For my first woodworking project, I foolishly decided to build a rabbit hutch without plans for my daughters new Easter Bunny. So I literally scratched some ideas on my wood working bench and started going to work. I did some construction over a decade ago, but never attempted to build any furniture before, so I'm pretty happy with how this came out.
I spent a few days researching various rabbit cages and for our place we needed something that was ascetically pleasing and functional as it was going in our living room. I got some ideas from the web and decided the best thing for us would be to have an entry ramp, 2 sets of barn doors for each level (for easy cleaning) and an open roof. We went with linoleum floors since she's already litter trained. The floors could easily be modified to add 1/2" wire mesh if we decide to change things down the line. Also, we chose an espresso finish with silver hardware to accent the wire mesh
I pretty much crashed and burned on the staining as I've never done that before, but it ended up looking ok after all. I did a light sanding, but will probably invest in a planer and jointer to get my wood in better shape before assembling in the future. Also, I'll probably lightly dab some stain on ends of wood before final assembly as it made it difficulty trying to hide the white pine with the dark stain.
Other cages I saw ran around $200-$350.00 so i don't feel so bad about the cost. It's really the time that it took learning and making mistakes. I'm sure if I had plans I could of cut my time in 1/2.
Total Cost came out to around $150.00 but probably would of been cheaper if I had some plans to go by. I probably wasted a few 2x2s and accidentally mis-cut a scrap piece of 1/4"plywood which added another $16.00 to the bottom line.
Here's a breakdown of my total cost.
Hardware - $30.00
Includes 5 latches, 4 sets of hinges (8 total) and a 3' piano hinge
Stain - $8.00
Linoleum Tile @ ¢.69 sq ft - $16
Brushes, Stain Rags - $5.00
Screws - $6.00
Wire Mesh Roll $30.00
Needed 2 rolls at $15.00 each. I used 1" Wire Mesh measuring 2'x15'
Total Wood $50.00-$60
I used 2x3's for the legs - 2 @ 8' - $2.00 each ($4.00)
probably 15-20 2x2's - $1.52 each - can't remember how many I used to be honest ($30.00)
and a few 1x6's for the Doors - $2.00 each ($6.00)
Sheet of 1/4 plywood - $12.00
Comments
Robohead
Thu, 01/26/2012 - 13:48
Those turned out great. Love
Those turned out great. Love the bead-board and color.
loniwolfe
Thu, 01/26/2012 - 21:10
Very Nice!
Very Nice!
oldpaintdesign
Thu, 01/26/2012 - 23:24
Wow! Those turned out great!
Wow! Those turned out great! I love the idea of using beadboard - so creative!
In reply to Wow! Those turned out great! by oldpaintdesign
AlohaMama
Fri, 02/17/2012 - 17:13
Thanks OPD!
Thank you for your plans...love them. I've been asked to help a friend of mine build some doors for his house!
Jilley27 (not verified)
Tue, 08/28/2012 - 15:27
Bypass Closet Doors
Great job on the doors! I am interested in doing this myself. I will have to make 4 doors for my closet as well since I have such a large opening. Can you tell me what the measurments of your closets are? Also what are the dimensions of the pine that you used? Thanks a bunch!
In reply to Bypass Closet Doors by Jilley27 (not verified)
AlohaMama
Tue, 08/28/2012 - 18:44
My closet opening is about 8'
My closet opening is about 8' across. Each door is 26" wide and 79" tall. I made them so the would have a 1" overlap on each side...
I used 1x6 @ 8' lengths of pine. I like the really knotty pine with lots of character! Have fun building! These were pretty simple to make once you get all the boards cut.