Building an Enclosure

[Halogen]

I'm considering building a 4ftx2ftx2ft enclosure, yet I'm not completely sure how. I know to use plywood for the walls and stuff, but what is a good material for the sliding doors? Also I have a question for the top, what is a heat resistant material that I can use to put the light on ? Or should I just try to hang it above somewhere?

[kingofnobbys]

I called in a glasier who cut some 6mm thick tempered glass to fit, drilled holes for the locks , and flame smoothed the edges (no chance of getting cut) , job was done in under 30 minutes at my home.

You could use 6mm thick clear acrylic (Perspex) sheet - will be cheap if you can get hold of an offcut, will be pricey if you have to buy a full 1.2m x 2.4m sheet.

My vivs for my 2 BTs are made from marine ply (I never bothered painting or vanishing it). I simply mounted my basking light's ceramic e27 fixtures in each viv under the lid and directly to it.... I'm only running 80W par38 incandescent spots and have not seen any evidence of charring of the timber.

[vana]

Depending on your budget, you might want to look into ordering a PVC cage with sliding glass doors. They can be customized.

[ileolai]

As mentioned you can use glass or acrylic for the doors. Acrylic tends to scratch easily, and can turn yellow over time when exposed to lots of light. The main advantage it has over glass is that it is considerably tougher and lighter. I'd go for glass, unless you can get acrylic really cheap.

If you want to keep the light outside the viv, just cut a hole in the top and cover it with some mesh. like so.

[jdheff1982]

OP, you might consider using melamine for the walls, top and bottom. Melamine has a laminate overlay on one side making clean up much easier and reducing the chance of rotting and molding of exposed wood.

I am in the planning stages of a new enclosure myself. Considering a 2x2x3 metal feeding trough. I'd inset a wooden plank into the trough and use it to hang/mount my lights and heat sources to. Then, I'd build a lid to cover the cool side.

[Halogen]

I bought an enclosure of craigslist thats fits what I need. Sliding glass doors, wood, right size. Thanks for the help everyone though!

[Scotts1au]