Being in the doghouse might not be so bad if you’re talking about a custom made, painted, roomy space, complete with scraps of carpet, a window, or even a backdoor. Spoiling dogs is the norm these days, so if you think of your pooch as your little fur baby, you want to give him the best doghouse out there, and what’s better than building it yourself?
Getting Started
To begin building your doghouse, you’ll need to know your dog’s size when full grown. Measure your dog, then make sure he’ll have space to turn around and lie down comfortably. Next, create a base for the house by nailing together 2x4s. Be sure to nail them together at the corners for stability. Then fit ½” plywood over your frame. Nail along the edges to secure the pieces together.
Building the Walls
Now it’s time to start working on the walls. Use 2x4s to construct them, being sure that you have a stud in the center of each side wall to make them more stable. On the back wall your stud needs to be about 2” off of center, so that you can attach the roof. In the front you won’t need a stud, because you’ll need space for a door. After constructing the walls, nail plywood flush against each side, being sure to leave space with a jig saw for your entranceway. The joined walls can now be placed on top of your frame and nailed at the corners.
Creating a Frame for the Roof
From 2x4s, you’ll cut the struts, rafters, and roof. First, decide the pitch of your roof, then cut struts to the right height. You’ll then center your front and back struts to your doghouse’s frame. You’ll nail these together from the underside of your frame.
Next, you’ll be creating the overhang area for your house. You can decide how much overhang you want. To give your dog more shaded area, create a larger overhang, which essentially gives your dog some covered area outside the house. You’ll need to cut your ridges to the size of the house added to the size of the overhang area. Then put your ridges into position and nail to the house.
You can then cut three rafters for each side of the house (a total of six). The size of these would be dependent on the pitch of your roof. They can be cut with a jig saw. This will give you notches for your rafters. After placing the rafters in their notches, nail them to the wall.
Optionally, at this stage, you can choose to cover the area between the rafters with plywood or leave it open. You can also create rafters for the overhang area outside the house.
Adding Shingles
Finally, it’s time to shingle the roof of your new doghouse. Shingles are generally 12” and need to overlay each other by 1” on the bottoms. You can draw a line 11” from the bottom of your roof and another line 29” from the front edge of the roof to help you offset the shingles and give you a good starting point. You’ll want to apply two layers of shingles at the starting point and the bottom layer should be turned upside down. Nail each layer in place and then go on adding row after row of shingles. You can trim them at the edges with a knife to ensure they are the right width and don’t overhang the sides of your doghouse.
Lastly, you can customize your dog’s house anyway you want. From an extra door to plastic covering the door, to carpet remnants on the floor, the sky’s the limit for what you can do to your new dog house. Paint it, personalize it, even add a built in water bowl or paint your dog’s name across the top.