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Nowadays, our pet dogs live in the family home, however, for some an outside kennel is also required. For those who are comfortable with DIY, building a kennel is quite an easy job. There are though a few things that you should bear in mind to make sure the kennel is suitable for your dog.

To keep as much of the adverse weather out, you should build the kennel with two rooms. This allows the sleeping quarters to kept away from the main entrance, and so providing a place that is warmer and out of draughts and driving rain.

The sleeping quarters needs to be 150 mm larger in each direction than the dog is when curled up, the entrance room only needs to be half as wide as this. The height of the rooms need be 150 mm higher than the distance from the floor to the top of your dogs head whilst sitting and the doorways equal to the dogs shoulder height and 50 mm wider than it’s shoulder width. The outer door should be placed at right angles to the internal door to avoid the wind blowing directly into the sleeping quarters.

Make the floor area from 18 mm exterior grade plywood, combining the width and length measurements of the two rooms to get the total area. This will then need to be attached to a plinth made the same size from 50 x 100 mm treated timber, this raises the floor off the ground. Both the internal and external walls should be made from 18 mm exterior grade chipboard, with the top of the exterior wall ends cut at 45 degree angles to allow for a sloping roof. Make the roof from 18 mm exterior grade plywood, cutting the panels 50 mm larger on the outer sides, this will provide eaves that will shed rain away from the exterior walls. To make it easier to clean the interior spaces, fix the roof panels with hinges or make them detachable. Cover the roof panels with roofing felt to make it weather tight.

In conclusion, treat the exterior with a suitable weatherproof paint or preservative. Plus, when you’re ready to site the kennel, place it where your pet will be able see the what the family members are doing.

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