What a day!

It all began at 5am, I woke early and could not get back to sleep so I thought "bugger it" I may as well get the day started. I got up and made myself a coffee and some vegemite toast, sat at computer and looked at a few things while having my breakfast. Then I packed the stuff I bought yesterday from Bunnings, my lunch and hopped on my bike and headed into work to get the build under way.

I bought some multi-purpose glue, clear silicone, hinges and the glass tracks. Not too much, glass tracks cost the most but still not much. They had white ones but they charge $3.00 more for white so I thought it wasn't worth it seeing as the tracks will be hidden behind the supports and also that the main colour of the rocks, bedding, hides and water bowl are all brown-ish.

Once I got to work I spread out my gear on one of the benches, this makes things a lot easier. It's good having so much room to move and benches to work on. Way better than doing this at home.

Then I sorted out my pieces and began constructing the table first, this was the easier thing and seeing as it was like 6am I thought it'd be best to work on the easy stuff first till I woke up more. This chose to be a wise choice as I blew 2 nails out the side of the shelves. Thankfully it was at the back so it won't be seen, though the one that went into my finger sure did hurt!

The shelves didn't take long to build, though I did stop to make myself another coffee.

Attaching the door was a bit of a pain, the screws supplied with the hinges just wouldn't hold very well in melamine, so I used some bigger ones I had that are suitable for chipboard. Doesn't look as good but are a lot stronger, hinges aren't seen so looks are not highly important, working hinges are.

Over that hurdle and the door was attached, the saw being out of calibration when I cut the other pieces meant the piece I cut for the door today was smaller than the rest of the shelves. So there is quite a large gap around it, ah well, not that big of an issue. Least it works.

I found some push open/close latches in my shed yesterday, so I decided to use these on the door. There is no need for a handle and makes a nice clean look to the outside of the door, quite snazzy too I must say!

I put one top and bottom, though picture only shows one at the bottom. That was the shelving part of the desk finished. Now to construct the rest of it.

Final product looks quite good, I am very pleased with the outcome.

With the door closed, not bad indeed!

With the calibration of the saw being out when the pieces where cut, I discovered another problem. the leg of the table was 3mm shorter than the shelving leg part. So I just stapled some 3mm MDF on the bottom.

I had some gap sealer in my shed from when I had to seal around my shower screen. This actually came in quite handy, although it wasn't needed it did however help to improve the look of the table. Seeing as it is a white product, I used it to fill the joins and make next to invisible joints, not a bad idea I must say.

Next was to start putting the vivarium together, but first I stopped for a coffee and some morning tea with the owner of my work and the guy from next door who was in lending a hand to move some racking around. Then the construction began, it started off quickly but soon slowed down as it got a little trickier. Above you can see the little rubber stick on feet I put on to prevent it sliding in the table.

Ah, attaching the front supports, this was a little on the tricky side as I only had one side attached. The other is being left off till the rock wall is complete so I have access to install it with ease then the side will be attached.

Front and front side supports done and I clamped the side on till the glue set and for a little added stability while I was working on the rest of it.

I used clear silicone to run around the inside of the vivarium where all the pieces join, this will ensure a water tight seal and stop any moisture getting into the wood and causing any swelling

Next I glued and clamped the glass tracks into place and left them to set while I went and had some lunch and more coffee.

I measured up the positioning of the heat lamp, marked and drilled the holes to attached it and then drilled the hole where the cord will go through the back and into the thermostat plug.

I did the same for the heat cord and adapter.

Also the fogger.

Then I measured, marked and cut out holes for the vents, I was originally going to use a jigsaw and cut them rectangular but I had my hole saws and thought it won't make that much of a difference to the ventilation and it was a lot easier and quicker just using the hole saw.

By this stage the glue had set on the glass tracks, so I marked, nailed and screwed the inside supports into place. This will ensure the glass will not come out, none of the bedding will get into the tracks and just neatens up the whole thing. Practical and cosmetic, things are going well but time is slipping away.

Attaching the back was simple and quick and brought me to the final stage, I siliconed up the joins at the back and on the rear front supports, gave it a quick clean out and packed up my stuff.

The owner let me borrow the work ute, I loaded my stuff, the table and vivarium into the back and headed for home. I dropped them off into my carport then headed back to work to get my bike. Once home I moved them into my shed.

I did start on the rock wall, got a few pictures but I figured I would leave that for another post. Once I do some more I will make a post about making that, for now I think this is enough. I'm exhausted, it's been a long day and I honestly can't be bothered writing anymore.

Revised price list

(new purchases added, brackets removed as they where not used or needed)

Vents - $26.20
Cord (IEC to twin IEC) - $15.53
Cord (IEC to 240v) - $11.45
Liquid nails - $3.90
Cord holders - $4.00
Power board - $20.39
Bolts, nuts and washers - $6.98
Stick on feet - $3.98
Fogger - $38.05
Handles - $3.90
Plants - $29.90
Polystyrene - $29.00
Glass Track - $19.15
Glue - $8.95
Hinges - $1.45
Silicone - $4.97

Total - $227.80

Dramas, purchases and arrivals

Where to start, hmm... Well today I discovered the guy who runs the panel saw had not calibrated one of the guides properly and it is 2mm out, while in our job that is not really an issue as the CnC cuts things to finish size, for my build this could cause quite a drama. I remeasured some of my pieces and they are over size, I'm hoping that it should all be equal enough to not cause any issues and the vivarium and table will go together without having to cut down any of the pieces. Though I will be dry fitting it just to be certain before the final assembly. So a little drama, I'm just hoping it doesn't turn into a headache.

On the way home I stopped by the foam supplier and picked up my polystyrene sheets. Two sheets 2.4m x 1.2m, one 10mm thick and the other 20mm thick, these will be used in the construction of the fake rock wall and fogger setup. Total price was AU$29, not too bad, I could have gotten it for free if I took the time to collect scraps from people who bought electronic stuff and gotten the packaging from the boxes but the time and effort involved just made purchasing these a better option.

I guess the photo doesn't really show the size that well, my shed isn't that small though the pictures make it seem that it is. Ah well, I said the dimensions above, hopefully you use the same system we do, if not then google is your friend (oh and your country sucks and needs to get out of the dark ages)

Last but not least, my fake plants that I bought from Ebay arrived today. Leaves are a little smaller than I had thought but they are still good nonetheless, they will make a great addition to the vivarium. One was very slightly damaged but nothing worth worrying about.

Price is rising slowly lol, though hopefully not much more will need to be purchased. I still need to get a few smaller items for the construction and then there will be the glass doors, those will be the biggest cost. I am aiming for around AU$300 - $400 in the end. I was originally aiming for half that but then I decided to change the design and make it a lot more appealing to look at, ah well, in the end it will still be well below the cost of buying it and not to mention at least this way it will be to my dimensions and design to suit exactly what I want.

Updated price list:

Vents - $26.20

Cord (IEC to twin IEC) - $15.53
Cord (IEC to 240v) - $11.45
Liquid nails - $3.90
Cord holders - $4.00
Power board - $20.39Brackets - $1.70
Bolts, nuts and washers - $6.98
Stick on feet - $3.98
Fogger - $38.05
Handles - $3.90
Plants - $29.90
Polystyrene - $29.00

Total - $194.98

More arrivals.

Well the weekend is closing in and I just got some more parcels in the mail, 2 items came today. One of which I was waiting for and is needed for the build to commence, the fogger. Also the stick on handle arrived, though I don't need this for quite a while, still I'm glad it came because I discovered a slight problem.

Silly me, I didn't read the description on the item listed on Ebay, even though throughout the description of the item it was referred to as "handleS" (plural, not singular) there was only one handle, not two. It did say in small writing on the page that it was for a singular handle, I guess that is what I get for not looking for the fine print. Anyway, I ordered another today, they get posted rather quickly and the item is perfect, doesn't look no where near as bad as I thought it might. Shall look good on the glass.

Speaking of glass, I didn't get a chance to ring the glazier today, I think I might just call in there on Friday and see what is happening. Ok, back on topic, I unpacked the fogger and tested it out. Works well enough.... but... I was not aware that it sort of "spat" water upwards as well as fog, this created a little problem with the design I was going for, the container I bought is too small and I ended up with a big puddle on my bench. I tested out some various sized containers to try find a suitable one. I think I found one, an old ice cream container I had in the cupboard, though I will think on this and try a few different ideas out before settling on the final design. Ah well, this build is not running as smoothly as I had hoped but least it is keeping me busy and occupied.

I shall be picking up the polystyrene sheets on Friday and I'm hoping to put some decent time into the build on Saturday, hopefully have the desk complete and vivarium ready to move onto making the rock wall.

I've revised my price list, minus money for the fogger container seeing as it now won't be used and added in the extra cost for another handle.

Vents - $26.20
Cord (IEC to twin IEC) - $15.53
Cord (IEC to 240v) - $11.45
Liquid nails - $3.90
Cord holders - $4.00
Power board - $20.39Brackets - $1.70
Bolts, nuts and washers - $6.98
Stick on feet - $3.98
Fogger - $38.05
Handles - $3.90
Plants - $29.90

Total - $165.98

Meh!

Well seems a spanner has been thrown in the works, I've been asked to do extra over time at work, while the money will be nice, having very little time to work on my build will be rather annoying. Meh!

On a side note, my vents arrived today, hoping my fogger comes this week then I will pretty much have everything I need to start the construction except for the tracks for the glass doors. Speaking of that, the glazier was meant to get back to me yesterday about the tracks and let me know what sizes I need to adjust the doors to suit the tracks. Though I did find some in a different Bunnings store but they are to suit 5mm glass, so I might give the glazier a call tomorrow and if he hasn't gotten the tracks then I will just get a new quote in 5mm glass and just buy the tracks myself.

Hoping to do a little construction this Friday after work, probably only have time to build the desk before heading to the bank to see about a car loan. I might just stop in the glazier on the way home Friday and see what is going on, depends if I get time to ring or not. Then on Saturday I am hoping to get the vivarium constructed to the point I need and then use the work ute to get it home and hopefully pick up some polystyrene sheets which will be used to make a rock wall for the inside of the vivarium.

Oh well, would have liked to be further ahead than I am but shit happens!