Materials needed:

• 1 1/2" w x 1/16th" D X 8' L flat aluminum
• Small box of 1/8" extra long rivets.
• Small box of washers for 1/8" rivets (optional)
• 1 tub and lid. I prefer Rubbermaid snap toppers 72 quart.
• 1/2" x 1/2" hardware cloth or 1/4" x 1/4" hardware cloth (for mice).
• Scrap piece of 1" thick wood (I like to use 1" x 4" or 1" x 6")

Tools needed:

• Utility knife with sharp blade or Keyhole saw.
• Hacksaw or Keyhole saw with metal blade.
• Rivet gun.
• Drill and 1/8th" drill bit (correct size drill bit is essential)

• A. 2 end pieces from flat aluminum already cut to size.
• B. 2 side pieces from flat aluminum already cut to size.
• C. Top view of lid with section removed.
• D. Section removed from lid
• E. Utility Knife
• F. Keyhole saw.
• Rivets, washers, and rivet gun not shown.

I prefer to cut my aluminum first. This allows me to use the cut aluminum pieces as an outline for the lid. For this use I cut the 2 side pieces at 24" and the end pieces at 12". I overlap the aluminum pieces on the corners, then use a "Sharpie" pen to draw my outline.

This is a picture of using the cut aluminum to draw an out line of the rodent tub lid

Cut your hardware cloth. It needs to be 2" longer and wider than the section you cut out of the lid. Turn the lid over so that the "snaps" are facing down. Center the hardware cloth over the open portion of the lid. Slide your scrap 1" stock under the middle of the lid, and drill a hole (with the 1/8" drill bit) through the aluminum, hardware cloth, and plastic (this is the reason for the scrap). Slide a rivet through the hole you just drilled (pointy part of the rivet should be pointing do the underside of the lid. I prefer to have 3 rivets per side (not including corner ones) and one or two rivets on each end (again not counting corners).

Here is the completed bottom side of the rodent tub lid.

And here is the completed top side of the rodent tub lid