I have recently been researching a thing called "Latex Concrete Roofing" This is the page that originally got me interested. However, after a bit of research I'm not convinced that it is actually cheaper than metal sheet roofing. Although the structural support required might be and it has the possibility of keep rabbits cooler. http://www.instructables.com/id/Latex-C ... of/Firefox Setup 37.0.1.exe
Anyway, I decided to do a bit of experimenting... I tried mixing some acrylic craft paint (from walmart) with portland cement (hubby hand it already) and water. It was only a very small test with cloth strips but I was very pleased with the results. For some reason the bottom sheets at my house always wear out faster than the top sheets. I've made a habit of keeping these top sheets for various projects. They are great to "test" patterns while sewing. I've even made clothing out of them. I took one of these sheets and covered some cages with it. However, buying acrylic paint by the gallon is quite expensive. So, I bought a cheap gallon of white outdoor latex fence paint (again at walmart). I tried mixing it with portland cement and water like I had the acrylic paints but it wasn't nearly as nice. It wanted to thicken and I kept having to add more water. Anyway I went ahead and painted this onto the sheet over the hutch. I wasn't very pleased with the result. It was lumpy and seemed like it wanted to flake.
I then remembered having read this...http://www.instructables.com/id/Poor-Ma ... -weatherp/
So, I just painted over the sheet again (which is now stuck to the cage from the first application) with the exterior latex paint. Guess what? It's waterproof! I poured about a cup of water onto the flat top of the roof and let it sit to see if it would soak through. It didn't. It eventually evaporated without penetrating the coating.
So, what is the advantage of this? I think it might be a valid alternative to tarping or tin coverings directly on top of cages. My experience with using tarps on the top of my cages is that they tend to let heat through. This coating seems to block/reflect sunlight acting more like natural shade. Also, although admittedly the first coating I applied did contain portland cement, itself adheres to the cage wire.
Now granted I haven't seen how this will "wear" but I'm hopeful, given the testimonials from the "poor mans fiberglass" page that it will last for a good while.
So, I believe that if you have the money, mixing acrylic paint with equal parts portland cement and water until you again have a "paint" consistency and coating cloth will create a very durable and probably even waterproof coatings. Although my experimenting with this was incomplete.
If you don't want to spend the money buying acrylic paint, just using regular latex outdoor paint and painting over cloth will also create a waterproof coating.
Anyway, I decided to do a bit of experimenting... I tried mixing some acrylic craft paint (from walmart) with portland cement (hubby hand it already) and water. It was only a very small test with cloth strips but I was very pleased with the results. For some reason the bottom sheets at my house always wear out faster than the top sheets. I've made a habit of keeping these top sheets for various projects. They are great to "test" patterns while sewing. I've even made clothing out of them. I took one of these sheets and covered some cages with it. However, buying acrylic paint by the gallon is quite expensive. So, I bought a cheap gallon of white outdoor latex fence paint (again at walmart). I tried mixing it with portland cement and water like I had the acrylic paints but it wasn't nearly as nice. It wanted to thicken and I kept having to add more water. Anyway I went ahead and painted this onto the sheet over the hutch. I wasn't very pleased with the result. It was lumpy and seemed like it wanted to flake.
I then remembered having read this...http://www.instructables.com/id/Poor-Ma ... -weatherp/
So, I just painted over the sheet again (which is now stuck to the cage from the first application) with the exterior latex paint. Guess what? It's waterproof! I poured about a cup of water onto the flat top of the roof and let it sit to see if it would soak through. It didn't. It eventually evaporated without penetrating the coating.
So, what is the advantage of this? I think it might be a valid alternative to tarping or tin coverings directly on top of cages. My experience with using tarps on the top of my cages is that they tend to let heat through. This coating seems to block/reflect sunlight acting more like natural shade. Also, although admittedly the first coating I applied did contain portland cement, itself adheres to the cage wire.
Now granted I haven't seen how this will "wear" but I'm hopeful, given the testimonials from the "poor mans fiberglass" page that it will last for a good while.
So, I believe that if you have the money, mixing acrylic paint with equal parts portland cement and water until you again have a "paint" consistency and coating cloth will create a very durable and probably even waterproof coatings. Although my experimenting with this was incomplete.
If you don't want to spend the money buying acrylic paint, just using regular latex outdoor paint and painting over cloth will also create a waterproof coating.
