Yet another project

[suzoo]

Don't forget to send me mine! lol

[Stefan-A]

Changed the measurements a bit, it's going to be 115cm wide. I just remembered that I have a couple of glass doors left from my original home made terrarium that would fit nicely if I just widened the design by 5cm.

Any opinions on using melamine board as a building material?

[Cazador]

Much heavier than you're used to. Use 13mm thickness or thinner to reduce the weight.
It swells terribly if wet, so seal the seams well.
Easy to work with.
Fairly expensive.
Looks nice.

[Stefan-A]

Let's forget melamine then.

[adamanteus]

I always use Melamine now. If you make sure it's well sealed it's fine, if you fail to seal it properly..... disaster!

I always seal the cut surfaces (ends) with silicone before beginning assembly, then seal the seams once assembly is complete. It works fine for me.

[Stefan-A]

The only reason why I even considered it, was because it would reduce the time needed to finish the project. It takes a couple of hours to put the thing together, but after that the wood needs to be treated and it will give off fumes for a few weeks.

[Cazador]

Just to be clear, I really like melamine. Once the edges/seams are properly sealed, it resists water very well. You only run into problems if you don't seal cut edges.

[Stefan-A]

I'm going to start looking at the prices tomorrow, let's see how expensive it really is. No plywood this time, either.

[adamanteus]

It's not so expensive here Stefan. I think the Melamine for my new triple stack cost about £45-

[Stefan-A]

I decided on what I think translates as glued laminated timber instead of melamine. I'll get the parts on monday, all with the correct dimensions, so all I really have to do is attach the parts to each other and treat the wood.

Rule #231 of How To Save The Planet: "Buy services instead of tools."