| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| boogles |
Posted - 29/09/2011 : 12:27:23
Ive been looking into putting my product design degree to use and builind a stack for my 2.
HOWEVER...
having costed out wood from homebase/b&q i cant see how with glass and runners i could build something for cheaper than buying a vivexotic l36 flat pack for £43.50
http://www.surreypetsupplies.co.uk/vivexotic-lx36-ellmau-beech.html
i havent even looked into getting glass... the wood alone looks to be too expensive...
any thoughts?
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| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| mkmattyk |
Posted - 12/06/2012 : 14:27:00
theres a guy near me that makes them out of mdf or contiboard and they are 40quid for a 3ft one and for a extra fiver he adds a bulb holder, and he does stacks aswell for 160quid and they are all solid backed aswell |
| copey1975 |
Posted - 12/06/2012 : 13:48:25
I built these
.
The two large ones at the bottom cost £35
And the small one cost £28
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| bigJME |
Posted - 09/06/2012 : 20:17:41
My viv was cost effective. Cost me £60 for all wood, doors, runners etc.
Only thing i didnt need was varnish so saved £15. You can see my viv build in my post located in this section. It was a ~1m x 1m viv, 600mm deep, could easily be made into a 3.5' x 1.2' viv with maybe £15 extra added ontop, although involves having all the viv doors open when you do want them open. One thing i will say, when you buy runners from ebay, 6mm runners have a 8mm gap, my doors where 5mm so 4mm runners would have been plenty, i have an annoying wobble on the doors due to the gap but im hoping to stop that soon
All depends where you source your material from, smaller vivs dont seem worth it if im honest. Although for £80 ish you could make 2 small vivs, again more then buying 2 |
| a2c7 |
Posted - 09/06/2012 : 17:42:33
I think if you're going to build more than one you'll notice the cost effectiveness, for just one (if you're not building for a specific area/shape and don't mind how it looks) you're better off buying a flat pack one imo.
Having said that a lot of people enjoy building their own. If you don't have access to cheap/free supplies (good varnish alone from B&Q will set you back £15) then you'll never get it cheaper than a vivexotic. |
| danny |
Posted - 09/06/2012 : 16:45:49
I like the feet :) im in the process of building 2 one is a twin at a cost of 8 pounds all in (just under)the other is just over 3 foot at a higher cost of 13 pounds all in (just under) i shall update my topic once the twin has had one more coat of varnish and dried it takes bloody ages lol.
All in all viv building can save alot of money you just need to use your imagination :) |
| ashby_steve |
Posted - 09/06/2012 : 16:41:33
My viv build ( http://www.thecornsnake.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=23252 ) was cost effective,
spent about 105 on it all together which isn't bad for a 3 viv stack.
i commented on it what i had spent and a few people mentioned places to get things a bit cheaper
good luck! |
| danny |
Posted - 09/06/2012 : 16:35:55
i know this is and old thred but my half complete viv bulid has cost me 8 pounds so far |
| Sta~ple |
Posted - 14/10/2011 : 14:40:56
By the time you've added labour into it :P
My 3ft lx cost me £36 so XD Unless maybe you are doing a stack or buying stuff in bulk maybe not? Although if you already have wood lying about spare or anything you can convert into a viv it would be silly to not try and attempt to use that. |
| Red123 |
Posted - 07/10/2011 : 09:34:16
quote:
Originally posted by Kehhlyr
I managed to build a 36x16x16 triple viv stack for under 70 quid.
That was all the wood, the runners, the glass and the glass handles.
Don't get me wrong, it's not the tidiest looking in the world as I didn't buy any edging strips, my plan was to build one for as cheap as possible so I did miss things out.
Vents are another thing that I didn't fit, I drilled a series of holes in the back instead.
Pics? |
| Kehhlyr |
Posted - 06/10/2011 : 13:16:49
I bought a sheet of 8x4ft white melamine coated from B&Q and had them cut it into the measurements for me, I then went through the self service tills because then I didn't get charged for the extra cuts. 
The glass came from a local glaziers, was about 3 quid per section. Not toughened glass though, just standard glass with the edges stone scrubbed so they're not sharp.
The downside is that the edges of the glass can chip easily if you're not careful when putting locks on or could be broken easily if something hits them.
They are strong enough to keep in corns/kings/milk and a small retic, but I wouldn't trust the glass for anything with more muscles (boas, royals etc). |
| boogles |
Posted - 06/10/2011 : 12:39:00
whered you get the wood form for this? and the glass? |
| Kehhlyr |
Posted - 30/09/2011 : 23:50:38
I managed to build a 36x16x16 triple viv stack for under 70 quid.
That was all the wood, the runners, the glass and the glass handles.
Don't get me wrong, it's not the tidiest looking in the world as I didn't buy any edging strips, my plan was to build one for as cheap as possible so I did miss things out.
Vents are another thing that I didn't fit, I drilled a series of holes in the back instead. |
| eekamouse |
Posted - 30/09/2011 : 10:20:54
just a word on glass. i noticed the new viv we bought has plain 4mm stuff and is not toughened. when i built vivs and aquariums years ago we always had the glass toughened to BS. your local glazer will do this for you but it will double the cost with polishing as well. personally, i would always use toughened especially with children around. just something to consider and i hope its a help. |
| eekamouse |
Posted - 30/09/2011 : 10:10:42
i can see the ikea designs could be converted and might make a good starting point for building. by the time you have added glass (polished edge if you cant do it yourself), runners and sills, you have to be looking at at least £20 per 2' unit on top of the cost of the ikea base. if you were to build in bulk using 8'x4' sheet material and glass, then certainly it could become cost effective provided you have the correct tools. |
| boogles |
Posted - 30/09/2011 : 09:17:13
quote:
Originally posted by Auld Baldy
I have done both the 'cheap' DIY route and the SPS Lx36. The flatpack wins hands down.
Even with 'free' bits of board, chest of drawer carcase or book cases lying about it is a no brainer. Costs of glass, door runners, strapping for braces, adhesive, sealant, varnish. Don't expect much change out of £30. Buying the raw board, case etc immediately bumps the cost over the flatpack delivered to your door and ready to build price. This is without considering the time for collection, working and assembling everything.
Unless you have a garage or workshop there is the disruption and mess of stripping, sanding, cutting to size. The grinding of door edges which has extra charge if done at glaziers, otherwise it really messes up the kitchen sink doing it yourself, plus wet glass is slippy.
If you are not a handy-man with access to a circular saw or at least a jigsaw and workbench, expect to have to re-cut or square off squiggly cuts. Followed by reworking the dimensions. Ever seen someone trying to even up odd sized chair legs? Fine if you are happy to end up with a footstool.
I honestly wish I had just ditched the DIY idea and bought 2 Lx36 at the outset, and that was with already to hand bits and pieces, cheap salvage glass and various tubes of gunk. They would have been built up in jig time and given me more time to figure out where the heck I'm going to put them!
If you have a reason such as particular dimensions or layout then go for the DIY by all means but if it is just adding another viv to your snake estate then SPS can't be beaten. The bonus is there is enough bubble wrap to keep you amused for weeks. 
Just my 2 groats worth from experience.
This is exactly what i was thinking... ordering my 2 vivs tonight..
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| Auld Baldy |
Posted - 29/09/2011 : 22:18:03
I have done both the 'cheap' DIY route and the SPS Lx36. The flatpack wins hands down.
Even with 'free' bits of board, chest of drawer carcase or book cases lying about it is a no brainer. Costs of glass, door runners, strapping for braces, adhesive, sealant, varnish. Don't expect much change out of £30. Buying the raw board, case etc immediately bumps the cost over the flatpack delivered to your door and ready to build price. This is without considering the time for collection, working and assembling everything.
Unless you have a garage or workshop there is the disruption and mess of stripping, sanding, cutting to size. The grinding of door edges which has extra charge if done at glaziers, otherwise it really messes up the kitchen sink doing it yourself, plus wet glass is slippy.
If you are not a handy-man with access to a circular saw or at least a jigsaw and workbench, expect to have to re-cut or square off squiggly cuts. Followed by reworking the dimensions. Ever seen someone trying to even up odd sized chair legs? Fine if you are happy to end up with a footstool.
I honestly wish I had just ditched the DIY idea and bought 2 Lx36 at the outset, and that was with already to hand bits and pieces, cheap salvage glass and various tubes of gunk. They would have been built up in jig time and given me more time to figure out where the heck I'm going to put them!
If you have a reason such as particular dimensions or layout then go for the DIY by all means but if it is just adding another viv to your snake estate then SPS can't be beaten. The bonus is there is enough bubble wrap to keep you amused for weeks.
Just my 2 groats worth from experience. |
| kdlang |
Posted - 29/09/2011 : 20:15:02
I saw on another forum that Ikea Pax wardrobe carcasses have been used successfully to build viv stacks. You can buy shelves for them in packs of 2 for about £12 i think. In this way i think it is cheaper to build your own stack than to buy one but for individual vivs i don't know.
I am thinking of going along the Pax route to make my own custom built set-up |
| Kittypuss85 |
Posted - 29/09/2011 : 20:04:19
I think it can be cheaper if you are building several at once but building 1 vs buying 1 not much difference |
| mkmattyk |
Posted - 29/09/2011 : 16:48:24
heres the link of all the range
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/search/?query=besta |
| mkmattyk |
Posted - 29/09/2011 : 16:43:46
i thought of building a stack myself but the wood and everything cut to size would have cost me just short 100pounds... however ive been looking into modifying bookcases and stuff for viv stacks and so far the besta range from ikea seem to be the best option, im thinking about getting some when ive moved house, ill put a link on as soon as i get home from work |
