What lumber do I need to buy when building a cat enclosure...?
Is Råplan 45x45mm too flimsy for posts in the frame? Should I use the same studs for everything?
Please check out www.byggmax.se and tell me which lumber I should buy... I'm not rich... I was thinking about wood that can be painted directly (not pressure-treated), but I can take suggestions for both untreated wood and treated wood.
I've attached pictures of enclosures I like, but as I said, I don't know the dimensions or materials they used.
Is Råplan 45x45mm too flimsy for posts in the frame? Should I use the same studs for everything?
Please check out www.byggmax.se and tell me which lumber I should buy... I'm not rich... I was thinking about wood that can be painted directly (not pressure-treated), but I can take suggestions for both untreated wood and treated wood.
I've attached pictures of enclosures I like, but as I said, I don't know the dimensions or materials they used.
This summer, I built a cat enclosure in Älvängen for a breeder. Posts in 70x70, load-bearing beams (for the roof) 45x70 (on edge), frames of 28x120 (the latter were cut down to 28x59, the blade takes 2 mm). All pressure-treated. I adjusted according to the width of the mesh for the frames (up to 1.5 in width x 3.6 in length).
The mesh is the biggest problem and determines how wide the frames can be made. The frame width, in turn, determines the distance between the posts. Opting for 45x45 posts would be too flimsy and unstable without braces and with ground anchors if it's a free-standing cat enclosure. With support on two sides, 45x45 might suffice even without braces and with ground anchors.
If you need a greater width for the cat enclosure than 3.6 m, I recommend either upgrading to 45x95 beams or using a 28x145 board on edge. The latter is just as good as 45x95 beams in terms of bearing capacity for this purpose. Especially when it has been screwed together with the frames to form a T (you'll need to attach a 'board piece' in a few places across the board to screw two frames together and fasten the board pieces to the board on edge).
You can very well buy rough timber (unimpregnated) and treat it yourself before setting it up (if you're worried about the cats licking the timber and ingesting impregnation salts). As long as it's dry and you do it carefully since it will be outdoors. There are water-soluble paints for outdoor use, but I believe the solvent-based ones last much longer. The sun is a factor that 'wears out' the paint layer. Moisture inside the timber is another. With completely 'dry' timber (moisture content < 5-6%), the risk is not so great for vapor formation, blistering, and paint peeling.
Good luck!
________________________
The Builder
The mesh is the biggest problem and determines how wide the frames can be made. The frame width, in turn, determines the distance between the posts. Opting for 45x45 posts would be too flimsy and unstable without braces and with ground anchors if it's a free-standing cat enclosure. With support on two sides, 45x45 might suffice even without braces and with ground anchors.
If you need a greater width for the cat enclosure than 3.6 m, I recommend either upgrading to 45x95 beams or using a 28x145 board on edge. The latter is just as good as 45x95 beams in terms of bearing capacity for this purpose. Especially when it has been screwed together with the frames to form a T (you'll need to attach a 'board piece' in a few places across the board to screw two frames together and fasten the board pieces to the board on edge).
You can very well buy rough timber (unimpregnated) and treat it yourself before setting it up (if you're worried about the cats licking the timber and ingesting impregnation salts). As long as it's dry and you do it carefully since it will be outdoors. There are water-soluble paints for outdoor use, but I believe the solvent-based ones last much longer. The sun is a factor that 'wears out' the paint layer. Moisture inside the timber is another. With completely 'dry' timber (moisture content < 5-6%), the risk is not so great for vapor formation, blistering, and paint peeling.
Good luck!
________________________
The Builder
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Thank you for your response.
The cat enclosure should be 3*5 meters. The net I am considering buying is 1*25m. Isn't it possible to have the net "the other way" so you can have 1.5m between the posts instead of 1m?
Are you thinking that the beams should be 45x95 and the posts 70x70? And frames of 28x120?
The cat enclosure should be 3*5 meters. The net I am considering buying is 1*25m. Isn't it possible to have the net "the other way" so you can have 1.5m between the posts instead of 1m?
Are you thinking that the beams should be 45x95 and the posts 70x70? And frames of 28x120?
70x70 posts? That's quite thick... Are you planning for lynxes? Or are you going to have a roof? I built a 3x3m for our previous cats, it only had netting as a roof. I built it with simple 45x45 impregnated wood everywhere. With a netting roof, you don't have loads. With a roof, it's a different matter because then you should consider roof pitch/snow load etc.
I will have mesh roofing and over that I will lay a camouflage net to give the cats shade.... What are the measurements of the material in the first picture (the picture with a scratching cat)? Do you have any pictures of your cat enclosures?
Don't want diagonal braces
Different opinions I'm getting, one person says that 45*45 will be wobbly, the other does not... what do the rest of you think? :/
Don't want diagonal braces
Different opinions I'm getting, one person says that 45*45 will be wobbly, the other does not... what do the rest of you think? :/
Is it possible to use pole spear (http://www.beijerbygg.se/templates/BB_ProduktListingFlera.aspx?id=11774) instead of concrete shoes for 45x45, or will it be unstable?
If the net is only one meter wide, you can't have wider frames. If you turn it on 'the other way' (and cut 1.5 m from the length), it will still be one meter wide, and nothing is gained unless you're planning to add extra framing for the joint in that direction. But it can be done.jaghetersophia said:
Five meters long doesn't work for 45x95. It's better to nail or screw a 28x95 together with a 28x145 into a T and join the net on the horizontal 28x95 part.
If you divide the cat enclosure into 2x1.5 m width and make such a T for the middle post and two upside-down L's for the outer edges from 28x95, you can manage with 45x45 posts on the long sides, but let the corners be 70x70 if it's going to be freestanding.
Then you can also use these kinds of ground anchors, even if they're called something else by Beijer.
(http://www.beijerbygg.se/templates/B....aspx?id=11774)
(Cheapest bought at Jula.)
Since 28 mm pressure-treated wood is normally used as decking wood, there aren't any boards narrower than 95 in it. But 95 width is pitifully narrow to rip lengthwise. Therefore 120 width. Ripped you'll get two 28x59 pieces from a 28x120 board. That's enough to stretch the net on.
In return, you'll need to insert a few extra of these in the roof frames at 1.5 m width so you can join the net unless you want to 'sew' it together with wire.
That's why I would undoubtedly have put posts one meter apart on the gables and made one-meter-wide frames for both the roof and gables to attach the net. The long sides can then be three meters high with two horizontal 28x59 and the net stretched horizontally on these frames with no posts on the long sides at all (possibly a 45x45 in the middle if it sags too much).
At the bottom, considering snow and possibly digging cats, you should have one or two boards on top of each other, which also raises the option of having three on top of each other and only two rows of net in height. You can still get the height over two meters, which is enough for you to stand upright inside the cat enclosure.
It's also easier to fit a board to the ground with the help of a jigsaw than narrow frame wood. In this way, you also get a straight top edge to place the frames on. (Especially if you do as I did and halve the frames in the corners
)Digging cats are not stopped by a board, though. You'll need to lay a row of concrete slabs (250x500) on the inside.
________________ Builder
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