Super awesome diy enclosure!!!

[swan91]

OK! so i found a solid pine tv cabinet for $40!!
I want to make one HUGE enclosure split down the middle.. so it doesnt even look like a tv unit anymore.. soooooo... i sawed out all of the shelves and walls (it took ages, there are heaps of invisible nails/staples that i had to saw through with a wood saw)...
then i put swivel wheels on the bottom for maneuverability..and coz it is sooooo heavy!!
now im making the waterfall feature (styrofoam method).. just blocking in where everything is going to sit..
now exams are starting next week for uni, so i probs wont be doing much more for a while... but i thought id show you my progress and later ill upload more pics as i go..
just want peoples advice... i want to divide it into two.. but have the waterfall pool part shared between the two sides.. i was thinking aluminium mesh down the middle... or maybe perspex with a few drill holes in it for water to flow through and ventilation between the two sides.. what does everyone think? any pointers.. im planning on securing it to the back timber bit first then doing the styrofoam/grout/paint/sealent wall to secure it in..

sorry the photos are a bit blurry.. they are phone pics.. and excuse the super dirty car...lol

i forgot to say.. the bottom is going to be completly waterproof and im going to put soil/plants etc flush with the top of the waterfall pool bit.. the pump for the waterfall will be on the right and you can sorta see the circle i have drawn on the backbpard that im going to cut to run the water tube out of..so it will travel up the back of the tv unit so i can see leaks/blockages and replace easily..

 

[Twitch_80]

Fun isn't it, Im almost finished one and I have a huge tv cab sitting around, still cant decide if Im going to make another one or sell it. Def more snakes to come though.

 

[swan91]

ive already sustained two injuries.. in the two days i have worked on it.. a nail in my left heel.. and a staple in my right.. it is fun.. in a painful way..lol

 

[Jewyy95]

its gonna be a good enclosure , cant wait to see the end product. what are you doing for the doors ??

 

[Twitch_80]

lol ouch. Looks like it will be good, I used a textured paint for inside, it has sand in it and pond tite over it, fake grass on bottom. Have you sorted doors? (Im picking up glass thursday, cant wait to finish it)

 

[swan91]

well i was going to use the original little door frames but just make 2 big glass doors that shut in the middle.. i want to try to keep this all living.. no fake grass etc.. so there will be soil and plants etc.. i have pondtite and sanded and unsanded grout...

id rather one HUGE door... but it would be a bit cumbersome.. and i dont think the hinges would fare too well.. but it would look nice to have just an open glass front with no timber obstructing the view..

 

[Twitch_80]

I was thinking about one large door and the only idea I came up with was a shower screen door, they have the frame and the hinge is a bit in from one edge so they open really nicely. I ended up just going with sliding though. I was thinking about getting a shower screen door for the next one and building the enclosure to that size. The sliding doors overlap a little in the middle but dont have any frame blocking the view.

 

[swan91]

and i want to get one huge fat branch that i can drill to the right wall and extend it across the enclosure... but i dont know how to negotiate it through the division... i was thinking of cutting it in the right spot and drilling the right section to the right timber wall and the center plexiglass.. then drill the left section of the timber log to the plexyglass and then to the left side.. its hard to explain in words.. but i want to goive the illusion that it is one huge enclosure that doesnt have a division in the middle...

hmm thats a good idea too.. i assumed sliding doors would be too hard with a big enclosure like this.. french style doors would be cool! uno how they sorta zigzag and fold up...

 

[Twitch_80]

Yeah that makes sense, prob to big for one door, I just clicked that its really wide.

 

[swan91]

yea.. i think it is about 1.8meters wide.. and 1.5meters tall...lol

 

[Twitch_80]

Ah lol. You might have to put a frame, if its metal it can be quite small.

 

[swan91]

another question... is large sheets of glass expensive..? lol.. i didnt stop to think of that first!! if it is.. is plexyglass cheaper?

 

[Twitch_80]

Glass can be expensive, depends where you get it, mine was 150 for the two panels, tracks and handles. Its 1415x790 or there abouts. 6mm thick.

 

[swan91]

ouch.. where would i get cheaper glass from.. im a poor uni student lol ... and sometimes that excuse works!! i love student discounts!!!

 

[Twitch_80]

That was the least expensive I could find, rang 8 or 9 places. A few didnt do the tracks as well and were still charging more. Its pretty standard price.

 

[swan91]

is plexyglass (perspex) any cheaper?

 

[Twitch_80]

No, tends to be same or more and from what I have seen on here its not worth it, scratches and marks more.

You could mount one piece of glass over the whole front that doesnt open and cut out two doors on the sides out of the wood.

 

[bluey87]

i love seeing ppls d.i.y enclosures, put more pics of the progress

 

[Jewyy95]

im making an enclosure at school so i dont have to pay a cent for any additions im cheering, not even the glass or perspex . not sure if the school will provide glass though their abit cheap like that haha

 

[bt1vn]

hey darl perspex is 7 times stronger than glass, it could be more forgiving than a sheet of glass if pressure was applied even accidentally especially at that size but it does have its bad points, it can flex a bit anyway i had 3 pieces of perspex cut up in tullamarine for $80.00 which was for 2 doors at the front plus one side section of my enclosure which is also 6 foot wide. if you use glass i would be using something pretty thick but that will be pricey but perspex leaves fine scratches very easily. if you want the address where i got mine cut up just pm me. good luck and it definitely has potential