Hi all,
 
I was hesitant in sharing this new discovery with anyone on the list, I
wanted to test it sufficiently first.  With my experience so far (1 month),
it seems to be a happy solution for ferret proofing.
 
When I was living at school in a house near frat row, the back doors to our
house kept getting broken.  So, the house manager installed Lexan instead
of glass.  Lexan is a magical stuff that is virtually unbreakable and
unmarrable, which can be used in place of glass or Plexiglas.  Unlike
Plexiglas, it does not mar when you scratch it, so you don't end up with
little Lexan flakes everywhere (not to mention, as a theater techie
mentioned to me, Plexiglas is toxic).  They installed the Lexan on the
doors about 6 or 7 years ago, and it's weathered everything from full beer
bottles to crowbars.
 
So, when Corey and I were looking for a way to keep the kids from scratching
at the closet door (we've tried *everything*, trust me), I mentioned Lexan
to Corey, and off to Home Depot we went.  The stuff is *pricey*, about 20%
more expensive than Plexiglas in our area, but so far, it's worth it.
 
In terms of installation, Corey found that if you cut it (using a glass
cutter or a special plastic cutter you can find in the same section of Home
Depot) to just a smidge wider than the doorway you want to block, and just
tall enough to step over, it will hold itself in place with tension.  This
is particularly good for ppl in apartments that can't afford to "install"
anything.  If you do have a house, there are mounts you can use to hold it
in place.  I believe you can also hook it up much the same way you would a
small door, with hinges and such.
 
The advantages here are a-plenty.  My hot-blooded albino boy Gabe tirelessly
scratched at it for about .5 hour: it didn't make a sound, and it didn't
*scratch*.  It still hasn't been marred in any way, and Gabe scratches at
that thing *daily*.  No noise, no little flecks of evil toxic stuff, and
no damage to the apartment.
 
The 36" x 48" piece we got cost us in the neighborhood of $30 with tax.
They sell it in larger pieces as well, so if you wanted to get a really
big piece and cut it in multiple pieces to cover several doorways, it would
probably be less expensive.  And if you live in apartments and homes with
standard-sized doorways, you can generally carry these pieces from home to
home and reuse them, which saves money in the long run.
 
Thought I'd share,
 
Andrea
 
Gabriel -  **scratch scratch scratch scratch scratch scratch **
Lucy Furr -  "I'll just put the treat container safely away over here..."
Tiki - "I'm the foster kid extraordinaire!"
 
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Andrea Mercado - Web Developer
T3 Media, Inc.
285 W. B'way, NYC
vox: 212.334.0944 ext 256
fax: 212.334.2472
e: [log in to unmask]
 
Visit our site at http://www.t3media.com
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[Posted in FML issue 2567]