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People who have made their own rabbit runs!

Leanne

Wise Old Thumper
Help meeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Im making 2 or 3 this weekend and went to Wickes today, Ive got the weld mesh and wood sorted but im confused about hinges :?

Im making fold away ones so can anyone tell me what type of hinges I need and are nails or screws better?
Do I need some kind of wooden support for the hinges to attach to the frame too for extra strength?
The runs are going to be 2.4 metres long by 1.5 wide I think.
 
Hey :wave:

My hubbie made this run for our buns:

runmats.jpg

runopen.jpg


It doesn't fold but it opens from the side and the top can be taken off.

Sorry not much help with how it was put together, not my thing I'm afraid :oops:
 
when my boyfriend made me some runs for my bunnies he used Butt hinges and i think that what are in that picture too :)
 
Screws are better for attaching wood and hinges.

My Dad has just made a new run and we're using hasps with padlocks so we can take the lid totally off and one of the sides, so they can have access to a larger run when I'm about.
 
My husband has just made a 6ft x 6ft run with top that folds up. Mesh was about £17 per 6ft roll from a garden centre and wood was about £23 plus cost of hinges and staples. Send a private meassage if you want more details -Sue :wave:
 
Oh thank you, yes I was thinking butt hinges but im not sure what size, there are SO many sizes :?

Sue can you find out which hinges he used for the folding lid?

Thanks :D
 
We used 75mm removable pin butt hinges from screwfix.

75 mm is the length along the joint, so you put 3 screws in each half. The removable pin means that you can completely disassemble the run to flat pack it (we haven't actually done this since, but used the same idea on part of the hutch so it will fit in our car - but it's a bit of a giggle taking it apart!:rolleyes::oops: Ask Cottonmather.....).

If you do this, make sure you get the galvanised ones (silvery coloured) not brass plated as they stand up to the weather a lot better.

Screwfix were the cheapest & remember they sell hinges in pairs (we weren't expecting this :roll: but it's obvious when you think about it!:lol:)

The wood frames we made are from 12mmx32mm wood, making panels that were 3'x3' and 4'x3', to make up a 6'x4'x3'high run. We attached the mesh with staples to one side of the frame, then sandwiched it with wood on the other side to get a wood-mesh-wood sandwich around the edges which helped strengthen it up.

If you want more details, PM me and I'll send you some photos & try to describe how we did it a bit better.
 
Hey :wave:

My hubbie made this run for our buns:

runmats.jpg

runopen.jpg


It doesn't fold but it opens from the side and the top can be taken off.

Sorry not much help with how it was put together, not my thing I'm afraid :oops:

That looks great! I love the way it fits into that corner and the little steps to the catflap are brilliant :lol:

Im making my own soon, my brother thinks I should wait until I move so I know what the gardens like before I build it :D
 
The top on mine folds open, we used 2 sets of small but hinges. Mine's all joined together though rather than panels, so it doesn't fold away and i can be no help here. :lol:

run3.gif


That's how ours opens anyway.. It's wonky cos of the darn 'landscaping'.
 
That looks great! I love the way it fits into that corner and the little steps to the catflap are brilliant :lol:

Im making my own soon, my brother thinks I should wait until I move so I know what the gardens like before I build it :D

Thanks! I don't know why I bother with the steps as when they are on a mission they just leap through the catflap and miss the steps :lol::lol:

Its a perfect spot for them, nice a sheltered, was lucky!
 
Thanks! I don't know why I bother with the steps as when they are on a mission they just leap through the catflap and miss the steps :lol::lol:

Its a perfect spot for them, nice a sheltered, was lucky!

:lol: :lol: :lol: It looks nice and cute though. It is lovely though I hope my new garden will have a nice sheltered spot :lol:
 
:lol: :lol: :lol: It looks nice and cute though. It is lovely though I hope my new garden will have a nice sheltered spot :lol:

You can see the shed behind the run, well the plan was for a shed and run set-up but I persuaded hubbie that the buns would prefer the garage and its easier for me to spend time with them and look after them in winter. It's really handy though as it has a sink in the garage etc... Our washer is in there too! My washing has never been so up to date since we got this house - any excuse to pop out and see the buns :lol:
 
You can see the shed behind the run, well the plan was for a shed and run set-up but I persuaded hubbie that the buns would prefer the garage and its easier for me to spend time with them and look after them in winter. It's really handy though as it has a sink in the garage etc... Our washer is in there too! My washing has never been so up to date since we got this house - any excuse to pop out and see the buns :lol:

:lol: :lol: :lol: At least he cant complain he has no clean clothes ;)
 
We used 75mm removable pin butt hinges from screwfix.

Those are what I used to make our previous run. Given the size of run you are building I think they would be a good idea too. Make sure you fit them to the run corners with the pins in place though. Wickes do sell them if you want an idea of what they are like.

Mike
 
Right - got home and took some piccies of the run for you - I think the rabbits & my neighbours thought I was a bit strange! :lol::lol:

General view (just because!)
P2220026.jpg

P2220025.jpg


We used the hinges for the opening lid
P2220028-1.jpg

and to hold the panels together
P2220031.jpg

P2220030.jpg

P2220032.jpg


We got the panels to be roughly square with the help of these nifty bits of metal
P2220027.jpg

(and a fair amount of faffing :lol::lol:)

Once we'd decided on the technique, we made all the wood frames, stained them, then attached the mesh to one of each pair with LOTS of staples (in fact 2 layers of 1"x1" mesh offset as we thought the holes were too big otherwise) then some woodglue before screwing the second frame on to complete the sandwich. (Yum! :lol:)
 
Sorry some of the pictures just refuse to be the right way up! :roll:

The base only has a single layer of wood & mesh, as otherwise we needed to grow even longer legs to be able to get in with the boys (for a cuddle or to catch them).

It all seems to be fairly solid - it gets moved around the garden lots, and if the lid is fastened shut, I can move it on my own by rolling it :lol::lol:
 
Right - got home and took some piccies of the run for you - I think the rabbits & my neighbours thought I was a bit strange! :lol::lol:

General view (just because!)
P2220026.jpg

P2220025.jpg


We used the hinges for the opening lid
P2220028-1.jpg

and to hold the panels together
P2220031.jpg

P2220030.jpg

P2220032.jpg


We got the panels to be roughly square with the help of these nifty bits of metal
P2220027.jpg

(and a fair amount of faffing :lol::lol:)

Once we'd decided on the technique, we made all the wood frames, stained them, then attached the mesh to one of each pair with LOTS of staples (in fact 2 layers of 1"x1" mesh offset as we thought the holes were too big otherwise) then some woodglue before screwing the second frame on to complete the sandwich. (Yum! :lol:)

Did you make the hutch too? Its lovely! And the run looks great :D x
 
Did you make the hutch too? Its lovely! And the run looks great :D x

We did - thank you :D:oops:

The underneath bit is for a hay bale & a separate section with the carrier/toys/food and such like. We had a free mouse with the last bale that was causing havoc in the garage, so the buns got to go up in the world!

Our biggest mistake was the colour of the wood stain - it's mellowed a bit now but when it was fresh it looked like Tango! :oops::oops:
 
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