# malamine wood?



## adam1120 (May 3, 2011)

is a good wood to use for a enclosure? do i need to put any protecter on it? need help i wanna build 8x3x3 with sliding doors how much would this total to be how much does the track cost for sliding door? gettin start this weekend most likily this weekend.


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## james.w (May 3, 2011)

Melamine is descent as long as you seal the inside seams/edges well. Once it gets moisture inside it swells like crazy. A couple other bad things about it is that it weighs a ton and chips when cut. You will not have to seal the wood other than using a quality caulk on the edges/seams.

coldbloodedcages.com has sliding track.
http://www.coldbloodedsupply.com/categories/Do%252dIt%252dYourself-Hardware-and-Cage-Parts/

I would recommend plywood and drylok to seal it.


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## adam1120 (May 3, 2011)

weights no matter ima just keep it in a single area in my room wont move it whats the best wood to do it with? i like the look of it it looks clean i want to put the sliding windows in front and two glass windows on the side to make it look nicer


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## james.w (May 3, 2011)

I would recommend plywood (furniture grade) if you don't mind spending a little extra money. You can drylok the inside whatever color you want and stain the outside. I think it will last longer than melamine and look more like a piece of furniture. I did the melamine thing and will never do it again. Plywood takes a little more time since you have to seal it, but it is much easier to work with.


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## Toby_H (May 3, 2011)

Melamine isn't easy to work with and minor flaws can have major results. I wouldn't work with it unless I had to. 

It is cheap and easy to seal the inside 100% water tight with Drylok which works well on standard Plywood. Finishing the outside leaves you with several options. Painting is quick, cheap and easy. Staining is more work and costs more, especially if you use a good polyurethane. I’ve never done it but there are any number of laminates (such as counter top) that could be used if desired. 

I stained mine. It was a lot of work and I hate staining. But I was very happy with the final result so I’m very glad I spent the time and money to do it.


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## adam1120 (May 3, 2011)

james.w said:


> I would recommend plywood (furniture grade) if you don't mind spending a little extra money. You can drylok the inside whatever color you want and stain the outside. I think it will last longer than melamine and look more like a piece of furniture. I did the melamine thing and will never do it again. Plywood takes a little more time since you have to seal it, but it is much easier to work with.



yea i might do that then i might hold off a few weeks if its mor emoney but ima get it done very soon i got a while to do it it doesnt hatch till june or july


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## james.w (May 3, 2011)

Furniture grade plywood isn't much more $ than melamine. Your extra cost would be Drylok and whatever you decide to do on the outside, stain, paint or laminate. But if you are going to paint or laminate the outside, I wouldn't buy furniture grade plywood. Get 3/4 plywood and drylok the inside and paint the outside, that is what I did.


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## adam1120 (May 3, 2011)

excatl like your i love your lol but i want the front door sliding and i want window on the side i love the black whay did you iuse? you wouldnt mind if i copyed you a bit


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## james.w (May 4, 2011)

It is just black paint. Go ahead and copy all you want. I may switch to sliding doors down the road.


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## Orion (May 4, 2011)

I have 4 cages I built from malamine and they have held up for over 20 years and still showing very little signs of wear. But like james.w said make sure your seams are sealed well.


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## adam1120 (May 4, 2011)

can you sned me pic of yours? i just want it to look nice and be comfortable in there


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## TheTeguGurl (May 4, 2011)

When we built our enclosure we use big storm windows as doors they slide open we didn't have to worry about building tracks. it works great and they lock!


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## james.w (May 4, 2011)

sarefina said:


> When we built our enclosure we use big storm windows as doors they slide open we didn't have to worry about building tracks. it works great and they lock!



Do both ends open or just one like most windows??


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## TheTeguGurl (May 4, 2011)

just one side opens up on ours, but it takes up the hole front side, you can get diff windows to make it open on both sides.. it was a cheap and easy way for us.. does its purpose


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## james.w (May 4, 2011)

I will have to look into the ones that open on both sides. With a 8' cage you need to be able to access both ends.


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## TheTeguGurl (May 4, 2011)

yes i agree..lol it works and there is no track building to worry about


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