Upper Levels Idiots guide to making a second story?

[sonvrai]

I am toying with idea of converting my old pet store bought cage into a loft kitchen area but I don't get how this is done. I looked over the pictures in the sticky thread, but I don't really learn well that way, has anyone done this before and can actually tell me how they did it? How do you bend the grids? I don't understand how bending the grids even makes a second floor, has anyone made one without doing that? And what kinds of (simple, easy for the arts and crafty challenged) things do you guys use for ramps?

If this has already been covered I'd be really grateful for links.

 

[SweetiePig]

Hi, I have a second level to my guinea pig cage, I cant seam to find the pic on my computer to post as an example so here is my 'diary', there is a pic of my cage on it - https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/introduce-yourself/63945-curly-pig-diary.html

Are you wanting to make the second level with cubes or with the other pet store cage you have? I got kinda confused about that and what do you mean by "bending" the cubes. I dont think you have to bend them at all.

As far as ramps go, mine was WAY easy to make and I think it looks pretty good too. I went to lowes and got a 4ft x 6in. board ($3) and got them to cut it in half then I got a 8ft x 2in. long piece of wood ($2) and got them to cut it into 6in. sections. I then took the pieces home and drilled two holes in the top of the board so I could zip tie it to the upper level and then I screwed the 6in. pieces up the board for steps. It was very was, took about 5 minutes. Makes a wonderful ramp!
Or if you want something different, let me know and I can give you other ideas.

 

[sewlittle]

There are many that make their ramps out of 2 grids bent like a U, connected to make 2 grids long. I put coroplast down, then like a cut up welcome mat on top of that for traction.

 

[sonvrai]

Thank you guys for the help!
And I want to make my old guinea pig cage the loft. About the bending- that's just what they did on a second story thread here, it was confusing me.

As for the the wood ramp- If you have other ideas that'd be really great. I have enough left over cubes to make my loft as soon as I find a ramp! I'm so excited!

 

[Inle_Rabbit]

I love my wood ramp too! I went to Home Depot and checked out the scrap wood bin. I found a piece that was 7" wide (half a grid) and however many it was long. It was actually pretty long. I found a Home Depot guy and he cut the board to 26" long. I bought a cheap outdoor rug for 2 dollars. I cut the rug so it fit on the board then glued it on. Next I took (broken link removed), the image on the left, and screwed three into the top of the board. The ramp then hooks to the upstairs grid. That way it is easy to remove for cleaning or replacing.

All in all my ramp cost: 51 cents for the the wood, 2 dollars for the mat and 1 dollar for the hooks so $3.51. I can post pictures for a better visual if you'd like.