Coroplast

[BethM]

All of my bunnies have chewed their linoleum floors, despite having it stuck down onto plywood. (Tobi scrapped it with her teeth repeatedly in one spot until she could get a grip on it.) My boys never pee outside their litterbox, but both girls have occasional accidents, so I have to have something waterproof to protect my hardwood floors.
I thought I'd try to find a source for coroplast. There are several sign places around, surely one will sell me large sheets of it. I just have a couple questions:

Are there different thicknesses or grades of coroplast? I want the thickest, heaviest one, do I just ask for "the thickest one"?

When I get it, is it ok to just put the coroplast directly on the floor, or is it better to put it on top of plywood or something?

Thanks!

 

[SweetSassy]

I just got my coroplast a month ago and I put it right to the floor. My buns ate their vinyl, so I had to switch to something sturdier. LOl. I haven't had any problems with it being on the carpet. They dig at it and everything and they haven't been able to put a hole in . You probably can put it to wood if you want, but I didn't and it's fine.

 

[luvthempigs]

Did you find a place to buy the coroplast?

I found mine at a local sign shop. They sold me a large piece which was great but it was a pain getting it home. I think there was only one thickness and they only had it in white but I have seen other people with different colors.

 

[BethM]

Yeah, I went and picked up 3 sheets of it today.
I called yesterday to find out the price, and if they had it in stock. (Called a couple places, but only one had it in stock.) I wasn't able to get there before they closed yesterday, though. The lady said I could come in today, and someone would be there to cut it for me.

So I went in, and another woman said the guy who could cut it went home early. So I went ahead and took the whole sheets. (I just wanted one foot cut off the ends.) I will have to cut it myself.

It was kind of comical getting it home! I folded the back seats down, and scooted both front seats almost all the way, and it was sticking out the back about 18"! Luckily I only had a few miles to get home.

Now I have Coroplast for all the pens, and a pack of cubes to build Ben a condo.

Project for Labor Day weekend!

 

[luvthempigs]

Cool :coolness:Gotta have something to do over the long weekend! :biggrin2:

It's not too hard to cut down to size if you have a box knife and can cut in a straight line :rollseyes(something I have a problem with) lol

 

[degrassi]

If your bun can chew linoleum thats been glued down won't she be able to easily chew the coroplast? It doesn't take much to damage coroplast from chewing.

You'd probably be better off just replacing the linoleum with more linoleum or something stronger like that laminate counter top stuff. Something they wont' be able to damage as easily as coroplast.

 

[BethM]

Well, I've already bought the Coroplast, and I can't return it. Don't have any other use for 3 4ft by 8ft sheets of it!

Part of the problem with the linoleum was, it was attached to the plywood with double-sided tape, around the edges. (Made for flooring.) So with a little work, Tobi could get it to move a bit, so she could get a hold of it with her teeth. Then there was a little bit of stretch to it. Also, the plywood/linoleum base was wider than the cages on the sides, but the same length. So, Nick, Amelia, and Ben would just push on their gates, to move them over the edge, and chew on the edges. (At the time I made those, I had no way to cut them at home, and had to rely on the minimal amount of cutting the Lowe's employees would do for me. As it was, they acted put-upon just by walking towards the cutting station, and it went downhill when I actually needed them to cut things.) I will be cutting the Coroplast to be longer on all sides, so they won't be able to reach any edges.

I once tried the stick-down floor tiles, but the Lowes and Home Depots around here only carry the more slippery ones, and my bunnies could not hop on it at all.
I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to find counter-top type solid laminate in a solid 4ft by 7ft piece. (Or if I did, I wouldn't be able to afford it!)

 

[SweetSassy]

degrassi wrote:

If your bun can chew linoleum thats been glued down won't she be able to easily chew the coroplast? It doesn't take much to damage coroplast from chewing.

You'd probably be better off just replacing the linoleum with more linoleum or something stronger like that laminate counter top stuff. Something they wont' be able to damage as easily as coroplast.

My buns ate the linoleum. Coroplast is hard plastic so they can't eat it. They can't put holesin it like they did the other stuff :biggrin2:

 

[undergunfire]

I love coroplast for cube cage bases. We did 3" sides to keep in any hay, hair, and poops....and those sides are the only things that are able to be chewed on by the bunnies (if they are inside the panels).

My local sign shop only had white. I really want purple!

 

[BethM]

undergunfire wrote:

I love coroplast for cube cage bases. We did 3" sides to keep in any hay, hair, and poops....and those sides are the only things that are able to be chewed on by the bunnies (if they are inside the panels).

My local sign shop only had white. I really want purple!

Amy, I think I might try to make sides to help keep the mess in, as well. Did you bend yours? Or cut pieces and attach them?

I was thinking bending the pieces up might be good, as the girls sometimes miss their litter boxes, and I would want to prevent urine from seeping down through. Not sure of the best way to go about it, though.

 

[Evey]

Beth,

I use Coroplast for the bases of all of my bunny condos, and I have two different set ups. Both of them have sides that are at least 4 inches. To do this, I used a box cutter (I'm sure scissors would be fine to use too) to cut through only 1/2 of the Coroplast to make it bend easier. Then I used packaging tape to tape the four corners together (note that by connecting the sides, you will have 4 small perfect squares to cut out).

I have one cage where the Coroplast in located on in the inside of the condo (I LOVE it like this, but only do it if your bunnies aren't chewers). The other way is to place it on the outside of the grids (make sure youleave about a 1/2-1 inch more on each side of the Coroplast if you decide to do it like this).

I hope that doesn't sound too confusing and I hope it helps!

Kathy

 

[BethM]

Evey wrote:

Beth,

I use Coroplast for the bases of all of my bunny condos, and I have two different set ups. Both of them have sides that are at least 4 inches. To do this, I used a box cutter (I'm sure scissors would be fine to use too) to cut through only 1/2 of the Coroplast to make it bend easier. Then I used packaging tape to tape the four corners together (note that by connecting the sides, you will have 4 small perfect squares to cut out).

I have one cage where the Coroplast in located on in the inside of the condo (I LOVE it like this, but only do it if your bunnies aren't chewers). The other way is to place it on the outside of the grids (make sure youleave about a 1/2-1 inch more on each side of the Coroplast if you decide to do it like this).

I hope that doesn't sound too confusing and I hope it helps!

Kathy

Thanks, Kathy! I will try to do this. My bunnies are chewers, so I will be putting the folded up sides on the outside of the condo. My bunny room is always a mess, from the hay bits and poops rolling out, and I would love it if I could keep more of the mess contained.

I believe my Coroplast is about 6" wider than the width of the pen, and 2ft longer than the length, so I'll try out the folding on the longer ends first.

Just need to get a new blade for my box knife, and find my big metal ruler.

 

[degrassi]

Evey wrote:

Beth,

I use Coroplast for the bases of all of my bunny condos, and I have two different set ups. Both of them have sides that are at least 4 inches. To do this, I used a box cutter (I'm sure scissors would be fine to use too) to cut through only 1/2 of the Coroplast to make it bend easier. Then I used packaging tape to tape the four corners together (note that by connecting the sides, you will have 4 small perfect squares to cut out).

I have one cage where the Coroplast in located on in the inside of the condo (I LOVE it like this, but only do it if your bunnies aren't chewers). The other way is to place it on the outside of the grids (make sure youleave about a 1/2-1 inch more on each side of the Coroplast if you decide to do it like this).

I hope that doesn't sound too confusing and I hope it helps!

Kathy

Currently I dont' have the sides folded up on my coroplast flooring but last year I did. I did the same as Evey, scored the back side of the coroplast(only cut half way through), then bend up the sides and taped the corners.

The first time I bent up the sides I decided to make it so the sides fit on the inside of the cage. Not a good idea as Gimpy quickly chewed the edges. On my second attempt I made sure to have the sides 1" outside the cage, so gimpy couldnt' reach through and get to them. Now since I replaced his flooring last year, I just left the coroplast flat. The sides were better at keeping the stray bits of hay in but I find its a lot easier to wipe clean the flat floor.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Both my cages have the sides folded up and are inside the cage. I use poster hangers on the edges to prevent chewing. It is easier if you slide them on when you are making it, not trying to do it later. I have only found the hangers in 2ft lengths, but they are easy to cut. I have taped the edges down. Penelope chewed down to the bottom in a few places on her cage before I used the poster hangers, now she can't chew it.

 

[BethM]

Korr_and_Sophie wrote:

Both my cages have the sides folded up and are inside the cage. I use poster hangers on the edges to prevent chewing. It is easier if you slide them on when you are making it, not trying to do it later. I have only found the hangers in 2ft lengths, but they are easy to cut. I have taped the edges down. Penelope chewed down to the bottom in a few places on her cage before I used the poster hangers, now she can't chew it.

That's a really cool idea! It would probably work for most of my bunnies, but not Tobi. She ate half of a heavy-duty Ruubbermaid house, so she could probably chew through the poster hangers, if they're plastic. She's pretty determined, and has a stomach of steel!