Cellular PVC Paneling?

PA2019

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I found some PVC paneling near me, but am unfamiliar with the differences between expanded pvc and "cellular PVC". I'm going to drive over to Home Depot tomorrow to check it out, but I was hoping someone knew of any major differences between the two. Is cellular PVC the same thing as expanded PVC, as they both contain micro air pockets instead of 100% solid PVC?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Veranda...llular-White-PVC-Panel-HDSHSM124808/301950563
 

Markw84

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Should be the same. Expanded PVC and cellular PVC are names I see referring to Expanded Closed Cell PVC.

$70 for 1/2" 4x8 sheet is less expensive than I can buy it wholesale.
 

PA2019

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Should be the same. Expanded PVC and cellular PVC are names I see referring to Expanded Closed Cell PVC.

$70 for 1/2" 4x8 sheet is less expensive than I can buy it wholesale.

Between the eternal sunshine, cheap PVC sheets, ambient humidity, and a lack of 9.3% state income tax, you might want to consider moving! Just ignore the red tides, hurricanes and gators.
 

jsheffield

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I'm leaning towards trying one of these enclosures myself ... a 4X8 sheet at my local home depot is $76.
 

Olddog

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Bought another 8 sheets last week from HD. $67.48 plus tax locally.
 

KarenSoCal

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In case it applies to anyone, I think both Lowe's and Home Depot give veterans discounts.
I know Lowe's did a couple years ago. But you have to ask for it, they don't offer.
 

PA2019

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Bought another 8 sheets last week from HD. $67.48 plus tax locally.

@Olddog how are you planning on cutting the sheets? My HD will not cut anything plastic and I don’t own a table saw. Any idea on reinforcing the front of an 8x3? I just looked at them, it’s the real deal but the material would definitely bow if several units plus substrate were stacked.
 

Tom

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Between the eternal sunshine, cheap PVC sheets, ambient humidity, and a lack of 9.3% state income tax, you might want to consider moving! Just ignore the red tides, hurricanes and gators.
That's funny. Pick your poison, so to speak...
 

Tom

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@Olddog how are you planning on cutting the sheets? My HD will not cut anything plastic and I don’t own a table saw. Any idea on reinforcing the front of an 8x3? I just looked at them, it’s the real deal but the material would definitely bow if several units plus substrate were stacked.
My Animal Plastics cages are made from 1/2 inch expanded PVC. I have them stacked 3 high with no bowing at all. Not seen in the pics, but I now have lots of heavy stuff stored on top of them too.
IMG_6600.JPG

IMG_5282.JPG
 

Markw84

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@Olddog how are you planning on cutting the sheets? My HD will not cut anything plastic and I don’t own a table saw. Any idea on reinforcing the front of an 8x3? I just looked at them, it’s the real deal but the material would definitely bow if several units plus substrate were stacked.

PVC cuts very easily. More so than wood. So it is easy to work with.

You just want to get a good, straight cut with as smooth an edge as possible. The first thing is a good saw blade. Nice and sharp with as many teeth as possible for the smoothest cut. I always use carbide-tipped blades. Of course a table saw is easiest, but I also sometimes use a circular saw when I don't have a lot to do and don't want to set up the table saw.

With a good blade - measure the offset of your blade to the edge of the saw plate. Measure to the long side so the weight of the saw is resting on the good part of the material you are cutting, not the side you are cutting off. My saw is a 5" offset.

Clamp a good straight board or other piece of PVC with a good factory edge, on your board to cut at the offset to your desired width. SO if you are cutting a 3 foot section of PVC, I would have the straight edge guide at 31". I then run my saw smoothly down the guide and a perfectly straight cut is made leaving me with a nice 36" piece.
 

PA2019

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My Animal Plastics cages are made from 1/2 inch expanded PVC. I have them stacked 3 high with no bowing at all. Not seen in the pics, but I now have lots of heavy stuff stored on top of them too.
View attachment 270495

View attachment 270496

I *think* I'm seeing bracing inside the middle of the cages Tom. Does the bracing extend front to back both horizontally and vertically within the cage? That would increase the structural integrity of each unit significantly.
 

Tom

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I *think* I'm seeing bracing inside the middle of the cages Tom. Does the bracing extend front to back both horizontally and vertically within the cage? That would increase the structural integrity of each unit significantly.
On the 8 foot caging, they say the center brace is a must to prevent bowing. On the 6 foot cages it is optional, but I went with it anyway. There is no bracing other than the center piece seen in the pic. There is no bracing in the 4 foot cages.
 

PA2019

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PVC cuts very easily. More so than wood. So it is easy to work with.

You just want to get a good, straight cut with as smooth an edge as possible. The first thing is a good saw blade. Nice and sharp with as many teeth as possible for the smoothest cut. I always use carbide-tipped blades. Of course a table saw is easiest, but I also sometimes use a circular saw when I don't have a lot to do and don't want to set up the table saw.

With a good blade - measure the offset of your blade to the edge of the saw plate. Measure to the long side so the weight of the saw is resting on the good part of the material you are cutting, not the side you are cutting off. My saw is a 5" offset.

Clamp a good straight board or other piece of PVC with a good factory edge, on your board to cut at the offset to your desired width. SO if you are cutting a 3 foot section of PVC, I would have the straight edge guide at 31". I then run my saw smoothly down the guide and a perfectly straight cut is made leaving me with a nice 36" piece.

Perfect! I can manage that no problem. I'll definitely need to upgrade the blade.
 

Olddog

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@Olddog how are you planning on cutting the sheets? My HD will not cut anything plastic and I don’t own a table saw. Any idea on reinforcing the front of an 8x3? I just looked at them, it’s the real deal but the material would definitely bow if several units plus substrate were stacked.


Hi, sorry to be slow in getting back to you. I think your questions have been answered. I use regular woodworking tools. As you have learned, HD will not cut any plastics.
The eight foot sheets are too big for me to handle by myself without denting, etc. Work got in the way last time I had help scheduled and still have to cut the eight footers. My current experience is limited to 4 foot enclosure construction.

I have used a table saw, hand saw, drill, hand jig saw, straight edges, clamps, and router. As I usually work by myself, I made templates for the door and vents. Essentially I used Tom's photos of Animal Plastic enclosures and modified for my needs. A 32 inch depth was about as wide as I could get thru a 36 inch exterior door without removing the door. Of course the deeper enclosures can be tilted for passage but are harder for me to handle. Certainly, you need the support in the front in the form of the door opening with the verticle and horizontal components in a 4 foot box and 8 foot boxes will be constructed with cross bracing to prevent potential bowing at the midpoint.

Couple of things you might find useful from my learning curve:
To get the front support/ door opening I made a template shown below. The door opening was traced on the precut sheet of material from the template and the opening was rough cut about 1/2 inch smaller. I then used 1 inch wide double sided carpet tape to attach the template shown below to the precut panel and used a router to final cut my opening.
IMG_1275.jpg IMG_1276.jpg IMG_1337.jpg


I also made template for vents which I clamp where desired and use a plunge router to cut the material.

The rabbet joints were 1/4 inch and the inserts for the front and back panels were 1/2 wide by 1/8. Suggest you use masking tape or similar to label all panels as you go indicating front back, etc. ( You can imagine why I suggest this step.)

I also constructed a stand out of scrap for a bench router table such that the router table was the same height as the table saw (upper right corner). This allowed me to utilize the table saw for supporting the panels when doing the rabbets and inserts by myself. Using the table saw as a support was a big help.

The expanded PVC routes like butter if fed slowly. On the vent holes, I had to clear the chips after the first pass to get all of the way to edges of my template.

Mounted top last after installing lights, radient heat panel, etc. Used straight template for cutting groves for cords in top.

Other info you might find useful:

Sashco Lexel Weatherproofing clear caulk sealant - 2 pack from Amazon 13.77

Plastic door glass track (for 1/4 inch or smaller) 48 inch ordered from HD ( Knape & Vogt 2417 WHT) ?

# 8 one inch SS oval head screws (two packages of 25) about $7

Glass doors cut locally $49

2 inch white desk grommet (5 pack) 6.99

Adhesive pull handles for glass doors 1 x 3 inch Amazon $5

Weld-On 705 10089, Industrial Grade, Plumbing cement (for expanded PVC) Quart $20.42 from Amazon (Glued and screwed bottom and sides to prevent leaks)


Hope this is of some assistance.
 
Last edited:

PA2019

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Hi, sorry to be slow in getting back to you. I think your questions have been answered. I use regular woodworking tools. As you have learned, HD will not cut any plastics.
The eight foot sheets are too big for me to handle by myself without denting, etc. Work got in the way last time I had help scheduled and still have to cut the eight footers. My current experience is limited to 4 foot enclosure construction.

I have used a table saw, hand saw, drill, hand jig saw, straight edges, clamps, and router. As I usually work by myself, I made templates for the door and vents. Essentially I used Tom's photos of Animal Plastic enclosures and modified for my needs. A 32 inch depth was about as wide as I could get thru a 36 inch exterior door without removing the door. Of course the deeper enclosures can be tilted for passage but are harder for me to handle. Certainly, you need the support in the front in the form of the door opening with the verticle and horizontal components in a 4 foot box and 8 foot boxes will be constructed with cross bracing to prevent potential bowing at the midpoint.

Couple of things you might find useful from my learning curve:
To get the front support/ door opening I made a template shown below. The door opening was traced on the precut sheet of material from the template and the opening was rough cut about 1/2 inch smaller. I then used 1 inch wide double sided carpet tape to attach the template shown below to the precut panel and used a router to final cut my opening.
View attachment 270597 View attachment 270599 View attachment 270598

Hope this is of some assistance.

Wow, thanks for the great information!
 

obxdevilfin

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Hi, sorry to be slow in getting back to you. I think your questions have been answered. I use regular woodworking tools. As you have learned, HD will not cut any plastics.
The eight foot sheets are too big for me to handle by myself without denting, etc. Work got in the way last time I had help scheduled and still have to cut the eight footers. My current experience is limited to 4 foot enclosure construction.

I have used a table saw, hand saw, drill, hand jig saw, straight edges, clamps, and router. As I usually work by myself, I made templates for the door and vents. Essentially I used Tom's photos of Animal Plastic enclosures and modified for my needs. A 32 inch depth was about as wide as I could get thru a 36 inch exterior door without removing the door. Of course the deeper enclosures can be tilted for passage but are harder for me to handle. Certainly, you need the support in the front in the form of the door opening with the verticle and horizontal components in a 4 foot box and 8 foot boxes will be constructed with cross bracing to prevent potential bowing at the midpoint.

Couple of things you might find useful from my learning curve:
To get the front support/ door opening I made a template shown below. The door opening was traced on the precut sheet of material from the template and the opening was rough cut about 1/2 inch smaller. I then used 1 inch wide double sided carpet tape to attach the template shown below to the precut panel and used a router to final cut my opening.
View attachment 270597 View attachment 270599 View attachment 270598


I also made template for vents which I clamp where desired and use a plunge router to cut the material.

The rabbet joints were 1/4 inch and the inserts for the front and back panels were 1/2 wide by 1/8. Suggest you use masking tape or similar to label all panels as you go indicating front back, etc. ( You can imagine why I suggest this step.)

I also constructed a stand out of scrap for a bench router table such that the router table was the same height as the table saw (upper right corner). This allowed me to utilize the table saw for supporting the panels when doing the rabbets and inserts by myself. Using the table saw as a support was a big help.

The expanded PVC routes like butter if fed slowly. On the vent holes, I had to clear the chips after the first pass to get all of the way to edges of my template.

Mounted top last after installing lights, radient heat panel, etc. Used straight template for cutting groves for cords in top.

Other info you might find useful:

Sashco Lexel Weatherproofing clear caulk sealant - 2 pack from Amazon 13.77

Plastic door glass track (for 1/4 inch or smaller) 48 inch ordered from HD ( Knape & Vogt 2417 WHT) ?

# 8 one inch SS oval head screws (two packages of 25) about $7

Glass doors cut locally $49

2 inch white desk grommet (5 pack) 6.99

Adhesive pull handles for glass doors 1 x 3 inch Amazon $5

Weld-On 705 10089, Industrial Grade, Plumbing cement (for expanded PVC) Quart $20.42 from Amazon (Glued and screwed bottom and sides to prevent leaks)


Hope this is of some assistance.
Thanks for all the information on materials used........... I haven't got a tortoise yet (Russian) as still looking at everyones' builds, preparation is the most important part of any project !!
 
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