DIY Cage Questions Regarding Wood & Glass

My DH (darling in this case) has decided that he's interested in possibly making me a cage for my future corn snake rather than going the aquarium route. We both prefer the look of wood and glass over acrylics and the like. I am set on absolutely no melamine. We're debating the pros and cons cost-wise, as well as what would be most aesthetically pleasing.

We have some questions:

I know most aquariums have glass on the bottom. What's on the bottom of your wooden viv?

What is recommended for heating - UTH, Flexwatt, or something else?

UTH: Which heaters specifically? What is the difference in UTH placement with wood and glass?

What about Flexwatt with wood or glass?

Any thoughts appropriate to this set of questions would be most welcome. Thanks for the help!

I have a large wooden viv, 3/4" plywood bottom. I wasn't satisfied with the heat transfer from my UTH so I cut out part of the plywood bottom and put in a lexan plate to put the heat under.
Look at Beanfarm.com for UTHs that can be put in the viv and other heating options.

I recently purchased a dual enclosure, all wood and some kind of glass/plexi/whatever. I haven't used it yet myself (have been putting off scrubbing it clean.. What a pain!), but the PO had both units heated with a heating pad (Ultratherm, which The Bean Farm carries). There was nothing to separate the UTHs from the snakes--they were IN the vivs, separated from the wood by some linoleum the builder had installed on the floors of each viv. This had apparently worked very well for the PO--he kept boas and pythons in it, and a thermostat controls both heat pads.

My plan for it is to rip up the linoleum, seal the wood beneath if need be, and lay down glass (or plexiglass, or acrylic..) with the heat pads underneath, sealed with aquarium sealant. Maybe with feet to hold the glass up and cord going out under the glass instead of up through to allow for some airflow. My main reason for this is that, while the previous situation was effective, the heat pads need a good scrubbing due to fecal matter and dirty/singed bedding building up beneath the heat pads.

Blah. I hope my mumble-jumble explanation made sense, and that it helps you figure out what you're going to do. =)