Advice from members that have PVC enclosures

PSLIMO

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Thought I post an update in case anyone else Is considering using Rust-Oleum countertop paint over PVC board.

Mark wasn't kidding. That paint covered in one coat and dried rock-solid to the board. Only drawback Is that paint has a very strong odor.

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Time to add heating and lighting .
 

PSLIMO

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Thanks guy's for the kind words.

The tables almost finished, just need to add a UV tube and some plants. As far as overall temps, the lower level of my home has radiant heat in 4 separate zones and the table is in a smaller 600 sq ft utility room that has it's own zone so no problem keeping it at 80 with the rest of the house at 72. I put a RHP in the hide and a 150 watt CHE on one side and a flood on the other side. I'll put a UV tube on the flood light side. Here's a few pic's of how it turned out.

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TeamZissou

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How did you manage the PVC dust when cutting the boards? Usually for wood projects I just use a circular saw or small table saw outside and don't worry much about the dust since it's wood. I wouldn't feel awesome about generating a bunch of PVC dust and letting it blow away.

The only thing I can think of is doing it in the garage and possibly building a small tented area to contain the dust.
 

PSLIMO

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I didn't, lol.

I was asking questions at my local Home Depot about using the boards and they got a kick out of it was being used for a tortoise enclosure.

They have a large vertical table saw setup with a vacuum to cut 4 x 8 sheets for customers and cut all the boards for me. Even with the commercial set up with a vacuum there was still a good amount of very fine dust. Can't imagine the mess cutting with a circular saw at home.

I just put Shelly and her new enclosure today.

shelly10.jpg
 

TeamZissou

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I didn't, lol.

I was asking questions at my local Home Depot about using the boards and they got a kick out of it was being used for a tortoise enclosure.

They have a large vertical table saw setup with a vacuum to cut 4 x 8 sheets for customers and cut all the boards for me. Even with the commercial set up with a vacuum there was still a good amount of very fine dust. Can't imagine the mess cutting with a circular saw at home.

I just put Shelly and her new enclosure today.

View attachment 317463

I guess they have circular saws with built in dust extraction systems. This might be the way to go. @Markw84, do you use something like this?
 

PSLIMO

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Out of curiosity I looked at the Home Depot website and they actually sell the saw that they use for customers. The saw itself swivels so it can cut length wise by sliding the board on rollers at the bottom.

saw.jpg

If your only making one enclosure that saw would be a little to pricey at over $3K for a single DIY project, LOL.
 

TeamZissou

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Out of curiosity I looked at the Home Depot website and they actually sell the saw that they use for customers. The saw itself swivels so it can cut length wise by sliding the board on rollers at the bottom.

View attachment 317476

If your only making one enclosure that saw would be a little to pricey at over $3K for a single DIY project, LOL.

Wow, didn't know they sold those. haha. Looks like someone did buy it, and gave it a 5 star review!

It's basically still a circular saw with a standard dust collector port. I gather that this doesn't collect 100% of the dust, as you noted from having them cut it in the store for you.

Looking a bit on youtube, it seems that making something like this would be the simplest and most effective:


How's Shelly liking the new tub?
 

PA2019

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I have made multiple enclosures with the white PVC sheets from Home Depot. I bought a track saw to make accurate cuts and attached a shop vac to the outlet to suck up the dust, worked really well.

 

PSLIMO

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"How's Shelly liking the new tub?"

She's going through the "I HATE CHANGE" syndrome. I'm assuming she's looking for some middle ground between the hide and the basking area so I added some covered structure and I guess it worked as she found it, left to eat and returned to it.

shelly5.jpg

I also took a look at PA2019's build and I think a second story is coming when she's in her outside summer enclosure.

Like my post asked, "advise from members that have PVC enclosures" as there's no substitute for experience.

Thanks
 

Jan A

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"How's Shelly liking the new tub?"

She's going through the "I HATE CHANGE" syndrome. I'm assuming she's looking for some middle ground between the hide and the basking area so I added some covered structure and I guess it worked as she found it, left to eat and returned to it.

View attachment 317495

I also took a look at PA2019's build and I think a second story is coming when she's in her outside summer enclosure.

Like my post asked, "advise from members that have PVC enclosures" as there's no substitute for experience.

Thanks
That's such a cute picture..."as long as my head is covered, no one will be able to see me" logic at work.
 

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