My Official Cabinet Build Thread

[JeepFreak81]

So I've been designing a cabinet to house two 20 gallon long tanks. After drawing and throwing alot of things away I think I came up with a design I like. Take a look and let me know what you think. Once I start building I'm going to update this thread with my progress.

Each shelf will have a drawer like a keyboard drawer that will slide out for cleaning of the tanks and taking the geckos out for playtime and such. I also am planning to add some red lighting fixtures (separate thread about that). The basic frame will be built out of 2X4's then sheathed with wainscoating. The top section will be made from 3/4 or 1" project panels. Haven't decided weather it will be painted or stained yet....paint grade panels are definetly cheaper.

Good thing I work at Lowe's....quick math in my head suggests this project will be well over $100 especially with the lighting :main_thumbsup:

Comments, suggestions, and constructive criticism is appreciated!

 

[strhunter2]

how deep will it be?

 

[strhunter2]

some thing like this?
thats the best i could do from your picture

also i would find a way to cover up the 2" gap on the bottom shelf (i think it would make it look cleaner)

for the width i went 14" giving you that extra 1" spacing on the front and back of the tank

 

[JeepFreak81]

Ya I'm planning on 16 deep, that should give me room to mount a surge protector behind the tank.....may end up trimming it with some 1" pine to cover those gaps. also the I didn't draw it that well but the gaps are there because I have drawer slides so that the shelves can slide out. Have some nice 100lb rated ball bearing slides at work that I plan to use. That's a great rendering...thanks!!!

 

[JeepFreak81]

BTW is that google sketch up?? Just downloaded that and am playing with it....very cool program

 

[strhunter2]

yes, yes it is. ive only had it for about a month so its not that hard to learn

 

[JeepFreak81]

So after playing around with Google Sketchup for a couple of hours I was able to come up with this

I like that program, can't wait to learn how to use it better! Also can't wait to get started on this cabinet project.

Anyone have any suggestions or criticisms about my design? the grey blocks below two of the shelves signify drawer slides....wasn't sure how to make them look real so just did it that way.

 

[Jusselin]

I had a cabinet made for my 40 gal...used the droor slides on it as well, best invention ever lol. So very easy for cleaning.

 

[Zeetrain]

Looks good, the only suggestion I have is to make a door on the base so you have a nice atorage area. It would be perfect to hold all your supplies and feeders and also easy access to the wiring behind the stand for heatpads and lights.

 

[theCREECH]

Cabinet below would be awesome.

Can't wait to see what you plan to do in the cages themselves. Naturalistic or easy to clean?

Tiles or paper towel. I've been working with a combination of Great stuff foam and cement. I'm loving the way it comes out. I will have to post pictures soon.

 

[JeepFreak81]

Will have to see what i can do about a door for a cabinet...not a bad idea. The tanks will be tiled with homemade hides. My wife loves building stuff with foam and grout now

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

 

[polito]

Plans for this look great, can't wait to see it when it's done!! Been trying to work with google sketch to do one of my rack i wanna build, but apparently I'm not too great with these type of things haha

 

[Laporte]

looks good, I know how you feel, I custom built my stand for a 10gallon and a 55 on top, so I'll post some pics too, I don't know if you started building or not yet, but the more ideas you have the more you'll like the end product, I hope these help.