I was asked to make a dog kennel by my girlfriends mum. As soon as I said yes to the project, I thought now what can I do to improve on existing designs. After a quick trip to some hardware stores like Bunnings and Masters. It seemed even a kennel for Guinness (Portuguese Water Dog) straight off the shelf would be harder to find than once thought. He is quite a large dog....
Most kennels were construction from Radiata Pine (Stained) and then cladded with weatherboard style planks and enclosed with a slanted roof and cladded with asphalt tiles.
After checking out these kennels it was clear that I could improve on the construction techniques and quality of materials. Air flow was quite an important aspect too, a lot of kennels I have seen previously are so enclosed that it doesn't take long before they start to smell quite bad. Another key improvement was to make the kennel mobile - caster wheels.
Because Guinness already had a Aluminium framed bed, the kennel would act as a mobile shelter that can be moved anywhere the bed goes, simply slide the bed out and place in the desired spot and then unlock the caster wheels, roll over the bed and lock the wheels in place. Brilliant!
Below is the chosen kennel concept -
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| We picked Concept 2 to further develop, plywood roof won over shingles or corrugated iron. |
A few design changes were made during the construction of the kennel. The most notable was the plywood roof. Originally it was inset between the front and rear framework. I changed the position of the roof so it covered all framework and so it had overhang. By doing this it provides protection from the elements for Guinness and the timber frame. Structurally it made the overall kennel stronger too.
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| Cutting the shoulder widths for the through slot - ready for chiselling! |
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| Hand Chiselling each one keep the hand coordination right on check...... |
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| My sash clamps came in handy for this glue-up |
Below is the assembly stage of the kennel
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| Here I have the solid Victorian Ash pitched frames with through slots |
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| Steph fixing the battens onto the frame |
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| Steph and Guinness enjoying a coffee break! |
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| No Kennel is complete without a roof |
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| I'd say hes pretty content with his new crib |
Shout out to Stephanie Tan my girlfriend for helping with the construction of the kennel!
