# large sheets of wood (viv builders help please)



## Ailurus (Jun 8, 2007)

i am wanting to build a viv stack. i have sent off for quote, but wanted to price up and see if it was cheaper to do it myself. 

however i am struggling to find large sheets of wood, i am talking big. I want 5 pieces measuring 180x45cm thats 6foot x 18inches. and wanted to make it from like one or 2 pieces of wood, so i would need pieces like 6 foot x 4 or 5 foot. I am after maple/beech/pine effect contiboard. 

i priced up the wood at B&Q and made a cost of £150!! which i think is a bit too high, especially since i have not brought any glass yet, and i swear people on here have built stacks for alot cheaper than that including glass. 

anyway here is my design: 









any other help or advice would be greatly appreciated


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

people do build them cheaper but not out of coloured Contiboard as its about £20 a sheet for a 6x2.
You'd need to use sheets of wood (MDF, Marine Ply etc etc) and then stain it to get the cost down.


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## Greenphase (Feb 9, 2008)

Sorry mate i wouldnt know on the contiboard as i use MDF for all my vivs.

Looking at your design though you may have to overcome a few problems with it as you have no way of insulating each vivs heat from the others with having one sheet acting as the top of one viv and the bottom of the other.


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

It might be ok though Boa's. Looking at their pet list most would be using a heat mat (i presume) apart from the rankins which could go at the top.


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## Ailurus (Jun 8, 2007)

> people do build them cheaper but not out of coloured Contiboard as its about £20 a sheet for a 6x2.
> You'd need to use sheets of wood (MDF, Marine Ply etc etc) and then stain it to get the cost down.


but doesnt MDF look really tacky? and i don't know anything about marine ply, what does it look like? 



> Sorry mate i wouldnt know on the contiboard as i use MDF for all my vivs.
> 
> Looking at your design though you may have to overcome a few problems with it as you have no way of insulating each vivs heat from the others with having one sheet acting as the top of one viv and the bottom of the other.


err mate, thats what a viv stack is, it is so it saves on wood lol


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## Ailurus (Jun 8, 2007)

rankins isn't going in rack, the rack is going to house: 

trinkets, male corn, 2 hognoses, 2 spotted pythons, 2 cresties and a garg


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

how are you planning on heating it?


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

you could do it in MDF or even stirling board, varnish the insides with a water based varnish to seal it and make it look better and then coat the outside with iron on veneer { Vale Veneers } - iron-on veneer

the iron on veneer is pretty much how contiboard and MFC (unbranded Contiboard) is made. Chipboard with the melamine coating on it.


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## Ailurus (Jun 8, 2007)

corns, and hognoses are having heater pads on the back of the vivs, i am using hardboard as the back, which is thin and works well at letting heat through. 

trinket snakes and spotted pythons are having ceramics. trinkets are going top left so heat does not interfere with vivs above. spotted pythons are going below the 2 arboreal vivs. as they will have the geckos on, which do not go on the ground very often and will not be heated as my room is warm enough for them. any heat passed through from the viv below will not make that much of a difference. 

but please can we go back to my original question of where can i get big sheets of wood? oh and if i use marine ply, what varnish should i use?


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## Greenphase (Feb 9, 2008)

Ailurus said:


> but doesnt MDF look really tacky? and i don't know anything about marine ply, what does it look like?
> 
> 
> 
> err mate, thats what a viv stack is, it is so it saves on wood lol


Tom i know what you are getting at.Yes it saves on wood but do you really want to risk the health of your reptiles for the sake of a few quid.Trust me i have built plenty of vivs and stacks in the past and i have learnt the hard way.I was only trying to help you avoid the problems that many others have dealt with in the past


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## snickers (Aug 15, 2007)

Try a local DIY shop rather than B&Q. I found them a lot cheaper


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## Ailurus (Jun 8, 2007)

> Tom i know what you are getting at.Yes it saves on wood but do you really want to risk the health of your reptiles for the sake of a few quid.Trust me i have built plenty of vivs and stacks in the past and i have learnt the hard way.I was only trying to help you avoid the problems that many others have dealt with in the past


sorry mate, if i sounded harsh with my reply. 

what would you recommend?


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## bendaferrari (Jul 7, 2008)

Ailurus said:


> but doesnt MDF look really tacky? and i don't know anything about marine ply, what does it look like?
> 
> 
> 
> err mate, thats what a viv stack is, it is so it saves on wood lol


 
if you leave mdf plain then yes it will look tackey but you can paint it or like i am with my stack im useing patterend stickey back plastic its 4.oo for 1.5 meters - 27 in from wilkinsons


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## Ailurus (Jun 8, 2007)

oh thanks for the info mate, does it look like wood?


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## Greenphase (Feb 9, 2008)

Here are some i have built mate this is unstained MDF just varnished with 3 coats of ronseal floor varnish










The sheets are 8 foot x 4 foot and cost around £15 in B&Q


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## mangotango (Jul 7, 2008)

To be honest mate I think your being abit unrealistic in thinking you will get a stack that size for under £150. 

If you want a realwood looking viv mdf will not cut it it looks like giant cardboard tho if you decorate it (eg paint it) and it and it suits your room then great. 

For choice of realwood looking boards you have vaneered mdf (chipboard or conti board is crap especally if they get any moisture engress) which will require laquering to make it waterproof and if it gets wet it will stain and if its not thurrorly waterproof it will stain the vaneer or make it lift and it will absorb bacteria aswell also you will have to use a laquer thats good with uv light as otherwise your laquer will discolor and go yellow and flake (avoid ronseal waterbased laquer like the plague) watered down pva would work as a coating tho im unsure of it abrasion qualitys tho I cant see snakes being that bad.

You could go down the route of vaneering it yourself, which if you like contact adhesive and endless rolling to get the airbubbles out, thats if you dont end up sticking the vaneer in the wrong place and ruining the job easily done if your not used to it.

So your really left with mfmdf melamine faced mdf, its waterproof (tho it does take some skill to cut as you need to score if first or you will get chips) it wont be bothered by uv,water,poo, whatever.

Tho trade its about £20+ a sheet tho you recover that cost by not spending your next 3weeks with a paintbrush or a huge pot of glue! and you get a professional looking job if you have the tools and the skills.

Attention should be paid to jointing so mabey using tounged housing joints or biscuits unless your happy with screws hanging out with polytops on if you can get them in wood colors.

All joints should be sealed with silicone, sanitary grade would be ok for a snake viv and probably best to use clear if your not used to the stuff as its less noticable if your abit messy. 

Look for a panel supplies comapany close to you and they should stock most colors ect or a big timber merchant as they will both have the best prices. 

Dont forget you will need ventilation which you want to plan before you start cutting the stack also how you will run the cabeling for the light and heating.

And for safetys sake get laminated glass tho its more exspensive god forbid anything gos wrong atleast you wont be hospitalised for being tight! Also its a good idea to buy you viv locks first so you can measure how much lap to have in the glass,

You can get all your hardware here www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk

If you find anywhere cheaper then let me know!


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## Ailurus (Jun 8, 2007)

cheers for all the help mate. 

i didnt think it would cost less than £150, i just thought that the wood would be less than that. however looking at it, it is still a good deal even if it costs me £200 lol

i have worked out how to do ventilation. 

i have made a rack out of contiboard before and it worked well, i have spilt stuff on it and so far ahve had no problems, i am not saying you are wrong, as you sound much more experianced than me, was just pointing something out. 

what does mfmdf melamine faced mdf look like, and what companies will stock it?


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## mangotango (Jul 7, 2008)

Well Im a carpenter/joiner by trade so iv used abit of board in my time, we switched to mdf as it cuts better and doesent chip as much, anyway it look slike conti board or the mfc hat most vivs are made of tho you can get it in a variety of finishes where are you based as all the places i know are i london and essex just search online for melamine faced board or panel products


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## Ailurus (Jun 8, 2007)

i am in hertfordshire. thanks i will have a browse. 

is it like the stuff they make kitchen units out of?


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## mangotango (Jul 7, 2008)

Yea the better quality one.....


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## Ailurus (Jun 8, 2007)

oh they sell it at Wickes 
Wickes  – Timber – Melamine-Faced Chipboard Panels & Timberboard – Melamine-Faced Chipboard Panels – Furniture Panel 

thats what i made my rack out of, but i used white last time. is that what you meant? 

if so i was mistaken it was this i wanted not contiboard :$


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## mangotango (Jul 7, 2008)

yea kind of wickes are expensive though


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## Ailurus (Jun 8, 2007)

yeh they are, thanks though. shall have a look around. now i know what i am looking for.


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

Ailurus said:


> oh they sell it at Wickes
> Wickes *–*Timber*–*Melamine-Faced Chipboard Panels & Timberboard*–*Melamine-Faced Chipboard Panels*–*Furniture Panel
> 
> thats what i made my rack out of, but i used white last time. is that what you meant?
> ...


that pretty much is Contiboard. Contiboard is a brand name rather than a material.


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## Ailurus (Jun 8, 2007)

oh, well i was looking for what mangotango said, which was melanine faced chipboard, and thats what i got that came up, (which i thought was contiboard as well shhh)


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

lol, it is.. Conti is a company that make melamine faced chipboard and call it Contiboard.


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## neonlaurie (Jul 13, 2008)

I said to look for mfmdf as mfc is shit! I just got a little tired of reiterating the point


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## neonlaurie (Jul 13, 2008)

oops the misses must be logged in!


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## AndyDaDude (Oct 30, 2007)

melamine all the way!:lol2: aslong as its sealed it will be perfect for desert viv to wet viv... (within reason lol) :2thumb:


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## Ailurus (Jun 8, 2007)

ok cheers guys


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## linda60 (Jan 14, 2008)

Wickes do it,example beech 2400mmx450mmx15mm £15,they also do a white the same size for £9 which you could maybe use inside or on the back to make it a bit cheaper,they do the edging strips for £1.19 a roll.You can get plexi glass on Ebay cut to size,cheaper than glass,but I have to say I prefer the look of glass.


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## Ailurus (Jun 8, 2007)

thanks linda. do you know if wickes do bigger sheets than that?


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## DRACSAT (Apr 13, 2008)

go to some where like travis perkins they sell 8 x 4 sheets of mfc in a varity of finishes, they r about 31 quid a sheet inc vat


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## Ailurus (Jun 8, 2007)

oh ok kl. do they do wood affect, and not just white?


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## dps51 (Oct 3, 2017)

just seen your drawing it looks like my wardrobe on its side which I got from b&q for £75 
also I have heard of people using wood from second hand wardrobe which will cut down the cost of your build


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## dps51 (Oct 3, 2017)

Ailurus said:


> oh ok kl. do they do wood affect, and not just white?


just wonder how far you got in building your viv


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