plexiglass cover sagging, tips??

[johnandjade]

hello there folks, hope we are all well! so as you can see from the pic i've got a plexiglass cover for the table, cut out for light (with a crack lol) however due to my stupid lack of thought its sagging as is only 2mm.

its only sagging at the corner where the cuts meet, any ideas on constucting a 'pillar' to support? the prob i have is i dont want to drill or glue base of table and the beam would have to be sturdy as the little bulldozer would tare down a free standing support. also would like it to look nice as will be permant untill build a new enclouser.

i was thinking of of a wide base and bury under substrate for support as fido does not burrow much?

any help would be appreciated

 

[leopard777]

what you can do is make a centre bracing

 

[johnandjade]

...maby a tube or tupperware tube idea filled with rocks for stability?

 

[johnandjade]

not sure how to do that without fixing onto table? i dont really wanna attatch any fixings as am planning on 'upcycling' when making bigger encloser.... have found a temp solution, the spray bottle lol

 

[johnandjade]

wow, bottle looks weird in pic with the light! guess the water might catch heat from light and release heat over night as well?

 

[lismar79]

I use tension rods or shower curtain rods in mine.....

 

[johnandjade]

thats a great idea,i think we have a winner! i dont want to take up floor space but couldn't think of any other way withouth fixing onto table.

 

[crimson_lotus]

I put a wooden frame on mine, doesn't sag or lift up anymore!

 

[johnandjade]

ordered a tention rod, wee cheep easy fix. thats for the ideas guy! top advice as usual .

at least i know to reinforece with a frame for next time lol, i was too hasty and never thought it through, silly boy that i am

 

[ZEROPILOT]

You could look in the phone book for a window person and have a glass custom panel made to your specifications.....It wont sag. Ever. Or get a thicker piece of plexiglass. If you put masking tape over the area that you are cutting. it will usually not crack. Supports are a band aid fix.

 

[johnandjade]

i actually have a glazer 5mins walk from my house, it was just cost factor that made me go acrlic. just tryin to modify a store bought table, cheep as possible untill can custom build our own. its the old went on pet store advice saga !

• woodchip substrate
• no cold side hide
• open top
•no mention of temps/humidity
•pellet food
•no mention of sight barriers/plants

thankfully you guys are steering us in the right direction , have addressed all these issuses, just awaiting delivery of gauges and plants. (and tenion rod to fix my silly mistake)

im actually considering printing off care sheet from here and marching to store to educated the owner, we've been lucky to find you guys here and do right by caring for oor wee fido... how many people will assume store advice is correct :/. sorry, rant over lol

 

[johnandjade]

I use tension rods or shower curtain rods in mine.....

job's a good one! thank you for the idea!

 

[Maro2Bear]

Good job mate. Keep tinkering and fixing and improving along the way. It's half the fun i think

 

[johnandjade]

cheers . yeah your right, already got so many ideas for building the upgrade lol. pinched alot of ideas from pics i've seen on here, and no doubt will need more help from you guys when it comes to it

 

[WillTort2]

i would just go to a Lowe's or any hardware store and buy a thin piece (1/4" should do) of "all thread" rod and drill opposite holes in the upper part of your frame. Then put washers and nuts on each side of the wood. This will support the plexiglass and add strength to the side walls also.

Good luck.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Also a good idea

 

[johnandjade]

definitely going to construct a framed lid for next time and have a fixed support beam, the tention rod has been in place for about a week now with no problems. quick fix granted but defo happy with results