Nikita's Dog HouseNikita's Dog HouseArticle written by Nikita
Some photos of me in my partially constructed house (no roof at the time these were taken): first photo, second photo and third photo.
The house is a rectangular shape with a flat sloped roof (ie not pitched), although it could be easily modified for a pitched roof if desired. The exterior dimensions are 1356mm (W) * 862mm (D) * 840/990 mm (H, sloped). This would easily be rescaled if desired.
The construction is treated pine for the sub-floor frame (to raise the floor above ground height so it won't get damp or rot). The walls are framed up with pine framing (D.A.R. ie dressed all round) and can be clad with the timber of your choice, although my one's done up with pine wall linings and stained to protect the timber. Ian's also gone overboard and gloss-varnished the inside so it's easy to clean.
One neat feature about this design is that it can be disassembled in minutes and packed flat for transportation (on a roof rack, trailer etc).
If you want a dog house to this design then get your boss dog to read the plans carefully and he/she'd better be pretty handy with woodworking because it's about the most complicated dog house design that I've ever come across. You'll need a saw bench and router table for all the complicated joints although I'm sure you could do it by hand if you've got a spare few weeks. You can mail Ian at ian.dobson@bigpond.com for assistance if required.
This is made from 90 * 45 mm treated pine and will hold up to weather without rotting. The sub-floor also forms the anchor point for the front and back wall frames.
Note the somewhat strange dimensions 1356 * 862mm were designed to exactly fit to the pine linings Ian used for cladding, although it really didn't matter much in the end and you can modify the sizing to suit yourself. The existing design would easily accommodate two Huskies.
Cross-cut the following lengths of 90 * 45mm pine:
Ensure the ends are true, especially of the 772 and 1266mm lengths as they will be butt-jointed and need to join flush with the cap piece.
The only joint at all tricky here is the middle of the cross piece, which is done as a halving joint by chiseling out (or using the sawbench to make) a 45mm deep, 45mm wide trench half way down each of the 1266mm length and one of the 772mm lengths, then socket the two pieces into each other.
Note the sub-frame stands 90mm high when placed on the ground.
The frame is bolted together, I used 100mm long hex-head bolts, two to a joint, spaced 30mm apart and 30mm from the top and bottom. You can assemble the base frame at this stage but once this is done, remove the top bolt from each hole temporarily in order to chisel out the rectangular sockets.
The rectangular sockets, three to each of the front and back sides, anchor the front and back panels to the base. These must be chiseled to a 45mm depth and are 70mm * 19mm in size. To get precision alignment, I suggest leaving these until the front and back panels are completed and then using the pegs on these panels to line up and mark the base sockets.
(front is shown, back is the same only 150mm shorter between the top horizontal piece and the base horizontal piece)
These are framed up from 70 * 19mm D.A.R. pine framing and then clad with the timber of your choice (Ian used pine wall linings, 12mm thick, set vertically).
The three 'pegs', left at the bottom of each side, slot into the sub-floor frame but can easily be removed to fold the dog house flat.
Cross-cut the following lengths of 79 * 19mm pine framing:
The left and right uprights are joined to the top with halving joints as per illustration 1, while the middle upright is joined to the top with a housing joint as per illustration 2. The lower horizontal is also set into the left and right uprights with housing joints, while the centre upright and lower horizontal are overlapped in the same manner as the sub floor cross-piece. You can do all of these with a hand chisel but it's a LOT easier with a power saw bench or a router.
Ian glued and nailed all joints, you could use screws instead if you want to.
The left and right uprights need to have a narrow groove inserted up the length from the base of the lower horizontal up to the very top (ie down the entire length except for the peg at the bottom). This groove is to be set 7mm from the outer edge and should be 5mm wide and 5mm deep. The easiest way to do this is with a saw bench before you join all the pieces together, otherwise it can be a tricky job to hold the frame straight against the guide.
These grooves are set so that when the front and back frames are inserted into the subfloor, the grooves on front and back frame must face each other. These are then used to hold up the side pieces.
Once the front and backs are completed, and the sockets on the subfloor base are holed out, the upper bolt holes in the subfloor frame can be drilled with the front and back in place (ie the bolt passes through the hole and peg).
(right side is shown, left is a mirror image)
These are framed up from 70 * 19mm D.A.R. pine framing and then clad with the timber of your choice (Ian used pine wall linings, 12mm thick, set vertically).
Each edge of the side has a tongue which slides into the grooves set into the front and back panel edges.
Cross-cut the following lengths of 79 * 19mm pine framing:
The horizontal (and sloped top) members are joined to the uprights with stopped halving joints as per the illustration. Before joining, a 5mm wide and deep tongue needs to be routed into the upright members.
When framing up the sides, it is useful to have the front, back and subfloor assembed, and fit the side into its proper place to obtain correct alignment.
Ian glued and nailed all joints, you could use screws instead if you want to.
The hardest bit is working out the angles for the sloping top and the half cuts into the upright members to accommodate it. The 808 mm width of the side INCLUDES THE TWO 5mm TONGUES, ie it is 798 mm wide from main edge to main edge plus the 10mm worth of tongues.
This width is obtained from the 772 mm subfloor inner depth plus two lots of 13mm for the distance between the peg hole and the inner edges of the base.
To keep the sides in place, Ian attached cupboard door sliding bolts to the front and back inner frames, and drilled holes into the side pieces for the bolts to slide into. Four bolts, one at each corner, thus anchor the sides to the front and back pieces and lock the side panels securely into the grooves.
The floor is simply placed on top of the subfloor frame. Ian used pine wall linings again, cut to size, but a stronger timber such as floorboards could be used if desired. Don't use chipboard if you want it to be waterproof! You can nail the floor down to the subfloor if you want, but I just left it sitting without fixing it down - the walls hold it in place so it won't move.
The easiest bit of all! A simple frame could be constructed with 70*19mm pine framing and hinged to the front or back for easy access for cleaning etc. Cover with pine linings, colorbond metal or whatever you want. Ian discovered that pine linings have knotholes which leak water when it collects on the roof, so you might want to find knot-free pieces or use alternative materials. Consider eaves of 100mm all around but especially on the door side. Which reminds me...
We cut an arched doorway into the left side of the front panel but you could place it elsewhere if you want. But make sure it's on the taller wall so that rain runs away from the door (unless you get really elaborate and add guttering etc., in which case it doesn't matter). Cut the door to fit your dog so it can get in comfortably but not so big that a raging breeze will sail straight through. If your dog doesn't fit in there, you could consider sending the dog to me! That'll be sure to fix things, and I'd get another friend to play with. No? Maybe not then...oh well.
Well, that's about it except that you then clad the frame with timber panels of your choice and stain as desired. Good luck and mail Ian if you have trouble following all of the instructions or want further information.
