(Originally my design: Martin has perfected it and made them incredible!)


Description:
Our “Duplex” terrarium measures 196cm x 70x 70 cm (outside dimensions) and has a removable separating wall. The weight (without glass and without inside décor) is about 18kg.
The polycarbonate sheets are stuck together with aluminum profiles, they are very stable, easy to clean, lightweight and very durable. The connections are sealed with silicone.
Our “branches” are made of white PVC pipes of various widths, scorched with a blow torch. (Attention: TOXIC fumes: only do this outside with eye protection, gloves and a good mask!)
The center wall is removed in this picture but can be added at any time.

Center wall added:


We heat with 2 “Pro Heat” heat panels @65 Watts controlled by a Herpstat PRO proportional thermostat.
All of the cables (2x thermostat, 2x thermometer and 2x hygrometer are hidden inside the PVC branches)
Lighting: 2 florescent fixtures with 21 Watt full-spectrum tubes.

OK now for the detailed "building instructions":

__________________
Andrea

Disclaimer:
The following instructions have been put together to the best of our knowledge, but we take no responsibility for problems or damages that may result from someone following them.
I will begin with a list of the materials (I’m not sure where these can be purchased in the USA, so you’ll have to check the internet.)
The sizes are given in cm/mm because it’s much more exact than inches and that’s how we did ours.

4 x Multi-wall Polycarbonate sheets (the material used to build greenhouses, etc)
Color: Super Cool White
16mm thick 200 x 98cm
What is special about the diamond polycarbonate sheets is their special hollow inner structure which improves the insulation and stability.


Aluminum profiles:

8x Corner profile Aluminum for 16mm sheets. (see pic upper left)
Length: 2meters (each)

4x U-profile Aluminum for 16mm sheets (upper right image)
Length: 2meters (each)

1x H-Profile Aluminum for 16mm sheets (bottom left)
Length: 2meters (each)

2x L-Profile Aluminum for 16mm sheets (bottom right)
Length: 2meters (each)

16x Tin screws (rust-free) 2.9x13mm

1x Building or plumbing silicone (check that it is OK for polycarbonate!)

1x Tube of 2 part epoxy for metal and plastics

1x Sliding glass profile track for 6mm glass (upper)
Length: 2 meters

1x Sliding glass profile track for 6mm glass (lower)
Length: 2 meters

Glass track pic:

I'm not sure where/if you can get these in the US: The place I ordered mine will ship to the USA and Canada: M&S Reptilien

You just have to know how thick your glass pieces are in millimeters. They have 6mm wide and 4mm wide tracks. PS -- The English translation is not brilliant: they say "up" and "down" when they mean "top" and bottom": You need to order a top track and a bottom track or the glass will not fit into place

16x Ventilation hole covers: round 50mm


1x Silver acrylic spray paint (150ml)

2x 6mm glass 435x1000mm with polished edges

Our total material costs came to about US$ 600.00 (Without tools)


Coming up: tools required

__________________
Andrea

The material has to be worked with, so here is a list of the tools needed:
Tools:
Miter-box saw with metal blades
Jigsaw with “fine metal” blades
Electric drill with 2mm and 3mm bits (for metal)
Hole saw 44mm
Metal file (fine)
Rubber hammer
Vacuum cleaner (shop-vac)
Straight edge / ruler
Measuring tape (with cm)
Protective glasses
Ear plugs / Ear protection
Several screw (vice) clamps
Phillips screwdriver size 1

We used a hand miter saw, but there are electric versions:

Our jigsaw was a bit more modern:

The Hole Saw is attached to the Electric Drill


Now that we have everything, the fun can start:

__________________
Andrea

Firstly, the corner profiles are cut at 45 degree angles on each end and the edges smoothed with a metal file:
Cut size:
4x 196cm
4x 70cm

45 degree angle (picture)


It should come together like this: (picture)


Then we need 4 corner profiles cut straight across for the vertical connections:
Cut size:
4x 66.2cm

Then we put the polycarbonate sheets on the workbench/horse and mark the cut lines on the protective plastic sheeting (picture)

And cut with the Jigsaw. Be sure to wear protective glasses and ear protection!!!!

Also the sawing creates little hot plastic pieces that fly off in all directions, so it’s worth attaching the vacuum to the saw; or vacuuming after every cut.
Since the polycarbonate sheets can expand if the weather is warm, you want to leave some play. We cut the sheets to these dimensions:

2x 191.7 x 66.0 cm (for floor and ceiling)
1x 195.2 x 69.4 cm (for back wall)
2x 69.4 x 66.2 cm (for the two side walls)
1x 195.2 x 15.5 cm (for the front wall bottom)
1x 195.2 x 9.2 cm (for the front wall top)

Now we can begin to stick it all together:
First, remove the protective plastic from both sides. Vacuum the open sides to remove any plastic “saw dust” from the cutting.
The sheets have a UV-protected opaque side and a transparent side. For a greenhouse, you should have the opaque side facing out. If you don’t have to worry about UV exposure from outside, you can decide what you prefer.
The sheets fit snugly into the aluminum profiles, so you may need to use a rubber hammer to get them in.

First the floor: (pic)

Next the back wall: (pic)

Then the side walls (pic)

The corner profiles above are added:
And the ceiling slid in. This is easier if you put the closed (not cut) edge to the back.
Finally the corner profile in front is stuck on.

Next the front (half walls) are added. The top wall may not hold by itself, you can add a little silicone to the inside of the aluminum profile to help it stick (Be sure it doesn’t ooze out!!)


But wait there's more...

__________________
Andrea

We spray painted the originally white ventilation hole covers with silver paint. For each ventilation hole you need 2 covers, one inside the terrarium and one outside.
The number of ventilation holes will depend on the climate you want in the terrarium. Since we wanted a humid, tropical terrarium, we made very few. There is a good air-flow if you put holes on the bottom front and on the top sides.


Now we will prepare the openings with the Hole Saw.

Along the side of our terrarium, we put the holes more towards the front, because the wall the terrarium is placed against has our house thermostat and we didn’t want it to be affected by the warmth coming from the terrarium. Otherwise we would have placed the holes further back.
The ventilation covers are glued on with 2 part epoxy (again be careful not to use too much, so that it doesn’t ooze out when you push it over the hole)


Up till now, the terrarium has only been stuck together and it stays relatively stable. However, when you close the glass doors, there is movement of the walls within the aluminum profiles, so we have added a (pre-drilled*) L-profile (2x2cm) cut to 70 cm to each vertical edge. We glued it on with 2 part epoxy (for metal) and then fixed each corner with the little rust free tin screws.
*The screws are easier to attach if you pre-drill the holes with a 3mm bit. Then glue the edge on AND THEN drill the rest with a 2mm bit! If you drill through both with the 3mm, the screws won’t hold.


Now we come to the glass door profiles.
In order to attach these, we first have to cover the front wall edges with a U- profile. These we cut to 195.5 cm. On each end we cut 1cm off of the two side edges (see pic!) This way, the profile fits nicely into the corner profiles.

Use silicone to fix the aluminum profiles. It looks like this (pic)

Do the same with the upper edge. Until the silicone holds, you have to either turn the terrarium upside-down or use screw (vice) clamps.

Sliding glass door profiles/tracks come in two depths: deeper for the upper track and less deep for the lower track, so that the glass doors can be easily inserted and easily removed for cleaning, etc.

Cut the sliding door tracks and glue them on with 2 part epoxy.


More to come...

__________________
Andrea

Now you can take the measurements to order the glass. To do this, measure the distance between the outer track edges, then add the inside depth of the upper track (in our case 10mm)

In the case of very long terrariums like ours, you MUST measure the OUTER edges along the side walls (because the center will invariably hang lower in the middle. If you measure there, the glass will fall out!!)

Now we will add our removable separation wall:
To fix the separation wall, glue a U profile to the floor, the back wall and the ceiling with silicone.

Then cut a polycarbonate sheet to fit (the fixed height should be even with the top edge of the glass track.)and glue this into the bottom profile with silicone.

The rest of the pieces will NOT be glued, so that they can be removed.
Put an H-profile on the bottom wall (When you remove the inner wall, replace this with a U profile (facing down) to cover the edge.)

The ceiling part is made the same way as the bottom.

The center polycarbonate sheet is simply slid into place

and the front edge closed off with a U profile.


Almost forgot: You should seal all the inner edges (especially floor area) with silicone and allow to air out well before adding the inside decoration and animals.

Then hang the doors: Slide the top edge of the glass into the inside top track, push up and in and allow to move down into the inner bottom track. Then hang the second piece of glass the same way into the front track.

The inside decoration will vary depending on what you want to keep. So I will not go into detail on that.

Note: since the polycarbonate sheets are hollow, you can’t screw into them: but you can drill through and use washers and bolts.

Well I hope you enjoyed that. Whew! It was almost as much work as the actual building!!!
THE END

__________________
Andrea

This is a fantastic tutorial Andrea! Thanks for taking the time to write it up and add it to HC.

I have gone ahead and made it a sticky thread at the top of the forum so users can locate it easier.

I may actually give this design a whirl, except with a twist of course. I will make sure I document my progress.

Thanks again!

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.:: Rich ::.

+ Spread The Info

You're very welcome, Rich. Thanks for making it "stick"
I know the materials are pricey, but with the light weight and super insulation and easy clean-up it's really worth it.
Oh and if you have to, the whole thing can be completely taken apart and re-assembled. Cutting the silicone out and cleaning it up is a drag, but it is possible and makes it easy to transport if you have to move!
Good luck. I look forward to seeing what other people do with the basic idea I've presented here.

__________________
Andrea

thanks for taking the time to translate everything, great design again. I hope to make one of my own, but probably not as big as yours, i'll try and house 2 snakes.

Outstanding work Andrea and great tutorial. I wish I had a local polycarbonate source.

__________________
Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you."