building a dog kennel

Step 1

Measure the size of the plywood kennel floor. In this kennel, the dog will enter from the side and turn at right angles into the sleeping space. Mark up the saw lines, making sure they are straight. Cut the base from the board using the skill saw.

Step 2

Nail two pieces of timber under the floor board to lift it off the ground so that it will stay dry. Measure corner supports to the appropriate height, cut them and nail them into the floor board. As we have the door in the side, we have added an additional post for the door frame.

Step 3

Cut the weatherboards or fence palings to length and nail them to the supports.

Step 4

Measure and cut out two triangles from the leftover plywood for the roof ends, allowing a slight overhang at the sides. Nail them to the roof supports, which should be the same length as the kennel.

Step 5

Measure, mark and carefully cut out the corrugated iron using the tin snips, allowing an overhang front and back and at the sides to protect the kennel. Nail it to the timber roof structure using roofing clouts.

Step 6

Fix the roof capping over the angle of the roofing iron to finish the roof. Hinge the roof onto the dog kennel at the back. This allows it to be picked up to shake out bedding and clean the kennel.

Step 7

Prime then paint the kennel in your choice of Resene waterborne house paint. We used Resene Hi-Glo gloss acrylic, but you could also use the lower sheen Resene Sonyx 101 (semigloss) or Resene Lumbersider (satin).

What you will need...