OK please excuse the mega thread but I've been workin hard and I want to extol the virtues of my labour.. :lol:
The reason for this overhaul is twofold. When we moved house 2 years ago I was forced to gut the bunny shed in order to move it. I had 1 week while the buns stayed at Adele's to get the new area levelled and the shed up (in the snow! Joy! :roll
Ever since then the buns have just had the shed with some cardboard boxes + blankets inside to keep them warm. About 2 months later I constructed them a new run so they could get some fresh air and that's how their setup has been ever since. They've been absolutely fine but its not been great cleaning/storage wise etc. Also the insulation didn't travel well and was a bit haphazard to say the least. The whole shed needed an overhaul.
Secondly we have decided to move Elroy and Honey outside too. This is because they have tended to spend more and more time in their room (even though they have the whole of the house to roam around). The only time we see them now is morning and evening when it's their feeding time and they come to "remind" us! :lol:
This in itself isn't a problem per se, but it sort of defeats the object of having house buns - ie spending time with them around the house. They seem to prefer their own company most of the time. :? Also their room gets awfully hot during the summer months as it is upstairs, but they won't come down onto the laminate floor.
So, we decided to split the shed into two. Flump and Sparkle have one side, Elroy and Honey the other. I have also made a new run for Elroy and Honey on the opposite side of the shed.
OK, so here is Flump and Sparkle's original run I made a couple of years ago:
First thing I did was paint the shed white in an attempt to keep it cooler still in the summer.
The other side of the shed used to hold ten tonnes of junk and a huge pile of clay, but now I've cleared all that and built another run for Elroy and Honey.
The roofed step lets them sit outside for some fresh air even if it's raining, and I thought they would like the low ceiling anyway as Flump and Sparkle always seem to lie underneath something in the garden.
Everything this side of the small gate is bunnyproofed, so to keep things simple Elroy and Honey's run opens on this side:
And here's the man himself inspecting my handywork this afternoon:
So that was the run done. The shed took a bit longer!
First thing to do was replace the lino, as after 5 years of bunny pee the old stuff was looking a bit worse for the wear. I also learnt from my mistake last time and made sure I bought some with NO RAISED PATTERN! :lol: :lol:
Here is the new floor down. I've done the opening to the new run, and started boxing in Flump and Sparkle's pipe. I've also started completely redoing all the insulation.
For the insulation this time, I've gone a step further and lined the entire shed with aluminium foil, as well as expanded polystyrene. This should hopefully reflect any radiated heat, and so keep it cool in the summer, and warm in the winter. As before, I cover any areas the buns can access with hardboard to stop them eating the polystyrene.
Splitting the shed was going to mean a lot of construction, but I wanted to make it as easy as possible to clean out. To do this I've tried to make as much as possible removable so that we're not trying to bend around awkard corners where you can't fit brushes etc. I also spent a long time deciding on the optimal height for each step. I went a lot lower than last time as I was scared of the buns falling off due to the slippery vinyl, and I also thought they'd like the low ceilings as hidy holes, much like a natural warren.
Here I've started constructing the removable steps on Flump and Sparkle's side.
Continued in next post due to 20 image limit
The reason for this overhaul is twofold. When we moved house 2 years ago I was forced to gut the bunny shed in order to move it. I had 1 week while the buns stayed at Adele's to get the new area levelled and the shed up (in the snow! Joy! :roll
Ever since then the buns have just had the shed with some cardboard boxes + blankets inside to keep them warm. About 2 months later I constructed them a new run so they could get some fresh air and that's how their setup has been ever since. They've been absolutely fine but its not been great cleaning/storage wise etc. Also the insulation didn't travel well and was a bit haphazard to say the least. The whole shed needed an overhaul.
Secondly we have decided to move Elroy and Honey outside too. This is because they have tended to spend more and more time in their room (even though they have the whole of the house to roam around). The only time we see them now is morning and evening when it's their feeding time and they come to "remind" us! :lol:
This in itself isn't a problem per se, but it sort of defeats the object of having house buns - ie spending time with them around the house. They seem to prefer their own company most of the time. :? Also their room gets awfully hot during the summer months as it is upstairs, but they won't come down onto the laminate floor.
So, we decided to split the shed into two. Flump and Sparkle have one side, Elroy and Honey the other. I have also made a new run for Elroy and Honey on the opposite side of the shed.
OK, so here is Flump and Sparkle's original run I made a couple of years ago:
First thing I did was paint the shed white in an attempt to keep it cooler still in the summer.
The other side of the shed used to hold ten tonnes of junk and a huge pile of clay, but now I've cleared all that and built another run for Elroy and Honey.
The roofed step lets them sit outside for some fresh air even if it's raining, and I thought they would like the low ceiling anyway as Flump and Sparkle always seem to lie underneath something in the garden.
Everything this side of the small gate is bunnyproofed, so to keep things simple Elroy and Honey's run opens on this side:
And here's the man himself inspecting my handywork this afternoon:
So that was the run done. The shed took a bit longer!
First thing to do was replace the lino, as after 5 years of bunny pee the old stuff was looking a bit worse for the wear. I also learnt from my mistake last time and made sure I bought some with NO RAISED PATTERN! :lol: :lol:
Here is the new floor down. I've done the opening to the new run, and started boxing in Flump and Sparkle's pipe. I've also started completely redoing all the insulation.
For the insulation this time, I've gone a step further and lined the entire shed with aluminium foil, as well as expanded polystyrene. This should hopefully reflect any radiated heat, and so keep it cool in the summer, and warm in the winter. As before, I cover any areas the buns can access with hardboard to stop them eating the polystyrene.
Splitting the shed was going to mean a lot of construction, but I wanted to make it as easy as possible to clean out. To do this I've tried to make as much as possible removable so that we're not trying to bend around awkard corners where you can't fit brushes etc. I also spent a long time deciding on the optimal height for each step. I went a lot lower than last time as I was scared of the buns falling off due to the slippery vinyl, and I also thought they'd like the low ceilings as hidy holes, much like a natural warren.
Here I've started constructing the removable steps on Flump and Sparkle's side.
Continued in next post due to 20 image limit