Build your Own Pit Bull Dog Kennel

Big or small, a home for man’s best friend Here’s a great way to repay man’s best friend for his loyalty build him a kennel he can call home, a refuge from humans where he can be top pit bull. This attractive, functional design can be easily adapted to accommodate all creatures - both great and small! You can easily build this kennel with it’s unique hinged roof style. The pitbull dog kennel is made using structural grade plywood supplied from your local HOME store. Plywood is strong, relatively light weight and durable, retains it’s original shape in all climates and is quite suitable for outdoors, provided it is well coated with good quality paint or stain to suit the surrounding environment.

The Right Tools

To do the best job possible, you need the right tools;
You’ll need:
 

• a hand saw or power circular saw
• a carpenter’s square
• good pencil
• tape measure or folding rule
• electric drill/screwdriver
• claw hammer
• jigsaw
• caulking gun
• adjustable wrench

The Right Materials

You’ll need to visit your nearest HOME Timber & Hardware store and purchase the RIGHT materials:

Structural grade plywood, 12 mm thick

-2400 x 1200 mm

- 1 sheet

-100 x 50 mm sawn treated pine for floor frame

- 1 @ 2.7m

-50 x 50 mm for roof cleat

- 1 @ 0.6m

-bullet head galvanized nails for floor frame assembly

-100 mm x 4.5 mm

-bullet head galvanized nails for plywood walls assembly

-40 mm x 2.0 mm

-or, use countersunk zinc plated screws for plywood

-40 mm x 6g

-construction grade adhesive

- 1 cartridge

-silicone sealant

- 1 cartridge

-2 x 50 mm galvanized hinges and 20 mm x 6 mm galvanized cup head bolts and nuts

-galvanized hasp and staple and 20 mm x 6 mm galvanized cup head bolts and nuts

OPTIONAL

-corrugated Colourbond roofing and 12 mm galvanized clouts

-foil insulation for underside of roof

Remember, always check measurements TWICE, before cutting ONCE.

Planning the Kennel Size

The kennel should be just big enough for the dog to stand up and spin around in, before settling down for a well-deserved nap. So here’s a rough guide:

-small size for toy breed and most small terriers

-medium size for hounds, Labradors, Irish Setters, Corgis, Cocker Spaniels, German Shepherds, Boxers etc.

-large size for Afghans, Old English Sheepdogs, Great Danes etc. and also for small dogs sharing.

Refer to the table below for material sizes after determining the size of the kennel you should build for your dog.

Table 1. Overall Dimensions in mm

Size	Length	Width	Wall Height	Peak Height	Total Height
Small	600	480	440	240	680
Medium	1000	800	680	400	1080
Large	1500	1200	1080	600	1680

Table 2. Door Opening Dimensions

Size	Height	Width
Small	340	180
Medium	580	310
Large	980	400

Build the Floor Frame

To keep the kennel (and your dog) high and dry inside, the floor should be at least 100mm off the ground to allow air circulation. So start building the sub-floor frame first using the 100 x 50mm treated pine - it’s a must because it’s virtually rot proof and termite proof.

These sizes are for the small size kennel.

Cut the 100 x 50mm treated pine for the floor frame as follows:

-2 pieces 575mm long sides

-3 piece 375mm long ends and centre

-2 pieces 215mm long short cross pieces For the larger kennels, follow the dimensions shown on Tables 1 & 2 and work out each piece size in the same way as the small example shown above. First, square one end of the timber using a carpenter’s square and mark a pencil line across all 4 sides of the timber, then cut neatly with a hand or power saw. Now, using the dimensions in Table 1, again using the square and pencil, measure and cut each piece to length making sure that all end saw cuts are square to ensure strong joins. Next, lay the pieces to form the frame perimeter on a firm, flat surface, butt join each corner with 2/100mm x 4.5mm galvanised bullet head nails, driving them on a slight angle towards each other for greater strength.

Diagram 1 ^{Butt joints} 100 x 50mm sub floor frame

Now, measure and cut the centre frame crosspieces and nail in place (Diagram 1). Then drill several 12mm dia. holes about 150mm apart through the frame members approx. 70mm down from the top of the frame to provide cross ventilation and help keep the ground under the kennel dry. Lastly, measure and cut a piece of the 12mm plywood and fix it to the sub-floor frame using a continuous bead of the construction adhesive along the top of each frame piece and galvanised nails along all sides and crosspieces.

Cut the Walls & Roof Sections

As a guide to cutting the walls and roof pieces from the sheet of 2400 x 1200 x 12mm plywood, here is a sample cutting list for the small size kennel :

Sides: 576 x 440mm - 2 off Ends: 480 x 440mm - 2 off Roof: 775 x 400mm - 1 off

775 x 412mm - 1 off Gables: 480 x 240mm - 2 off Floor: 575 x 480mm - 1 off Mark out as shown on the sheet diagram to eliminate any mistakes and wasted timber (Diagram 2).

Making the Door

Cut the door opening out of the front wall piece before it’s fixed to the floor. You will see that the front and rear wall pieces have been cut 24mm wider than the floor width - this allows 12mm (the plywood thickness) on each side for the side walls to be butt joined inside the end wall pieces. You will have already cut the wall sizes to suit the kennel size you have decided to build (refer to Tables 1 & 2). Now, take one end wall piece and measure 50mm from the top and bottom and mark a pencil line right across. Then measure in from each side as shown to give the desired door opening, as in Table 2 and pencil in the rounded top (use a paint can, jam tin or similar round object to give the curved shape you want). Now, using a jigsaw, cut out the door opening by first drilling an 8mm hole in one corner, then starting at the hole, cut around the straight sides and curved top (Diagram 3).

50mm

Diagram 3

12mm plywood

50mm Drill hole first then cut along pattern

440mm