Completed Project #1 Ferret Race Track

It has been awhile since my last post. I never gave up on this blog I just reorganized how the blog will be maintained. I decided to use 1 post for 1 project and to only post after the project was completed. When Possible I will have before pictures and I will always have final result pictures and a summary.

I just finished building a ferret race track. The picture below is the full track.



The picture below is how the track will look with the couch in front of it.



This is a video of my ferret using the track.

As you can see from the picture below, the track is connected to the cage allowing the ferrets a horizontal running surface that the cage originally did not have.



Materials Used/Cost:
5 gutter extenders / $5 each
6 UTZ Party Mix Containers/ $7 each (technically free if you enjoy the snack mix)
1 PVC Pipe T/ $6
White Duct tape
Hot Glue
Wall Fasteners

Total Cost: $73

Building Instructions:
First I cut the bottoms off of the UTZ containers and I cut the ends off of all of the gutter tubes except the one connected to the cage.

I used hot glue to join all of the pieces together then reinforced the glue with white duct tape. You should be able to tell from my pictures where everything is connected.

Once everything was connected, I attached the track to the wall and cage, drilled some air holes, and removed two bars from the ferret cage to allow access to the track.

Total Build Time: 2hrs



From the picture below, you can see that the ferrets now have their own corner of the house.


This is a picture of one of those plastic shelving units I bought and decided to use to store the ferret's food and litter. I know I didn't build it but I did find a nice way to store the food and litter.



Overall I am 85% happy with this project. I have no idea what my next project will be but I will let you know when I finish it.

My very first lesson learned.

There is a big difference in perception when buying the house and actually owning your house. This is not a bad thing just that a lot of the plans we made had to be adjusted and not a single project I wanted to do will work as expected. When we were in the process of buying the house we didn't measure much or take notice of every detail. I was also guilty of making most of my plans from inaccurate memories of our house. So all projects are canceled until a proper plan is made.

Secondary Project #2-Game Room decorations.

One of the first things I will have to do in the game room is build shelves in the closet to hold our board game collections. There should be plenty of room for the games we currently own and even more room for expanding our collection. I also plan on cutting out game piece shapes from wood and hanging them on the walls. Some of the shapes I plan on making are chess pieces, monopoly house/hotel, and checkers.

Primary Project #2: Painting the Game Room.

I am starting to get the feeling that I should paint the game room first since it is the only one I know what color it needs to be. I just ordered a poker table and plan to paint the walls the same color as the felt on my poker table.

I also want to run a card themed wall paper boarder around the room.

Primary Project #1- Painting the living room.

I doubt this really would count as a project but since this will be my first attempt at painting a room, you'll just have to let me slide.

Here is what I know so far, Most of the downstairs rooms will be some shade of green and upstairs will be blue.

There are 3 walls that make up the living room. The wall connected to the stairs is where the tv will be located. I plan to paint this wall a single color just not sure which one yet. The other two walls will have our couch and love seat against them. The two walls will also have pvc pipe running along them at a height slightly above the couch. The PVC pipe will be the same color as the trimming in the room and I plan to use two different shades of green above and below the pipe.

Here are the questions that I would love to hear your opinions on:
1. For the walls with two shades of green, Should the lighter green be on top or the bottom.
2. How much of a shading contrast should I use for the walls with two shades.
3. For the wall with only one paint shade, should it be the darker or lighter green.
4. Should I use a totally different shade of green for the ceiling or one of the other two already used in the room.

Secondary Project #1- Ferret Race Track

To make the track, I plan on using PVC pipe and will run the pipe along the two back walls of our living room at a height slightly above our couch and love seat. In theory the ferrets will be able to go from their cage to the track allowing them some space to run around while remaining confined.

Right now I am, still trying to decide if I will just run 1 level of PVC and cap both ends or make a loop.

I am pretty sure I will paint the PVC pipe the same color as the trim in the room and use two different shades of green above and below the pipe.

The hardest part will be cutting windows into the PVC pipe so we can watch the ferrets play. What is the safest way to cut into PVC pipe and not myself?

Choosing a primary and seconday project.

We are now closing a week earlier than expected. The plan is to close on our house before spring break so I can use the week off of work to paint and clean the house.

Primary Project #1: Paint the living room
Secondary Project #1: Making a race track for the ferrets.

Coming soon.................

We close on our new home on 26Mar10. Our baby is expected to arrive around 11Jul10. So don't expect too much activity until the end of March.