How to Build a Dog House – New Dog Home

Intro:

Today, we’re going to teach you how to build a dog house, be with us till the end of the article to learn properly. So, without any further delay let’s get started…

Topics covered in this article:

1. Framing the base
2. Sidewalls
3. Roof For Doghouse
4. Cut Trim Pieces & Finishing Touches
5. Making a Next Level Design

How to Build a Dog House

You will learn to build a modern and traditional doghouse and to add some cool features that are to make sure the neighborhood dogs get jealous. After learning properly, you will be able to construct the modern and functional design using some plywood, framing lumber, deck screws, and a few other finishing elements. You are to begin by framing the base, the sidewalls, and the roof. You will finish out your base and then attach the sidewalls and the roof frame to create the main doghouse structure. Later on. You will be adding plywood for siding.

No 01: Framing The Base

Base:

Measure twice, cut once then you will get the base pieces cut. Now, you’re gonna grab your drill and fasten this together. So, when you are measuring, if you’re only off by an eighth or so, it’s not going to be perfect that’s totally fine. When you go to put the plywood on, then you can really kind of nudge it, one way or another and that plywood’s really going to hold it down. That’s it for the base.

Cutting Angles:

So, you’re going to be cutting some angles. If you’ve got a miter saw where you can set the angle, have it up against the fence and make a nice cut, that would be great. If you don’t have then a speed square is definitely what I would recommend. It’s inexpensive, quick and this is framing, so it does not have to be perfect, you just got to be in the ballpark.

Now, if you are going to cut all your framing pieces all at once. It might be best to go ahead and just label everything as you cut it, otherwise, you are looking at a giant pile of 2 by 2s. Then, you are trying to figure out, and you are having to re-measure everything. So, just go ahead and mark it with a pencil, it’s your framing and it won’t be seen anyways.

Assemble Framing:

Once you have got your framing all cut then you’re gonna assemble it. So, you have to cut first and assemble 2 by 2, so that they have a tendency to crack if you put a screw through the end. Now, you need to drill some pilot holes and put this all together, and put it on your base.

So, with 2 by 2s you might see it moves but once you put all four walls together, it’s really going to sturdy it up. If you were building with 2 by 4s, it would be a little stiffer but for a dog house, this is perfect. Now, you are going to go ahead and assemble your walls on the base.

Assemble Walls On The Base:

If you are working by yourself, you might think it’s easy to hold two walls together and screw them together. You might be able to do that so you need to mark where the back wall goes and screw it into your base first. That way it’s like you’ve got an extra set of hands holding that wall while you screw on the sides and then your front. So, you got three sides up, the last one is front now.

Framing For Door Area:

You can modify the door area as per your requirements. If you have a taller dog and I made it 2 to 4 inches wider than her shoulder blade, so he/she can go in and out. Obviously, if your dog’s a different size, you can customize it accordingly. Now, you have got your front built, it would be starting to look like a doghouse.

Doghouse Roof Framing:

Make roof framing the same as you did earlier. Measure and cut 2 by 2s and fasten them with screws. This is going to hang off the front and it’s going to be flush with the back. So, if you come around to the back and you look at the edge, and you might not cut the angle, so this is going straight up. This is kind of going back, so do yourself a favor and just move that forward just a little bit, so that the top edge is flush there. That way you don’t have the top kicking your plywood panel out.

No 02: Sidewalls

For sidewalls, you’re going to measure and you’re going to cut all your walls, you’re going to do your sides, and then your roof. To measure and cut the front, you’re going to go ahead and just cut it and lay it up there, see how it fits, and then mark your opening for the door. Another quick thing to think about, if the grain is running vertical, make sure that all the other size grain is also running vertically. Since this is what your finished wall is going to look like, and having them all running the same way would work out nicely.

So, line it up side to side and grab a pencil and just get inside there and mark your door. Once you got your walls then let’s go ahead to put them on the roof.

No 03: Roof For Doghouse

To cut the plywood for the roof, your width, and your length you’re going to add three-quarters of an inch to each side, so both sides add three-quarters of an inch. The front and the back that way you have room for your trim and you can put your drip cap right over the top of that.

No 04: Cut Trim Pieces & Finishing Touches

The last thing you need to do is, go ahead and cut all of your trim pieces. That way you can get them painted and you can stain the doghouse. Go ahead paint and stain them and let them for one day.

So next day, when your paint and stain are cured, you’re gonna finish this thing off by putting your drip edge, your shingles, and your trim on. Go drip edges on, and when you measure your pieces for the end to cut them, just flip them over, score them with a knife, fold them until they break. Make sure not to cut through to cut your tarp paper and that’s it for the roof, so it’s time to do the trim.

I mostly put this on with brad nails and also use some construction adhesive, if you want you can even use a little bit of silicone to waterproof those seams.

While you’re building this, you want to make sure there’s nothing sharp poking through. So that when our pet’s inside, they’re not going to get cut or anything. Make sure there are finish nails, your screws, your regular roof nails, everything is just long enough to go into the lumber but not so long that it goes through the lumber.

No 05: Making A Next Level Design

If you want to make a next-level design, I have a few ideas that I want to let you know. One of the first ideas is to cut one side wall open, hinge at the top, so it folds out creates a little bit of shade, maybe a little bit of airflow.

Once you have got your door cut out, first of all, make sure the hinge should cover up all the screws nicely. So, to be able to get the door to shut nicely, you need to take off the piece of framing.  That’s it your doghouse has a side door now.

You could stop here but I have one more idea that you might like. So for the last modification, you’re gonna build a ramp, so your dog can get up on the roof. You are gonna tear off the asphalt shingle and put down some artificial grass, so he/she can do some sunbathing. Take the roof off down to the felt paper, and build a border around it to hide the edges of the artificial grass.

Now, cut out the ramp with half-inch plywood which is what you built your doghouse out of. That way when you stain it will match on the inside, however, you really won’t see the ply, so use a 3 quarter inch to provide more structural integrity.

For the outside face of the ramp, you could try just screwing your panels in all from the outside but if you want to hide your screws, try using something like a pocket hole jig. It’s inexpensive, it is easy to use and it keeps all those screws hidden.

After that, first of all, do a weight test, and once it’s passing the weight test. Then, you’re going to build a few spacers, so it ties in nicely to the doghouse and then you are to put our grass on. You don’t have to permanently attach your ramp. That’s it, your dog house is done.

Hope so guys you liked reading this article. I tried my best as much as possible ways to make you understand everything clearly so hopefully, this article is gonna be helpful for you in how to build a dog house. Keep visiting us to learn many more things. Have a nice day!

All Construction Tools / Materials Links:

• Jigsaw  …. click to buy
• Circular Saw … click to buy
• Drill & Drill Bits ... click to buy
• Brad Nailer … click to buy
• Hammer … click to buy
• Pry Bar … click to buy
• Pliers … click to buy
• Utility Knife … click to buy
• Measuring Tape … click to buy
• Speed Square … click to buy
• Combo Square … click to buy
• Pocket Hole Jig … click to buy
• Face Clamp … click to buy
• Caulk Gun … click to buy
• Staple Gun … click to buy
• Paint Brushes … click to buy
• Safety Glasses … click to buy
• Dust Mask  … click to buy
• Hearing Protection … click to buy
• Pencil … click to buy
• Impact Driver & Driver Bits … click to buy

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