Reptile & Amphibian Forums

does anyone know where to get the pvc to make cages.
i ususally use melamine but would like to use the pvc if it wasnt to terribly expensive
has anyone else used it

Check with local sign shops for it it goes by the name Sintra or possibly PVCX. The best way to bond / buil using pvc is to either heat bend / plastic weld them or useing PVC angle. The PVCX has a foam core to it and by using the PVC on endg bonding it it some what dissolves the enter core and will cause a collapsing effect on it . Depending on the actual size cage you aare looking for or number of cages you are looking for it may be cheaper to purchase prebuilt. If ya have any questions feel free to drop a email to me .
Alan
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Buisnesses come and go everyday, what keeps you here is how you treated the customer the day before....My Boa Can Kick Your Boas _ss!www.cheapcages.com
Visit the new website while the Jungle gets made over.

Sign shops are the best way to go if you need less than a full sheet. But I'm guessing that you'll need a full sheet minimum so I'd suggest looking for plastic distributors in the yellow pages.

Sign shops tend to go by the term "Sintra", plastic distributors by "expanded PVC".

I agree with Alan, the plastic angle is the way to go for this material. It's a very strong and easy to fabricate joint.

But I also agree that the cost savings for the do-it-yourselfer are not nearly as great as with other materials. If you're building yourself make sure to compare actual costs or do it because there's a certain feature you're looking for.

Or, because you just like building.
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

what do you mean by plastic angle???
i do enjoy building..its my other hobby...just happens to go good with snakes.
i have a couple specific ideas in mind for the stuff and havnt been able to buy exactly what i want and i dont want to use melamine because of the high humidity that is going to be required..
thanks for the help

jason

>>what do you mean by plastic angle???

As Alan already suggested, PVCX does not work well with typical edge bonds.

But if you bond this material surface to surface it's incredibly strong.

If you use PVC angle and attach it to two panels to form a 90* angle you'll be essentially recreating a surface to surface bond.

You can buy PVC angle (and expanded PVC for that matter) from US Plastics.
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

here are some prices from USplastic.com

Full sheet "sintra" PVC 4'x8'

Black Expanded PVC 48" x 96" .240" Thick Sheet Yes $75.43

Grey Expanded PVC 48" x 96" .240" Thick Sheet Yes $88.42

White Expanded PVC 48" x 96" .240" Thick Sheet Yes $71.78

Beige Expanded PVC 48" x 96" .240" Thick Sheet Yes $87.47

PVC Angle ( sold only in 10' lengths )

1"x1"x1/8" Gray PVC-1 Extruded Angle Foot Yes $1.10

1"x1"x1/8" White PVC-1 Extruded Angle Foot Yes $1.22
1/8" would be enough for bonding angles's but on these prices keep in mind shipping is NOT included

Heres 2x4 sheets of the sintra

White Expanded PVC 24" x 48" .240" Thick Sheet Yes $18.90

Black Expanded PVC 24" x 48" .240" Thick Sheet Yes $19.86

Gray Expanded PVC 24" x 48" .240" Thick Sheet Yes $23.20

Beige Expanded PVC 24" x 48" .240" Thick Sheet Yes $22.95

4x4 sheets

White Expanded PVC 48" x 48" .240" Thick Sheet Yes $38.46

Black Expanded PVC 48" x 48" .240" Thick Sheet Yes $40.44

Gray Expanded PVC 48" x 48" .240" Thick Sheet Yes $47.23

Beige Expanded PVC 48" x 48" .240" Thick Sheet Yes $46.73

As a basic cost figure to build one 4x2x1 cage out of a 4x8 sheet heres you "basic cost" less shipping charges on the stuff

1- Black Expanded PVC 48" x 96" .240" Thick Sheet Yes $75.43
3- 1"x1"x1/8" Gray PVC-1 Extruded Angle Foot Yes $33.00
1- 24"x48" 1/4" acrylic (cheap homedepot/lowes etc) $32.00
1- Pint PVC glue $ 5.00
Hinges for doors (figure if one door min 3 hinges) $ 8.00
Camlocks or slide bolts if one door figure 3 of each $10-15.00
ok now some of the added things may or may not be dead costs but close figures. so with out shipping the 4x8 sheet of plastic to build one cage and 3 pcs of angle your total is around $168.00 to build one 4x2x1 cage. now if you build more say 4 cages you might can reduce that cost by $30 maybe on total costs of plastic
i would imagine shipping would run between $75-100.00 MIN unless your around the corner from them My Min shipping cost is $60 from my supplier and im in the same state 200 miles away so i would say a safe bet to build just one cage is going to run you $200.00 and thats a basic 4x2x1 w/ one door locks,hinges and no bells & whistles atleast not from USplastic.com the more ya build you might drop costs by $5-10 per cage maybe but not until ur up in the 6-10 cage range .

hope this helps and heres the link for ya to look yourself
Us Plastic website

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Buisnesses come and go everyday, what keeps you here is how you treated the customer the day before....My Boa Can Kick Your Boas _ss!www.cheapcages.com
Visit the new website while the Jungle gets made over.

I get my PVCX out of Baird plastics in Chicago and pay nowhere near those prices. Price breaks start at 10 sheets and since I only live a few hours away the shipping doesn't even bring me up to those prices.
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Hope this helps.

BigT
There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. The ignorant can be taught, stupidity is beyond our control.

I was merely quoting pricing from USplastic.com since the name was mentioned and methods were broght up to use PVC angle. The truth is around here ( smalle town ) on the 1/2" plastics HDPP the sign shopd here want to charge between $170-200.00 a sheet. And unless you find a "good sign shop they normally ad a very HEFTY markup to resell to the public. Best way to get anyplastic is from the distibuter unless of course you can be lucky to live near the manufactuer and get them to sell to you.Actually the sintra should be around $38-$50 a 4x8 sheet depending on location and supplier
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Buisnesses come and go everyday, what keeps you here is how you treated the customer the day before....My Boa Can Kick Your Boas _ss!www.cheapcages.com
Visit the new website while the Jungle gets made over.