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Building a Home

So proud of my doggy door

10 years ago

This forum was super helpful during the build process. We've moved in and are working on the last few interior details. I may be crazy, but I just love the way our doggy door turned out. We didn't have one in our rental and it felt like I was jumping up every 15 min to let someone out. I'm so happy with it I wanted to share with you.

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Comments (13)

Spottythecat
10 years ago
I LOVE IT!!! The 1/2 is so clever! Thanks for sharing!!!
bpath
10 years ago
Looks like you're ready for the neighborhood pups to trick-or-treat :) Very cute!
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It's been a week and it's MOSTLY clear. Did any of you see the movie "The Princess Bride" - if so you understand the joke about MOSTLY DEAD. So Mostly Clear is good enough for now - DH keeps dropping things there but I find a place for them in a few hours or maybe a day. My DR is right in the middle of the house. We have a side door, not back door, so you come in the side door into the kitchen, then straight into the DR and there is the big Slab O' Table just inviting you to drop whatever you're carrying right on top - it's just sooooo easy to let it pile up! The kitchen is tiny - no counters to speak of - so the DR table becomes the junk collector or INBOX as Talley Sue pointed out! Right now it's piled with candy from Trick or Treat last night but that won't last long :)
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Doggie door in door or in Wall?
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I think cost of replacement door/wall depends on the cost of your door and what your wall is made out of. We had a couple doggie doors put in our walls and it turned out to be a lot simpler and cheaper than I thought it was going to be (we have dry wall in inside and stucco on outside). Save your stucco cut out and you can repair the wall very easily and cheaply (far cheaper than replacing a door, unless your door is super cheap). Also, if your door is part of a double, door styles are always changing and matching the other half of the door if you decide to sell, or want to move the doggy door elsewhere, often necessitates replacing the entire door set up (to me, this is WAY more complicated not to mention expensive than fixing a hole in the wall... but again, I think that depends sort of what your walls are made of). BUT, the cost of a doggy door made for a wall is usually a lot more than one made for a door. If your wall is super thick, generally the screws that come with the doggy door kit are almost never long enough, so you will need to go purchase special screws at an large outlet store. The reason I like doggy doors in walls is there is less of a hassle dealing with the door being open or closed, and with the decision to put the door in the wall, you can pretty much put it anywhere you like it... generally most people only have a few doors as an option, and putting one in a nice door can really ruin the look of the door.. and the door just may not be the right spot for the doggy door.
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Entry Doors with Built-in Doggie Doors
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Comments (18)
No it will not dekeoboe. We were building our cat's room in the garage and I wanted to be able to clean in from the garage with a window or large dog door and it wouldn't pass code. So if you do have one installed you need to know it might have to be removed upon sale of your house (ie door replaced with fire rated door). I used to crawl through the dog door in a rental we had whenever we lost the keys. It was a medium size and I was limber and skinny :) It did teach me about the issues of having a door anyone can skinny through easily. We were never robbed, but I'd not put one on my home now knowing how easy they are to get in. I do like the idea of the electronic one though...much safer. I've installed a gazillion cat doors myself OP. You need a kit (hd has them) a drill and a jig saw. It comes with a pattern and you drill in the corners then just cut the holes in a solid wood door. Easy stuff really. The kit hides your jiggly jig saw cuts if that's an issue. If you can't do that you can easily hire a handy man or woman to do it I would think...It's really not rocket science. I only suggest this because it sounds like you're not finding what you want and it's a pretty easy solution. Ours are always then painted to match the door so they blend in better. I'm going to add one to our hall to laundry in the next few weeks so I can keep the litter box out there (it's in our closet room now...I prefer it not be LOL). I miss our kitty room!
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so confused which doggie door!
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Comments (6)
Yes, it's going to be costly to modify the glass in the existing door. One option is to contact a carpenter, or cabinet maker, have them remove the glass and then frame out the lower section for the dog door. Then the upper section can have new glass placed in it. Another option is to have a thru-the-wall dog door installed. I don't know how large your dog is, but the area to the left of the doors looks like a good place to put in a wall dog door. Third option is to have a glass company install this door directly in the glass. I've used the Hale doors for years and they have quality products. (A small-tall door for my cats costs around $200 and we installed it ourselves.) If you go this route, show them the Hale info so they understand how it would need to be done. That's a beautiful set of doors you have!
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Jules
10 years ago
Adorable! What state are you in? Wondering regarding climate.
mommytoty
10 years ago
So cute, love it!! I've been wanting to do something similar, but we live near undeveloped land/reserve, so I get concerned about other animals coming in (rodents, raccoons). Does that happen or am I being paranoid??
Kelly
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks, everyone!
The 1/2 was DH's idea so he gets the credit.
I am in the Dallas area and this fall is really nice.
Mommytoty, we had the same concerns. Google Solo Pet Doors. A little magnet goes on your pet's collars so it only opens for your pet. You can adjust the sensitivity, both how close your pet has to get to the door and how long it stays open. Also, it is a pulley system. Some others are motorized and can come down on your pet and do harm. If this comes down it's just the weight of the plexiglass door, so not much. We had one in our old home for 4 yrs without any problems. I highly recommend it. The only downside is that they are pricey. In our last home I had it in the wall in the closet in the bonus room. An untraditional place, but it was nice that it was out of the way and I could close the closet door and totally have it hidden. We downsized so no bonus room in the new house. If you decide to get one think about all the different places it would work for your lifestyle.
mommytoty
10 years ago
Thanks for the info! Will definitely look into Solo Pet Doors!!!
Lori Wagerman_Walker
10 years ago
Love :)
I need to see the bigger picture though, I'd like to incorporate one into our garage, but I'm just not sure where....
mommytoty
10 years ago
Do you have a picture of what this looks like from the inside that you can post? The only place I can think of putting one in our house is in the rec room, but it would be quite visible, so wondering how much space it takes and what it looks like. Thanks!
katmu
10 years ago
That is so cute, and would be super convenient.

Probably not an option for my climate here in Minnesota though.
Kelly
Original Author
10 years ago
They have multiple sizes to choose from. The dog door part on mine is 10x12, which I think works for up to a 50lb dog. I'll have to do mult posts bc I can't get more than one pic to upload at a time. This is the outside view.
Kelly
Original Author
10 years ago
This is inside my laundry room. The mini ramp is bc I have senior dogs with bad backs. You normally wouldn't need it.
Kelly
Original Author
10 years ago
Here's a pic of it in action. ;)
mommytoty
10 years ago
Thanks for the pics, kgizo!! I wish I had a set up like yours so I could put it in the laundry or even a closet. I'll have to keep thinking and maybe get a bit creative!!

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