Question: What do you get when you mix a pregnant wife, two dogs, and an ultimatum? Answer: A rocking DIY project. With a baby on the way, my wife and I had several long discussions about our dogs. In the end, we decided to move the dogs out of the guest bedroom and into the family room.
Unfortunately their kennels are huge plastic monstrosities (you know the ones with metal doors and wing-nut fasteners?) so, I thought, “Why not build a double-decker kennel complete with a ramp and a feeding tray?” Brilliant! I drew up some plans, got them approved by the wife, and invited my brother-in-law, Ken, over to assist in the construction.
Come DIY-day, the two of us drove to Lowes with a revamped set of plans in hand. Ah Lowes. Something about that place fills me with happiness. Perhaps it’s the smell of tools or wood or just pure unadulterated awesomeness. Who cares really. Because today I’ve been given carte blanche permission to be here and buy stuff.
We started by filling the cart with all kinds of DIY goodness: silicone caulk, liquid nails, a caulk gun, 1 1/4” screws, 1 5/8” screws, and a couple of hinges.
KEN: What about the ramp?
ME: Yeah, my plans don’t really spec the ramp. You’re in charge of the ramp.
KEN: Don’t put me in charge of the ramp.
ME: You’re in charge of the ramp.
KEN: No, I’m not in charge of the ramp, but if I were I’d probably get something that we can groove so when you pull out the ramp it would slide.
ME: How will it catch?
KEN: We’ll put a stopper in it.
ME: Great. You’re in charge of the ramp.
KEN: No, I’m not.
ME: Whatever, just grab some things and put ‘em in the cart.
KEN: Best plan ever.
Next, we grabbed a couple of 4’x8’ sheets of pegboard and a couple 4’ x 8’ sheets of FRP (fiber-reinforced plastic). Ken waited for a lumber associate to cut the wood small enough so it’d be usable and so it would fit into our cars. As he did, I grabbed another cart and went for the wood: six 1” x 4” x 8’, four 2” x 4” x 8’, a two 1” x .5” x 8’, two 8’ quarter panel, and two 4’ x 8’ sheets of plywood. After the dude cut everything up (with a blind man’s precision) we hit the counter, paid, loaded up the cars, and headed for home.
Once we got back to the house I taped the plans to the wall, made a makeshift workbench from the patio table and a piece of plywood, and the two of us started cutting, screwing, and gluing (and drinking beer). Three hours later we had our first kennel.
KEN: At least Maggie will benefit from Bella’s, uh, kennel.
ME: That’s one way to look at it.
We plugged a way at the other. Not long after…
WIFE: Dinner’s ready.
Break time with the fam and we were back at it a half an hour later. Two hours in, around 9:30PM, my sister asked us to wrap it up because my niece was getting tired. Well, with time (and beer) running out, we worked like the wind and finished 30 minutes later. Later that evening, I sanded and prepped the wood for staining. The following day my wife and I made a run to Home Depot to pick up wood filler, medium-grain sandpaper, stain, towels, stain pads, and a couple brushes. Upon returning, I filled the holes and caulked the inside of the kennels where the FRP joins the quarter panel and the two-bys.
A few hours later I sanded down the fix and left the kennels alone for the night. At the butt-crack of dawn I was back at it. This time, it was the pre-stain. I broke out the can, soaked a pad, and went to town. Four hours later I applied the first coat of stain. Four hours after that I stained both kennels again. The following morning I applied the finish, waited a couple hours, sanded with a 240 grain, and applied a second coat of finish.
Now, 4 days after the project began, it is complete and my wife, dogs, and I have two fully functional kennels. Are they double-deckers? No. Is there a ramp? Negative. What about a food tray? Nope. Is your wife happy? Absolutely. And that makes all the hard work worthwhile.
Got thoughts on my DIY dog kennels? Share ‘em below or send me in an e-mail at TiTy@y2kemo.com.
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