IT IS DONE
Last night we attached the “extra bits” to hold the Perspex in place and actually I think it works really well! They’re screwed in at the top and glued with aquarium sealant and sit nicely flush. Perspex and lid went on this morning.
Perspex has a scratch on it which is going to drive me up the walls but there was no way to tell until we took the plastic off so... nothing to be done. It’s held v nicely by the brackets and can still be slipped out the top if needs be. I didn’t seal the bottom edge for this reason so hemp gets down in between which is also mildly annoying but again, nothing to be done. The felt pads stop the lid coming down hard on the Perspex and they’re also over all the screw ends because we didn’t countersink them. We really should have but we didn’t have the right drill bit. These should protect the floors anyway.
Hinges went on really well! There was a good 10 minute discussion about How Do Hinges Actually Work (again, this is two structural engineers here for goodness sake) but they fit, they are smooth and turns out I was right about how hinges work in the first place which is the important thing.
So that’s it! A week’s work, I stopped keeping track of the budget exactly but it’s around £120 I think.
Materials;
3x 1200mm Linnmon table tops
1x 1200x600x4mm Perspex sheet
2x 91x15x2400mm timber lengths
Approx 1150x500mm mesh, cut from a roll to fit
Aquarium sealant
White paint left over from the bathroom
Tools required;
Handsaw
Drill for pilot holes
Set square
Circular saw for the main cuts
Paint roller, trays etc
Sealant gun
*We really should have used an impact driver because hand screwing everything was murderous. My hands are aching and tbh my partner did most of it just by virtue of having better upper body strength. He’s a good boy.
Hardware;
10x 65mm screws for main body + 2 for the extra posts
4x 65mm L-brackets for the sides of the Perspex
7x 25mm brackets for the bottom
2x 55mm hinges
27x 25mm screws for brackets and hinges (ones that came the the hinges were too long)
A buttload of staples
And there is is with a solid 3/4 of a 140lt bag of hemp LOL. I am glad I got another one. She can be transferred over with the bedding that’s currently in her cage later this evening when she gets up!
