or if you can get decent acrylic instead you can do it for a a decent cost but it would require access to adequate materials and tools.

SDA said exactly what I was thinking: Better find your source of PVC before starting the project. I work in manufacturing already and could not find ANY company that offers CDPVC (the type that animal plastics uses) for less than $200 for a 1/2" thick 4'x8' sheet (plus freight shipping). I went through this SAME exact thought process before buying my cages though, and I called numerous material providers with no luck. If you can find a company that sells affordable PVC sheets, go for it but after several days of phonecalling numerous material companies with good reputations, I was finding that it is very hard to find and it's expensive when you do. I ended up buying Animal plastics cages.

Good luck.

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Originally Posted by dylan815

If you have building experience go for it. I wouldn’t build one for a hoggie though lol. What other animals do you have that could use a pvc cage?


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i know, itd be pointless for a hoggie. i still might build her a 20 long replica out of wood cause i like the looks better.. i have a bearded dragon and a redfoot tortoise! itd probably be for my bearded dragon as my redfoot is going outside full time this summer. this is my current beardie tank: https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...2e7bb295fc.jpg id use the same design but smaller if i built one for my hoggie.

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Originally Posted by KevinK

SDA said exactly what I was thinking: Better find your source of PVC before starting the project. I work in manufacturing already and could not find ANY company that offers CDPVC (the type that animal plastics uses) for less than $200 for a 1/2" thick 4'x8' sheet (plus freight shipping). I went through this SAME exact thought process before buying my cages though, and I called numerous material providers with no luck. If you can find a company that sells affordable PVC sheets, go for it but after several days of phonecalling numerous material companies with good reputations, I was finding that it is very hard to find and it's expensive when you do. I ended up buying Animal plastics cages.

Good luck.

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yeah i was coming to realize the shipping is what kills ya! i do have all the tools though as ive built tanks out of wood before. just wish i had a router.. makes everything look 10x nicer. just going through Animal plastics and reptile basics kinda sucks though due to how long the wait times are.


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To put it in perspective, I have free access to $120,000 modern Haas cnc mills and a $10,000 seat of Mastercam programming software and I couldn't find any reason to build my own with the costs of pvc I was getting. However, you could use plywood and coat the entire inside of the enclosure in epoxy resin....you would never have water problems if you did it this way.

With all the construction time, hardware costs and everything else considered though I just found it to be easier to order from AP.

Building vs buying always come down to a few things

Price building your own being cheaper

Your skills

How you value your time


When I first started I build everything myself those days I realize that the saving is not worth my time and the trouble.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KevinK

To put it in perspective, I have free access to $120,000 modern Haas cnc mills and a $10,000 seat of Mastercam programming software and I couldn't find any reason to build my own with the costs of pvc I was getting. However, you could use plywood and coat the entire inside of the enclosure in epoxy resin....you would never have water problems if you did it this way.

With all the construction time, hardware costs and everything else considered though I just found it to be easier to order from AP.

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That’s what I did for my rack, only I used ¾” cabinet grade oak plywood and waterproofed it with primer and deck paint. Stronger than pvc, almost as water proof, but very heavy.
A LOT cheaper, the shipping costs for pvc sheets is crazy, and I refuse to use melamine as it gets ruined eventually with moisture.


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Originally Posted by Godzilla78

That’s what I did for my rack, only I used ¾” cabinet grade oak plywood and waterproofed it with primer and deck paint. Stronger than pvc, almost as water proof, but very heavy.
A LOT cheaper, the shipping costs for pvc sheets is crazy, and I refuse to use melamine as it gets ruined eventually with moisture.


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yeah ive built 4 wood enclosures now, theyre just extremely heavy and a giant pain sometimes. waterproofing im not too worried about, i use this stuff called “drylok”


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