Thanks - after I get the walls done I'm going to put rigid foam in the floor and another layer of plywood before installing the horse stall mats
Planning an outdoor winter sulcata shed
- Thread starter vladimir
- Start date
Almost done insulating and sealing the walls!
Started putting up plywood, also insulating the roof sheathing (over the ventilation baffles)
This is a lot more work than building one of @Tom's 8x4 night boxes!
Started putting up plywood, also insulating the roof sheathing (over the ventilation baffles)
This is a lot more work than building one of @Tom's 8x4 night boxes!
starting at the back of the shed and moving forward, making some progress on the roof and floor
Oh the things we do for our critters!
1/2 of the inner floor is done! 
Still waiting on the electrician to wire everything up, but I'm trying to finish as much as possible without getting in the way of where the panel and wiring will be.
Still waiting on the electrician to wire everything up, but I'm trying to finish as much as possible without getting in the way of where the panel and wiring will be.
In order to get 5.5" of XPS insulation, I have to do 2" + 2" + 1.5", using spray foam around the edges to fill the gaps around each layer as I went. This led to a lot of shaving of the excess spray foam
The inner floor is 19/32 plywood, the walls are 15/32" and the plywood against the roof is 3/8"
The electrician started getting things ready today!
They ran metal conduit about 4" from the ground to keep everything tortoise safe
Here you can see where the shed builder installed 1.5" insulation + bubble foil on the underside of the floor, when they cut the hole to bring the wire in.
I need to finish the front half of the flooring, then install insulation between the ceiling joists so that they can install lights when they hook everything up.
It has been 37 days now since the shed got delivered, and Vlad is hoping I'll finish soon!
Thanks again to everyone that helped me with info and guidance ❤️
The inner floor is 19/32 plywood, the walls are 15/32" and the plywood against the roof is 3/8"
The electrician started getting things ready today!
They ran metal conduit about 4" from the ground to keep everything tortoise safe
Here you can see where the shed builder installed 1.5" insulation + bubble foil on the underside of the floor, when they cut the hole to bring the wire in.
I need to finish the front half of the flooring, then install insulation between the ceiling joists so that they can install lights when they hook everything up.
It has been 37 days now since the shed got delivered, and Vlad is hoping I'll finish soon!
Thanks again to everyone that helped me with info and guidance ❤️
@Len B how large did you (are you) going to make the door opening for Walker? I'm in the process of building a new nightbox for Charlie. His current opening is 17 inches tall by 24 inches wide. I was thinking of widening it to 30 inches. I hadn't thought to make it taller. Should I? And should I go wider than 30 inches? The problem with a bigger door is keeping the heat in. Charlie is 24 years old, somewhat over 100 pounds. The center width of his carapace is 18 inches.
I have a thread that I will find and repost to show what I did.
Charlie and Walker are some of Vlad's heroes ❤️
I ordered one of these to try to use with the large 1500w radiator:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BPC7YF1S/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
I'll report back once I get it hooked up and see how well it works.
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Did anyone paint the inside of their sheds? Trying to determine if its worthwhile to apply some primer at least before letting him move in... 🤔
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BPC7YF1S/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
I'll report back once I get it hooked up and see how well it works.
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Did anyone paint the inside of their sheds? Trying to determine if its worthwhile to apply some primer at least before letting him move in... 🤔
We didn't paint ours. It seems like it would be helpful on the floor.
I put plastic down on the floor and then horse stall mats as the main substrate for him. At this point I probably don't have time to paint before he needs to move in. If I change my mind, maybe next summer when he's sleeping in his 8x4 box I can do a paint job 
It seems I made a bit of a math mistake, I was able to return 5 sheets of insulation for some money back 😁
It seems I made a bit of a math mistake, I was able to return 5 sheets of insulation for some money back 😁
In order to reduce waste and save money, I decided to insulate some of the inside flooring using smaller pieces of XPS insulation fit together like a puzzle and foam sealed:
There's 1.5" of XPS insulation on the underside of the shed already so I'm hoping this won't make much of a difference.
Foil faced polyiso insulation in the ceiling:
Almost done the floor!
I put plastic floor underlayment down, secured with 2x4s and then the horse stall mats on top:
Vladimir wants to know when he cam move in
There's 1.5" of XPS insulation on the underside of the shed already so I'm hoping this won't make much of a difference.
Foil faced polyiso insulation in the ceiling:
Almost done the floor!
I put plastic floor underlayment down, secured with 2x4s and then the horse stall mats on top:
Vladimir wants to know when he cam move in
Wow lucky tort!
We got power to the shed a week ago, and I've been scrambling to finish up since then. Hoping to have him move in by the weekend!
I made an indoor box area for him to sleep in:
I made an indoor box area for him to sleep in:
Sorry, I'm a bit late in updating this. He moved in on October 11
Here's some more shots of finishing it up:
4" of insulation added to the door
I decided to add an additional layer of plywood under the ceiling insulation:
Main Heater:
Backup heater:
Kane Mat platform:
Vladimir exploring:
Oh yes, we got him a TV as a housewarming gift 😂
Here's some more shots of finishing it up:
4" of insulation added to the door
I decided to add an additional layer of plywood under the ceiling insulation:
Main Heater:
Backup heater:
Kane Mat platform:
Vladimir exploring:
Oh yes, we got him a TV as a housewarming gift 😂
Is he watching the Animal channel or does he like to stream?Sorry, I'm a bit late in updating this. He moved in on October 11
Here's some more shots of finishing it up:
View attachment 362767
4" of insulation added to the door
I decided to add an additional layer of plywood under the ceiling insulation:
View attachment 362768
Main Heater:
View attachment 362770
Backup heater:
View attachment 362769
Kane Mat platform:
View attachment 362771
Vladimir exploring:
View attachment 362772
Oh yes, we got him a TV as a housewarming gift 😂
View attachment 362773
He seemed to be enjoying Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
I've been trying youtube livestreams of bird feeders, I'll let you know what he thinks.
He's a very clever tortoise!He seemed to be enjoying Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
View attachment 362774
I've been trying youtube livestreams of bird feeders, I'll let you know what he thinks.
