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Which plywood should I use for my custom cage?

ToCoolTegu

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hey guys,

I was wondering if this plywood is safe and ok to use-7/16 in. x 2 ft. x 4 ft. Pine Oriented Strand Board Plywood from home depot....it will be coated with 3-4 layers of drylock.. I keep hearing its toxic but I believe Dubya said it would be safe if its plywood+coated with drylock.
 

Dubya

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ToCoolTegu said:
hey guys,

I was wondering if this plywood is safe and ok to use-7/16 in. x 2 ft. x 4 ft. Pine Oriented Strand Board Plywood from home depot....it will be coated with 3-4 layers of drylock.. I keep hearing its toxic but I believe Dubya said it would be safe if its plywood+coated with drylock.

That stuff doesn't hold screws well and it falls apart really easily. Spend a few bucks more for plywood.
 

Orion

Member
5 Year Member
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249
ToCoolTegu said:
hey guys,

I was wondering if this plywood is safe and ok to use-7/16 in. x 2 ft. x 4 ft. Pine Oriented Strand Board Plywood from home depot....it will be coated with 3-4 layers of drylock.. I keep hearing its toxic but I believe Dubya said it would be safe if its plywood+coated with drylock.

From an earlier post I made..........
I use oak 3/4 4 by 8 foot sheets. Its expensive ,45 dollars a sheet, but I plan on never building them again. The Oak is really nice and stains well. You will not need to use supports if you use 3/4. I use one sheet for the top one for the bottom and rip 2 others at 8 inches for the back and front, the 2 8 inchers go top and bottom on the front then I use one of the 8 foot sections I ripped for the back. I then use the other 8 footer I ripped and cut it in half and use it for the sides.
I also use pressure treated 2x6s, coated with Drylok before installed then once together everything gets 2 coats of Drylok, in the front to keep the glass edges away from prying claws and then use w channel to set the sliding glass in.
 

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Dubya

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ToCoolTegu said:
ok well then what about this? 15/32 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft. 3-Ply Rtd Sheathing it says it durable? [/u]

It will do, but if you use it for the bottom, you will need a few crossbeams to support it.
 

bfb345

Member
Messages
571
Orion said:
ToCoolTegu said:
hey guys,

I was wondering if this plywood is safe and ok to use-7/16 in. x 2 ft. x 4 ft. Pine Oriented Strand Board Plywood from home depot....it will be coated with 3-4 layers of drylock.. I keep hearing its toxic but I believe Dubya said it would be safe if its plywood+coated with drylock.

From an earlier post I made..........
I use oak 3/4 4 by 8 foot sheets. Its expensive ,45 dollars a sheet, but I plan on never building them again. The Oak is really nice and stains well. You will not need to use supports if you use 3/4. I use one sheet for the top one for the bottom and rip 2 others at 8 inches for the back and front, the 2 8 inchers go top and bottom on the front then I use one of the 8 foot sections I ripped for the back. I then use the other 8 footer I ripped and cut it in half and use it for the sides.
I also use pressure treated 2x6s, coated with Drylok before installed then once together everything gets 2 coats of Drylok, in the front to keep the glass edges away from prying claws and then use w channel to set the sliding glass in.
what grade is the wood you used did you get it from home depot im making one soon and the only wood they have is c-3 and people say there are voids in it so im not sure but that stuff is 45 bucks too
 

Dubya

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Use hardwood ply. Oak or birch. Sapele, okume, or meranti marine ply is best, but expect to pay $100 or more per sheet. That stuff is the best of the best. No voids at all.
 

bfb345

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571
yeah they only have that it is 3/4 thick but people have commented and said it has voids but its only 45 a sheet
 

Dubya

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bfb345 said:
yeah they only have that it is 3/4 thick but people have commented and said it has voids but its only 45 a sheet

Hardwood ply is just fine. If I had the kind of money that Chitodadon does, I would make it out of marine ply and teak with bronze hardware.
 

bfb345

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571
Yeah im just hoping that i dont cut into it and it has a huge void in the middle i have most of the money i just need a bit more i think im going with sliding glass doors they seem cheaper and easier
 

Dubya

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bfb345 said:
Yeah im just hoping that i dont cut into it and it has a huge void in the middle i have most of the money i just need a bit more i think im going with sliding glass doors they seem cheaper and easier

The tegu will throw bedding into the sliding tracks and jam them up eventually. I would go with hinges.


The voids are not huge, they are just a small spot water could enter. You must seal edges well.
 

bfb345

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571
yeah i am making them raised 8 inches from the ground i have already run into this with my current cage the hinged doors seem really complicated how do i get the glass to stay in the middle
 

Dubya

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bfb345 said:
yeah i am making them raised 8 inches from the ground i have already run into this with my current cage the hinged doors seem really complicated how do i get the glass to stay in the middle

Home depot has a cool cheap framing material. It is plastic and is found in the lumber section of Home Depot. It caps off pvc lattices. it is 3/4 wide and has a 1/4 inch slot in the middle. you can slide or tap the glass or plexiglass right into it. I think you can get it in tan, grey, or white. The 3/4" width will match with regular wooden board thickness. Use utility hinges to install.
 

Roadkill

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5 Year Member
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497
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Keep in mind you get what you pay for. Melamine being cheap, is otherwise known to most wood workers as crap. Falls apart with heat and humidity, off-gases considerable formaldehyde, corners don't seal well with silicone as silicone doesn't adhere to plastics well, has little strength, etc.

I'm sort of with Dubya on the sliding glass track. Doesn't matter how "high" you place them (unless you're thinking 3-4'), they will fill with junk kicked up by the tegus. An alternative I've used, though, with snakes and other escape artists is to orient it so that instead of a horizontal sliding action you have a vertical sliding action. Only needs one track, but the trade off is a big pane of glass you have to lift out. With windowed hinged doors, without access to a proper wood shop, it's hard to make a strong frame that will hold the window and not warp or twist out of shape. The best I've come up with over the years is to make two "picture frame" borders with the ends dado cut for strength (think Lincoln logs), the inner edge routered to accommodate the glass, and then sandwich the pane of glass between the two "picture frames". However, I have yet to try this with tegus because with their mass and sometimes propensity for whipping or charging, I've found anything less than 5mm thickness glass is just going to get busted readily, and this thickness (or greater) of glass is pretty heavy, requiring a more robust frame to support.
 

bfb345

Member
Messages
571
yeah my current cage is melamine and i dont think i am going to use it the water really gets too it lol the oak probably wont need to ever be built again im going to look up some videos on youtube and hopefully it will turn out ok
 

Tannaros

Member
Messages
153
bfb345 said:
yeah my current cage is melamine and i dont think i am going to use it the water really gets too it lol the oak probably wont need to ever be built again im going to look up some videos on youtube and hopefully it will turn out ok

One of the most simplistic cages to build is to just build a box, very literally.

If you're not having to worry about an internal framing structure with box or miter joints then you're really building just a rectangular prism, minus the front. If you're worried about construction just build an 8x4x4', that way you essentially only have to make one riot cut roughly center on one plywood sheet for the sides.

Glue and screws hold things together very well. The only thing that is more difficult to do would be doors - though you can have a glass shop sell you a track for a display case door and simplify that. Otherwise you can always use a window, or just use dual track aluminum to create them.
 

bfb345

Member
Messages
571
yeah its going to be just a rectangle cage we were just debating the doors because substrate gets in the sliding track so i am going to have to make swinging doors im sure my dad will know what to do
 

Diablo

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
344
I was about to make a thread about this but I see you already have. So I read through a lot of the posts but I only skimmed. What is a good type of wood that is easy on the budget but still looks decent and isn't just pressure treated plywood? Was 45$ a sheet the cheapest? This is the first wood project I've really done and I'm having my brother help me with it. I need to let him know what kind of wood to get.
 

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