# new animal room!!!



## shiprat (Mar 16, 2009)

I'm excited, going to convert half of my garage for an animal room. Just run the electrics in there asnd have lighting at the moment. Going to use an oil filled radiator to keep the room at room temp!

Then going to build a snake rack and a viv stack! can't wait. Then when i'm back off my holidays i should be able to buy some babies!!

I can move all my rats in there to.

thought i would share the excitement!

:2thumb:


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## reptilefever (Mar 6, 2009)

what sort of garage is it because garages are notoriously hard to keep warm my freind had problems with this a while ago he had to seal up the whole garage and it ended up costing alot of money to convert but his garage is quit old tho :2thumb:


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## geckogirl85 (Oct 18, 2008)

ooooh sounds fun!! i have a reptile room. did have two bedrooms, now have one haha


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## Jim2109 (Mar 30, 2009)

reptilefever said:


> what sort of garage is it because garages are notoriously hard to keep warm my freind had problems with this a while ago he had to seal up the whole garage and it ended up costing alot of money to convert but his garage is quit old tho :2thumb:


they tend to be bare breeze blocks with a thin steel door that has no seals around it. they are essentially very similar every other room in the house, they just arent 'finished' to the same standard

if you were to paint all of the breeze blocks to seal them, attach wood battening to all of the walls, and then attach plasterboard to the battens with loft insulation behind them then youd have insulation as good as any other room in the house (if not better). carpet the floor, back the door with something more insulating, and fit weather strips around it to keep the draft out. that should result in a pretty warm room then with adequate heating in it 

you could probably do it for £300-400 in materials and a weekends labour. the insulation would pay for itself after a few electric bills compared to the electric youd use keeping a non-insulated garage warm in an English winter!!


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## reptilefever (Mar 6, 2009)

Jim2109 said:


> they tend to be bare breeze blocks with a thin steel door that has no seals around it. they are essentially very similar every other room in the house, they just arent 'finished' to the same standard
> 
> if you were to paint all of the breeze blocks to seal them, attach wood battening to all of the walls, and then attach plasterboard to the battens with loft insulation behind them then youd have insulation as good as any other room in the house (if not better). carpet the floor, back the door with something more insulating, and fit weather strips around it to keep the draft out. that should result in a pretty warm room then with adequate heating in it
> 
> you could probably do it for £300-400 in materials and a weekends labour. the insulation would pay for itself after a few electric bills compared to the electric youd use keeping a non-insulated garage warm in an English winter!!


as i said expensive, you basicly confirmed it as expensive and elaborated so why qoute my post?


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## Jim2109 (Mar 30, 2009)

reptilefever said:


> as i said expensive, you basicly confirmed it as expensive and elaborated so why qoute my post?


guess it depends on your definition of expensive. £300 is pretty cheap IMO, weeks wages for most people, if that. theres no harm in expanding on some of the more specific things that would need doing, so many people on this forum are just so uptight, you cant even quote them and expand on what they have said without someone getting the ar*e about it.

it depends on how serious you are about your hobby i suppose as to how much money you spend on it and what is defined as expensive. if i had a load of reptiles that i needed to create a dedicated space for, a few hundred quid on making a garage more suitable wouldnt be much in the grand scheme of things. a couple of decent vivs cost that much. ive got about a grand budgeted for my water dragon build once everything is factored in. electronics make up a fair whack of that.


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## Khonsu (May 20, 2009)

Good luck with it. Just done the same, rock wool insulated walls & overboarded with plywood plus celotex & chipboard on floor, I've also put an insulated stud wall to seperate from door. Oil fired rad a good idea though, might add that in colder times.


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## shiprat (Mar 16, 2009)

Hi,

the garage is seperate to the house, it is no breezebock, its an old solid concrete structure with a layer of concrete pebble dash stuff all over it. 

It holds heat really well, and of course any reps in there would have there own heat source. Even in the winter it stays pretty mild in there and the oil filled radiator is set to 20 degrees and hardly uses any power.

I am going to insulate the windows and roof. 

I am still clearing out at the moment. It was used as a dumping ground really for the last few years.


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## paddy (Oct 3, 2008)

Hi shiprat i coverted my garage last year i insulated the ceiling and walls with loft insulation and the plaster board, on the ceiling i put cargo net for affect and i have to say it looks cool. i put some carpet tiles on the floor to keep the heat in and i am havin a radiator fitted on the wall extended from my kitchen rads which will keep the heat in even better. i have my first winter in there and did struggle a bit to keep temps right but it looks fantastic and i am sorting the heat with the rad. 










crap pic but you get the ideai think

good luck and dont be put off its a great idea


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## sazzjaydee (Mar 20, 2009)

yeah i have a reptile room to similar to gecko girls. I have 2 bedroom ground floor flat that is now a 1 bedroom half livingroom grounf floor flat as one room is taken up by the tegu's 8ft by 3ft tank and two 4 ft tanks and the living room has most of the others in it till the Reptile room is sorted out. Good look with the garage hope it goes well


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## shiprat (Mar 16, 2009)

paddy , that looks great m8, bit like mine will look i think. Cargo net is an ace effect.

i have cleared about 8ft square at the moment! but its looking good, carpet down as well(got some offcuts off someone. Need to collect rep equipment now! (and try and keep the cost of that down)


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## jinks (May 29, 2009)

good luck wiv the garage sounds like a good idea!you got me thinking now......the misses aint guna b happy!lol!oh well as long as my snakes are happy thats what counts!keep up the good work mate and keep us updated!


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## shiprat (Mar 16, 2009)

well the electrics are run in properly now. With plug sockets.

I am only going to be keeping a couple of snakes and some geckos. The rest is for my rats (breeding project).

Its bloody warm in there today like a greenhouse! had to open door and need to add a window that will open.


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## steveandval (Aug 19, 2008)

shiprat said:


> well the electrics are run in properly now. With plug sockets.
> 
> I am only going to be keeping a couple of snakes and some geckos. The rest is for my rats (breeding project).
> 
> Its bloody warm in there today like a greenhouse! had to open door and need to add a window that will open.


 wot sort of size do you want may be able to get you a freebie


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