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new cage will be half of an 11 foot octagon shaped room. I'm going to build a floor base with 2X4's and plywood and want a seemless, water tight floor. I was thinking concrete and a sealant over the plywood but there has got to be something lighter. I want to make the walls out of the stuff they use outdoors at the zoo. It looks like rock but it's hollow. I figure 4 large RHP panels mounted at an angle like a hood surrounding the floor should work for heat and 2X4 stalagtites mounted from the ceiling with lights in the ends for light. It will look like a cave eventually. Anyway, what about the floor.
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DZ

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

>>new cage will be half of an 11 foot octagon shaped room. I'm going to build a floor base with 2X4's and plywood and want a seemless, water tight floor. I was thinking concrete and a sealant over the plywood but there has got to be something lighter.

My first thought about the concrete is no. If you make it thick enough to stand on with out cracking, it would have to be reinforced with rebar, probably about 3-4 inches thick. If you made it thinner than that, it would probably crack eventually.

If you go the 2x4 route, maybe cover that with plywood and seal it. Then maybe cover that with PVC board. It's plastic. Seal the edges with a non drying type of silicone, so it has some flexibility if you walk on it. You could even use it going up the wall some.

I just reread you post and remembered the seamless part. Maybe plywood then a marine 2 part epoxy? Or maybe the type of paint that is used on garage floors? I think that it seals pretty well.
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For Sale cheap: One (1) 6' 19 yr old male. Does no house work. Has no job and will complain. Constantly.
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa-Ziggy
1.0 Creamscicle motley corn--Cozmo
0.1 Creamscicle corn--Wanda
0.0.1 Normal corn
0.1 Black Pine - Spazz
1.0 Eastern King-Ozy
1.0 Bearded Dragon - Gomer

Just a couple of thoughts. I'm not a builder, so you might want to look into this stuff before following my suggestions.

Maybe cover the walls with something before using the foam to create the cave like walls. That way if you ever decide to take it all down. you won't have to replace the drywall. Maybe just cover some holes.

What are you putting in there?
Rob
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For Sale cheap: One (1) 6' 19 yr old male. Does no house work. Has no job and will complain. Constantly.
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa-Ziggy
1.0 Creamscicle motley corn--Cozmo
0.1 Creamscicle corn--Wanda
0.0.1 Normal corn
0.1 Black Pine - Spazz
1.0 Eastern King-Ozy
1.0 Bearded Dragon - Gomer

A 13' Burm. I want it to look as natural as possible yet still easy to clean. Instead of a hide "box" I'm making a ledge for him to lie under with a RHP attached to the underside and big enough for a 20' snake. It will be like a hole but on a hinge so I can lift it for cleaning. Cleaning will be done with a shovel for the big stuff, brush and disinfectant cleaner for the rest, then spray down and pump out. Same with the soak tub. I'm going to use a small pond tub with a sump pump in the bottom. Thinking of wrapping the tub with a pig blanket, or similar item, and insulating the tub and heat source. I figure in all I will spend close to $2,000 but in the end it will be quite nice. Also another door to walk out to the back for maintenance.

I only plan on walking through the middle but I want the floor to roll, not flat. I have the apptitude and the tools, just need a little help with which materials will work best for my intentions. I wonder if carved foam would be strong enough to hold his weight since it will be spread out?
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DZ

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell

Since you're talking about raising the floor slightly, I would try to incorporate a drain at one end that you can either attach some type of pump to in order to remove waste or simply plumb it in to have it drain to a waste pipe like for a shower or toilet if one is available nearby. As for what to do the floor with, when zoos use concrete in some sculpted form it's typically over a poured over an existing solid concrete floor. There are ways to achieve a similar look using fiberglass resins over wood forms but that's a lot of work with a really high learning curve. Some realistic rockwork can be built up using metal lath as a basis which is then covered in concrete. It's going to be tough to build up a base to be strong enough to support walking weight without putting undue strain on the structure of the actual house floor underneath, especially in a cage as big as you're talking about. Instead, I would shoot for creating some flat areas for walking and outside of those areas you might try to build up the contours using a combination of wood forms and rigid foam sheets and then cover the whole sheebang with the metal lath onto which you can apply your concrete.
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Matt Campbell

"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." John Muir

I was in Lowes yesterday. I saw some heavy duty plastic fake rocks out by the garden center part of the store. They were about the size of a 5 gallon bucket and they had another size about 3 times that size too. Maybe you could get a few of them and use them in that room.
Rob
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For Sale cheap: One (1) 6' 19 yr old male. Does no house work. Has no job and will complain. Constantly.
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa-Ziggy
1.0 Creamscicle motley corn--Cozmo
0.1 Creamscicle corn--Wanda
0.0.1 Normal corn
0.1 Black Pine - Spazz
1.0 Eastern King-Ozy
1.0 Bearded Dragon - Gomer