Seal moisture barrier?

[isdrake]

We are currently building a 3 m (10 feet) x 1,5 m (5 feet) enclosure. We are soon going to seal the inside so it can resist water. But we are having a little problem choosing the material for the floor since Tegus have large claws.

What did you use? Advantages? Disadvantages?
What do you think it the best to use?

One of the problems is that the enclosure must be able to break apart. So we can't use anything that will destroy the plywood. We are however willing to sacrifice the plywood used on the floor and make a new one if it's necessary. But I don't want to build a completely new if we move.

 

[dolliextc]

we used melamine for the floor, and sealed the insides with polyurithane. Now, we haven't actually put the tegus in there yet, but we sealed the cracks with caulking so it should be "waterproof" (the poly. is supposed to be for indoor or OUTDOOR use, so we thought it'd be good). we used melamine, because it's like a countertop material. hopefully it works out! all we did was "wedge" all of the pieces together, then sealed it. the caulking would be the only real loss if you disassembled it.

 

[Toby_H]

I used Drylock directly on the lumber and plywood to seal mine... at almost 2 years old it is still 100% water tight...

I do accept that if an adult Tegu decided it wanted to "dig a hole" throught the Drylock he/she could scratch holes through it... but at a little over 3' my girl still hasn't done any damage to it at all.

On the larger cage I am planning I will likely use Drylock on the full interior and then use floor tiles in addition on the bottom.

There are a lot of materials that can be used as "caulk" some of which I would personally not be willing to use in an animals enclosure. I suggest doing a bit of reseach prior to picking one. (For reference I use GE Silicone I for both aquarium and terrariums and can vouche it is completely safe).

 

[rmzsuzuki89]

Is there a DryLock that is for wood? I went to HD looking for it, but all the DryLock was for masonry. I talked to one of the workers, and he said that ChoiseAire, or something like that, would work well. I guess it is a drywall primer/sealer for indoor use.

 

[Toby_H]

Drylock is intended to be used on masonry according to the manufacturer... but I've used it on wood for several projects and am very pleased with the results...

Most wood "sealers" are only meant to prevent humidity from penetrating, not actually holding back water.

There are a number of two part epoxies that could work but when doing comparitive research I couldn't find one close to the price range of Drylock that came as highly recomended.

 

[rmzsuzuki89]

How were the fumes with the Drylock, how long did you let it air out?...The fact that it has worked for you encourages me to use it, just wanna make sure I get all the facts straight.

 

[Toby_H]

When using it in wood (ply or lumber), just make the first coat real thin. This gives the second thicker coat something nice to bite into...

The odor isn't bad at all. No worse than latex paint. I'm at the tail end of a project making terrariums (50 gal & 75 gal) and have been using it to coat tons of styrofoam. I use it in an unventilated basement with no issues at all. And I don't play games with fumes, I've learned that lesson...

Also note, I use the latex version of Drylock. I've never personally used the oil version so I cannot comment on it... though I've talked to people who suggest it works about the same. I just avoid oil based stuff when water base is available...


I like it because it gives a "concrete" like finish as opposed to a smooth or plastic like finish. I wouldn't trust anything with a rubber like finish with Tegu claws.

I talked to someone who used it to coat a plywood DIY fish tank that said after about 3 years the Drylock started flaking off in the middle of the sheets of ply. He said he believed this was because his first coat was way to thick.

He also pointed out it was only on the large uninterupted full sheets of ply that were fully submerged for years that it flaked. The smaller boards under the same conditions did not flake.

For reference, I plan on using Drylock on lumber/ply to make my built in water dish for my new enclosure.


Drylock certainly isn't the only option available... but it's the one I went with and it's worked very well for me and I plan to continue using it... Don't let me over sell anyone on it, but I'll be glad to share my experience on it as well as what I've heard from others...

 

[rmzsuzuki89]

Thanks for the info. I'm probably gonna head to HD to get some now for my beardies enclosure now...I'm glad you mentioned the latex/water based part as well lol.