How to make sliding doors
One of the most frequently asked questions in the construction of private buildings is just sliding doors and scattered protection at best Can build so here are some explanations. Sliding doors may be made of real or plexiglass are manufactured. It is important that the mass of the sliding doors until after installation, the E-profile, as sliding doors must be manufactured exactly to the millimeter.
 |
| 1: Installation of sliding doors and height dimension Diagram 1: Installation of Sliding Doors and Height Measurement |
first to buy the guide rails (so called . E-Profile) either at the hardware store or a terrarium shop. Namely, as shown in Figure 1.1, a high profile for the top (1) and a low profile for the bottom (2). The profiles are simply stuck with AQ silicone. Up to the curing of silicone attached to the rails to the top with bar clamps.
The amount of sliding is measured as in Figure 1.5, (3) from shown. Then you can use the sliding doors as shown in Figure 1.1-1.6, and the sliding doors can thus no longer fall out (Figure 1.6, (4)). There are mainly 2 to buy rail widths: 6mm-profiles are for 4mm and 8mm thick doors profiles for 6mm thick doors.
length calculation of sliding doors
 | |
| Figure 2: Length of sliding doors Diagram 2: Length of Sliding Doors | |
has length L = a / 2 + b / 2
have. For example, at a length of 100cm and a desired overlap of 4 cm each door must have a length of L = 100cm / 2 + 4 cm / 2 = 50cm + 2cm = 52cm. If a terrarium
lock to be fitted with key please check beforehand how big the overlap for the desired lock must be at least or must be maximum. Locks can cover only certain sizes overlap, for example. "At least 3cm max. 8cm overlap" (example of a castle from an eBay auction). For magnetic locks the size of the overlap does not matter.
by chopping it into short sections E-
 |
| 3: cut into pieces - top view Diagram 3: Combining Short Tracks - Top View |
If the e-profiles are shorter than the length of the enclosure, then you stückelt in the center of the cage (Figure 3, (1)). Jolt to the way the sliding doors do not have the impact in the rail, because they are threaded into the other rail (2). In the ends of the rails can place a stop (eg. a wooden dowel), see (3). This avoids that the doors are pushed fully and completely cover - so you will see easier access to the rear door to close it again because the handle is not covered. For
is the scattering protection are two different ways:
stray protection under the sliding doors
 |
| 4 / Diagram 4 |
anti-scatter of glass behind the sliding doors
 |
| 5 / Diagram 5 |
This glue is best behind the e-profile aluminum L-profiles (Fig. 5, (2)) both on the ground and the two sides of the enclosure with silicone-AQ (3). The glass pane (1) is then glued to the floor and on the L-profiles. The image further shows the screwed Eigenbaus (4). You can also use U-shaped instead of L-profiles and the scatter shield there appeal. So you can remove the disk (eg. for a thorough cleaning), sometimes. Alternatively, you can install a anti-scatter from laminated board behind the sliding doors bolted by the clamping plate from the bottom and sides. However, one should then protect the top edge of the clamping plate by means of aluminum profile against chewing.
IMPORTANT: The distance between scattering protection and sliding doors should be as small as possible, so that no hamster fall between the door and scattered protection can.
to current events: dwarf hamsters are especially at risk in the gap between anti-scatter and outer door to squeeze. At high anti-scatter (more than 10cm) there is a risk that the animal itself can no longer exempt from the slot and then possibly captured on hours. So please select a better protection of the high scattering model with scattered protection under the sliding doors (as shown in Figure 4) and the version with anti-scatter behind the sliding doors only in enclosures such as eg. this select out the anti-scatter is low and the deep litter in an extra Buddelbereich is offered.
general of the litter should be set high enough protection so that you can sprinkle neat. For a dwarf hamster at least (!) recommended 15-20cm height scattering, for a golden hamster at least (!) 25-30cm.
English Summary
Diagram 1 shows how to install sliding doors . First, you need to buy E-beams/sliding door guides/sliding door tracks either at the hardware store or from a terra shop. When you buy E-beams the tracks need to be wider than the glass (the glass should have a loose fit in the tracks). The track for the top of the cage has a higher ridge (1) and the one for the bottom (2) has a lower ridge.Install the E-beams by glueing them on with AQ-Silicone. Fix them in place with bar clamps until the silicone cures. Measure the size for the sliding doors after installing the E-beams as shown in (3), as the doors need to be cut very exactly. Install as shown in Steps 1 to 6 and the doors can't fall out anymore (4). Length calculation is shown in Diagram 2 . The diagram shows two sliding doors with overlap in the middle. For a total length of (a) and a desired overlap of (b) the length of each sliding door is calculated as
L = a/2 + b/2 .
If you want to use a terrarium lock with a key, check how much minimum and maximum overlap is necessary/allowed for the desired lock. For magnet locks the size of the overlap is irrelevant. If the tracks are shorter than the cage, set the joint in the middle of the cage as shown in Diagram 3 - Combining Short Tracks , (1). This will prevent your doors from jolting as they are already traced into the other track. You can put stoppers (eg. wooden dowels) into the ends of the tracks to prevent the doors from opening all the way. If you open the inner door all the way without a stopper it becomes hard to operate the door as the handle will be hidden behind the front door. If you use a stopper it will be a bit more practical.
To prevent bedding from falling out you have two possibilities:
Diagram 4: Front board below sliding doors
Set the sliding doors on top of another board (1) and use screws (2) to fix the board to the rest of the cage. Use aquarium silicone (4, marked green) as glue and to seal all raw edges and corners. You can glue on an aluminum ledge (3) to protect the plastic sliding door tracks from being gnawed. (5) shows how the cage is screwed together.
Diagram 5: Front board behind sliding doors
If you prefer a glass front "board" (1) you can install it behind the sliding doors by glueing aluminum L-beams (2) to the floor and sides of the cage with aquarium silicone (3). (4) shows how the cage is screwed together. Alternatively, you can use U-beams instead of L-beams and slide the glass in there. This way you can take the glass out to make cleaning easier. You could also use a real board (veneered particle board) instead of glass and attach it with screws instead of using L-beams. In this case you should protect the top of the board with an alumimum ridge against being gnawed.
IMPORTANT: the distance between front board and sliding doors should be as small as possible. Otherwise a hamster could fall between the doors and front board and get stuck there.
DUE TO RECENT EVENTS: especially dwarf hamsters are in danger of falling or climbing into very small cracks. If the front board is higher than 10cm (4") the hamster might get trapped between the door and the front board and be unable to free itself. Therefore, if you plan on a high front board it is better to choose the variant with the board below the sliding doors as shown in Diagram 4. Better only use the variant with the front board behind the sliding doors if you keep the front board low and offer the deep digging area in another way, eg. as shown here .
General advice: since you should offer at least 15-20cm (6-8") of bedding depth for a dwarf hamster and at least 25-30cm (10-14") of bedding for a syrian choose the height of the front board accordingly.
