Materials:
2 full sheets of Norboard: around $40 total - $20 each(already had it laying around)
16 2 x 4's: about $32
4 x 8 foot sheet of really-expensive-board-that-my-fiance's dad once bought to build a project and never got around to it: $40
24 in. Galvanized Chicken Wire: about $50(already had it laying around)
Wood Glue(already had it laying around)
Brad Nails(already had it laying around)
Angled Finishing Nails: $40 for a box of 3,000
5 Hinges:
3.5 in(I think...) 2 "door" hinges: about $6/$3 for each(already had laying around)
3 Copper hinges(already had laying around)
2 LAG Screws: (already had laying around)
1 Bungee Cord(to prevent Honey from pushing out the side latch and escaping)
All in all, because we had all of the other supplies already, we spent about $140 bucks on the hutch.
The side is hinged for my convenience, but it really may turn out to be pointless having it; so the hutch could have easily just been comprised on 2 complete 4 x 8 feet Norboards, 1 for the top, a second one cut in half to fill in the one side of the hutch that we didn't have enough chicken wire to wrap around it. Also, instead of the really expensive board as the base, we could have easily used a third sheet of the Norboard as the base, but my fiance's father wanted the expensive board used because he knew he'd never get around to using it anyway.
So, were we to start from scratch, with a much less intricate build, it probably would have cost us:
$60 for 3 sheets of 4 x 8 foot Norboard
$50 for the 24 in. Galvanized Chicken Wire
$40 for the box of 3,000 finishing nails
$32 for the 16 2x4's
Plus the numerous amounts of wood glue, "long" stables for the hand power staple gun, the Brad nails for the Brad-nail power gun, and the one and a half boxes of sticky-tiles(that were apparently REALLY expensive but worth NOTHING. They crack under like 5 pounds of pressure, so they won't be in Honey's cage for long - will probably replace them with ceramic tiles or something). We could've bought cheaper tiles at a dollar store that would've lasted longer probably...
So - including the materials we already had, were we to go with the more simple design, it would've cost $182. Not bad...considering.
Anyway. On with the pictures...
Yesterday; half-way done(these pictures show just the frame)
Also yesterday; after our break, with the screening on
And...today!
The front, with pictures of the top opened, and closed(the top is VERY heavy, by the way - for me, at least, since, you know..I'm a woman and all, *grump*)
Side views(you'll notice in the side views, the lid is propped up with spare 2x4's that are bolted to the sides of the top, when you lift the top up just slightly, the props drop down to the side. When I'm opening the lid, I wrap my hand around one of the props that are relaxed to the side of the bunny pen, and pull up on it enough to crack the lid, and I slide my fingers under to lift it the rest of the way. My fiance's dad is considering on bolting a handle to the top to make it easier.
The back:
Honey: "So...how do I get out of here...."
