New shed but need to insulate it ideas please?

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Piggymummy123

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Good Evening 👋
I have a new 8ft by 6ft shed built today but gaps etc within the wood planks. So I want to insulate the inside and rat proof the sides so rats can't get under the shed. I plan on getting mesh connected to the shed plastic base and up the side about 8". I read on this site about foil lining, then I can put cladding over the top? Is it called cladding as in what I need to buy on top of the foil lining? 🤔
I will use lino on the floor to protect the wood.
Next question is I need to make a mid height level for more space to explore. What wood to use for that please that isn't too heavy but suitable for chewy piggies! Slightly scared of rats getting in 😱
Thanks 🙂
 

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About 1. 5 ft inside will be a complete wood frame with mesh like the front of a hutch with a door. This means I can open double doors for ventilation during spring and summer months. There will be a tunnel connected to a zippi guinea pig, double height run outside. I have 6 piggies currently, housed indoors and taken to their run during the day at the moment. The shed will painted once I've rat proofed the bottom..... Yikes... as I didn't think about Roland and his friends... Shudder 😱🐀
 
:wel:
You can insulate it with foil insulation or you can use proper celotex. You can then clad it if you wish to stop the piggies from chewing the insulation - sheets of plywood would work
My boys live in a shed which is insulated with foil insulation but I have a row of c&c grids around the shed so they cannot get access to the insulation.
If you wish to add a loft, then ply or marine ply (which is very expensive) would probably be your best option. You will then need to cover the wood with a plastic or correx covering so it doesnt get ruined by pee.
Donf forget the ramp and gradient guidance. The higher the second level the longer the ramp needs to be - Ramps in Cages

Has your shed got heating?
Are the going to be in the shed year round? Free roaming without heating in winter in the shed may mean It won’t be warm enough. If it is heated, then of course it will be fine if well insulated.
Sheds are a nightmare in summer and I find is the worst time for shed dwelling piggies - summer is much harder than winter and keeping sheds cool can be pretty much impossible (situation dependent). Every summer my boys have to move out of their shed and come and live in the house
 
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hi and welcome! your idea sounds great for making your piggy shed! we’ve just insulated our shed with that bubble wrap insulation foil, its good to keep them in a shed as it protects from the bad weather and predators but please be aware in the hot weather sheds get SUPER hot as i have been experiencing over the last couple of days.. even with the door open for ventilation so just be aware of this and id recommended getting a thermometer!

would love to see your shed once completed, and meet all your piggies! good luck!
 
I did my insulation last year, material costs are high so instead of using foil wrapped material, specifically celotex which is double in price, I used polystyrene boards (EPS)
Jablite Polystyrene Insulation board (L)2.4m (W)1.2m (T)25mm | DIY at B&Q
It’s half the price, easy to cut, comes in different thickness. The difficulty was transporting.
Then in the bottom near the floor I used laminated plywood board approx half a metre to stop little mouths get at the walls.
Works a treat.
Check out the background!
 

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Piggies&buns said:
:wel:
You can insulate it with foil insulation or you can use proper celotex. You can then clad it if you wish to stop the piggies from chewing the insulation - sheets of plywood would work
My boys live in a shed which is insulated with foil insulation but I have a row of c&c grids around the shed so they cannot get access to the insulation.
If you wish to add a loft, then ply or marine ply (which is very expensive) would probably be your best option. You will then need to cover the wood with a plastic or correx covering so it doesnt get ruined by pee.
Donf forget the ramp and gradient guidance. The higher the second level the longer the ramp needs to be - Ramps in Cages

Has your shed got heating?
Are the going to be in the shed year round? Free roaming without heating in winter in the shed may mean It won’t be warm enough. If it is heated, then of course it will be fine if well insulated.
Sheds are a nightmare in summer and I find is the worst time for shed dwelling piggies - summer is much harder than winter and keeping sheds cool can be pretty much impossible (situation dependent). Every summer my boys have to move out of their shed and come and live in the house
Click to expand...
They will have access to a tunnel through to an Omlet run, which I've set up today but the idea of sorting out the shed ie insulation and cladding is daunting to me to do 😕 I need to get a DIY minded person involved I think lol 🤔
Thanks for your advice, much appreciated x
 
piggiemummy03x said:
hi and welcome! your idea sounds great for making your piggy shed! we’ve just insulated our shed with that bubble wrap insulation foil, its good to keep them in a shed as it protects from the bad weather and predators but please be aware in the hot weather sheds get SUPER hot as i have been experiencing over the last couple of days.. even with the door open for ventilation so just be aware of this and id recommended getting a thermometer!

would love to see your shed once completed, and meet all your piggies! good luck!
Click to expand...
I will put up pics when it's complete 😃 Thanks its a case of trial and error I think with the shed. If it doesn't work out then plan B will be in operation x
 
Piggymummy123 said:
They will have access to a tunnel through to an Omlet run, which I've set up today but the idea of sorting out the shed ie insulation and cladding is daunting to me to do 😕 I need to get a DIY minded person involved I think lol 🤔
Thanks for your advice, much appreciated x
Click to expand...
I'm getting mine in when it gets too cold or I might get an oil radiator in there? I'm not entirely sure but don't expect I will be leaving them out there over winter even with heating as I just won't sleep otherwise thinking they will freeze x
 
Mother Hubbard said:
I did my insulation last year, material costs are high so instead of using foil wrapped material, specifically celotex which is double in price, I used polystyrene boards (EPS)
Jablite Polystyrene Insulation board (L)2.4m (W)1.2m (T)25mm | DIY at B&Q
It’s half the price, easy to cut, comes in different thickness. The difficulty was transporting.
Then in the bottom near the floor I used laminated plywood board approx half a metre to stop little mouths get at the walls.
Works a treat.
Check out the background!
Click to expand...
Looks lovely and I will go and have a look after work tomorrow, thanks. I want to get the shed kitted out very soon. I have lino for the floor already to lay once the sides and roof is insulated. Also got to make a full screen with a door so I can open both double doors for full ventilation 🙂 x
 
Piggymummy123 said:
Looks lovely and I will go and have a look after work tomorrow, thanks. I want to get the shed kitted out very soon. I have lino for the floor already to lay once the sides and roof is insulated. Also got to make a full screen with a door so I can open both double doors for full ventilation 🙂 x
Click to expand...
I made a screen with the flyscreen covers from those attached to the hutch hugger from the Scratch & Newton hugger. I put Velcro tape around the doors and velcro’d them into place then used a furniture staple gun to secure it. Works fine. I installed an electric fly zapper as the spiders don’t do enough to keep any bugs down - it stops my fear of fly strike too.
 
My newest babies (4 of them) all have lice! Picked them up on Saturday and luckily they are in quarantine 🙄 I've read on this forum that it's OK to bath then in johnsons mite and lice shampoo? Is this correct? They are 6 weeks old 19th May. Wriggly little white worm things ugh..... 😱
 
Piggies&buns said:
Please do see a vet for the correct treatment first and foremost.

New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights
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Will phone Vets tomorrow and get an appointment. The babies weren't kept in the best of conditions at the breeders place and I felt sorry for them all. I'm glad they are with me in a clean cage until they are well enough to mix with the herd, once old enough and more importantly well enough 😔 Thanks
 
Guinea pig lice will make your piggies itchy, but they're easily treated by a vet. They can happen even in good conditions. I had a pair of babies, right around the same age as yours, that had lice. We think we know which piggy came with them, but it doesn't really matter, since both had to be treated either way. They had had their initial vet check like a week earlier, and the vet had even looked for lice, but there must have been nits that we couldn't see.
Anyways, I called the vet after seeing the little pests, and I was able to bring them in that afternoon. The vet weighed them, calculated out the dosage, and gave us a prescription for ivermectin for them. The hardest part of treatment was getting them to hold still while we applied it, which was pretty simple with a helper (one to hold, one to apply). They tolerated it well and were all better after treatment.
I did get a fine toothed comb to help comb out any nits and debris I could. I think I got it in the dog/cat department being sold as a flea comb or something.
 
I took the four newest babies to the vet. He confirmed it's Louce or louse? Ie a type of lice. I saw the video of one of the creatures from under the microscope and it looked like an alien yuck... Cost me £98 which is a lot but needed and we applied the Ivermectin to my other 8 as a precaution and the vet applied the the same meds to the tiny babies (according to their weight). Within a couple of days the wriggly critters had gone and babies have perked up and not so withdrawn. So all is good now 🙂
 
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