| Building the Floor The floor of the dog
house is pretty simple: a sheet of 1/2" plywood attached to a frame
of decay resistant cedar (recycled from the old deck of course). The
floor measures 28-3/4" by 31-3/4". Once the 5/8" walls are attached,
this brings the outer dimensions of the dog house to 30" by 33" (not
including the corner trim).
Begin by constructing the base. It is made from 3/4" x 2-1/2" boards
that are screwed or nailed together. For a little extra
support, I opted to insert a board in the middle of the frame.
Once the frame is built, the plywood floor is screwed onto it and
foam insulation panels are inserted in each of the two halves of the
base (Figure 2). To hold the panels in place, I ran duct tape along
the edges. Screws inserted into the sides of the frame with the
heads projecting out would also get the job done.
Side Walls
At this point, the floor is done and it's time to work on the
walls. Start with the two side walls. Cut the outer plywood panels
to size (28-3/4" by 23-3/4"), making sure that the length exactly
matches the length of the floor.
Create the wall frames using 2" x 2" or 2" x 3" studs. I used 2"
x 3" studs for the side walls and 2" x 2" studs for the front and
back walls because I had both in stock and wanted to use them up.
Just keep in mind that the actual dimensions of construction lumber
are a half-inch less than the stated dimensions.
Cut the studs to size to frame the perimeter of the wall panels,
keeping 1" exposed on the bottom of each panel for it to overhang
the base. Then attach the studs to the panels. For each wall, I used
six 2" screws inserted from the inside - to keep the exterior as
hole free as possible. Later on, the screws that hold the exterior
corner trim in place will also serve as additional attachment points
for the walls to the frames.
The side walls are screwed into the floor as shown in Figure 3.
To keep from having to use extremely long screws, I counterbored the
screw holes an inch or so (that's what I get for using 2" x 3"
studs). I also put in some of the screws at an angle (toe-screwed?)
which saves you from having to drill counter bores.
By the way, the drill shown in the picture is my favorite. It's a
reconditioned Black & Decker that I picked up for about $30 some
years ago at a factory outlet. It's lightweight, has a keyless chuck
that is easy to grip, and there are no batteries to recharge. What
more could one ask for in a drill?
Once both walls are attached to the base, you can go ahead and
insert insulation panels inside the frame and then screw on the
interior wall panels. The wall panels are made from 1/2" plywood and
are sized to fully cover the framework of the wall (should be about
23" x 31-3/4").
Next: Front and back walls -> |
Figure 1. The floor.
Figure 2. Bottom view of base and deck.
Figure 3. Attaching the side walls to the floor.
Figure 4. Screwing wall to floor.
Figure 5. Both side walls attached to the base.
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