Dog door help?

woodchucker said:
In your bedroom? Won't it leak enough to make it cold in the winter. Heat is less of an issue but cold goes down low and with blowing winds I would think the bedroom is the worst location, the kitchen a better location.
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My bedroom leads to a second story deck and I have never seen other critters up there. She sleeps in my room. I work from home and my office is a corner of the master bedroom... and she keeps me company all day. I do agree, it is less than idea from a heating / cooling point of view. From a convenience point of view it would work very well. She already walks over and sits in front of the door when she is ready to go out then comes back when she is done and sits outside the door.

The triple flap door nwfdub pointed me to will definitely be worth the extra $30.

The double french door currently there does leak considerably and has no UV protection on the glass (southwest facing)... which is why I am replacing it. Being 5' wide a replacement is hard to find without custom ordering something expensive. So I am putting in a standard off the shelf 36" fiberglass full window door with UV glazed glass and built in venetian blinds.
 
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I got tired of the cheap flimsy plastic sheet dog doors like you get at the box stores. I did a lot of research online and built a heavy duty one like what I found to be the best. Do a search and take a look at "Gun Dog Doors". I'm not connected to them in any way but the basic design is very heavy duty. My door happened to be hollow core so I had to improvise and make some additional frames both inside and out and filled in core opening between in/out door sheet panels . Like a sandwich. Outside frame from steel strips welded to mount on inside and one on outside of door. Used 1/4 plexiglass for door itself. Used spring hinges. Plexiglass piece has steel frame. One way dog pushes plexiglass and frame (which is hinged) other way only plexi is hinged. Very heavy duty and cost about $50 to make. Hard to describe but simple. I have a cnc plasma so just cut the parts. Somewhere I even have the cad drawings I think.
Had a large golden retriever and was used on a door for about 7-8 years before she passed. When I replaced the door it was still serviceable and working fine. Only negative was when the door was used the flap noise was loud because of the heavy springs, but otherwise perfect. Would also be simple to lock when not need for security reasons if needed.
 
coherent said:
I got tired of the cheap flimsy plastic sheet dog doors like you get at the box stores. I did a lot of research online and built a heavy duty one like what I found to be the best. Do a search and take a look at "Gun Dog Doors". I'm not connected to them in any way but the basic design is very heavy duty. My door happened to be hollow core so I had to improvise and make some additional frames both inside and out and filled in core opening between in/out door sheet panels . Like a sandwich. Outside frame from steel strips welded to mount on inside and one on outside of door. Used 1/4 plexiglass for door itself. Used spring hinges. Plexiglass piece has steel frame. One way dog pushes plexiglass and frame (which is hinged) other way only plexi is hinged. Very heavy duty and cost about $50 to make. Hard to describe but simple. I have a cnc plasma so just cut the parts. Somewhere I even have the cad drawings I think.
Had a large golden retriever and was used on a door for about 7-8 years before she passed. When I replaced the door it was still serviceable and working fine. Only negative was when the door was used the flap noise was loud because of the heavy springs, but otherwise perfect. Would also be simple to lock when not need for security reasons if needed.
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I have looked at the dog doors with hard doors close enough that I understand what you are talking about as far as the plexiglass opening one way and the plexiglass + steel frame opening the other direction. It sounds like you had a single door? As opposed to a double door with an air trap between them? The wall my door will go into is 6"+ thick and I think a double door would be best. For a dog door in an entry door I can see how a single door might be better.

Did you use any weather stripping to seal around the plexiglass door? What kind of springs did you use and how were they mounted? Were the two hinges like piano hinges? I don't have a CNC plasma cutter but between my table saw with a metal cutting blade, radial arm saw with a metal cutting blade and knee mill I think I could do quite a job on 3/16" to 1/4" aluminum plate. But I can weld steel and magnets might be a good substitute for springs too keep the doors shut tightly... maybe even magnetic weather stripping like a refrigerator uses.

Any additional thoughts would be appreciated!
 
Reddinr said:
Use a big rug / runner just inside the door. Helps with the PNW mud trails...
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Central Oregon is volcano country, the water sinks through the porous sand like soil very quickly. Our soil is like what you would find in Washington on May 19th 1980.

Good tip though, thank you!

P.S. For outsiders, May 18th 1980 was the day Mt St. Helens blew up and covered a multistate area with a finely ground glass like consistency of volcanic ash. It has no water retention components like clay or other organics.
 
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MikeInOr said:
Central Oregon is volcano country, the water sinks through the porous sand like soil very quickly. Our soil is like what you would find in Washington on May 19th 1980.

Good tip though, thank you!

P.S. For outsiders, May 18th 1980 was the day Mt St. Helens blew up and covered a multistate area with a finely ground glass like consistency of volcanic ash. It has no water retention components like clay or other organics.
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I remember traveling through there shortly after. Miles and miles of trees scattered like pickup sticks.

John
 
MikeInOr said:
It sounds like you had a single door? As opposed to a double door with an air trap between them? The wall my door will go into is 6"+ thick and I think a double door would be best. For a dog door in an entry door I can see how a single door might be better.

Did you use any weather stripping to seal around the plexiglass door? What kind of springs did you use and how were they mounted? Were the two hinges like piano hinges? I don't have a CNC plasma cutter but between my table saw with a metal cutting blade, radial arm saw with a metal cutting blade and knee mill I think I could do quite a job on 3/16" to 1/4" aluminum plate. But I can weld steel and magnets might be a good substitute for springs too keep the doors shut tightly... maybe even magnetic weather stripping like a refrigerator uses.

Any additional thoughts would be appreciated!
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The wall or door thickness is irrelevant. My door was a hollow core. You need to use metal strips and make and weld box sides for the front and back panels. Picture a See's candy box... The flat top of the box is the dog door assembly. The sides of the bottom of the box slide into the sides of the top of the box when you put the lid on. The higher the sides are, then the thicker the door or wall can be that is sandwiched between the front and back of the "box" (or dog door frame). Harder to explain than show so I did a quick basic sketch in fusion. The inside box sides heights determine the wall or door thickness. In my case, I just made one "boxed" side and then a simple frame on the inside. The hinges and plexiglass where on the outside to keep weather out. I didn't use any weather stripping, but it would not only help keep moisture out, but quiet the door slap noise issue. You could make a simple sheet/panel that slides in simple slots on the inside of the door frame so you can block, close or lock it for security reasons when needed. For such a simple design it works great and is so much higher quality than cheap flimsy plastic pet doors. I'd consider the design industrial quality and will last years. (mine lasted longer than the door itself actually)

I'm sure magnets would work, but 4 simple heavy duty spring hinges like these worked great and offered resistance that will keep squirrels or neighbors cats from using the door.
 

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MikeInOr said:
I am replacing an exterior double patio door with a single door. I would like to install a thru the wall dog door for my 80lb German shepherd at the same time. As usual reviews on Amazon are all over the place on dog doors. Pricing is also all over from about $100 to over $800. Temperatures in my area ranges from over 100 degrees Fahrenheit to below zero Fahrenheit. The door will be in my bedroom so a door that doesn't leak will be needed.

Does anyone have any dog door experience they would like to share? Good or bad doors?

After going through all the reviews and all the different prices I am half tempted to get some acrylic or polycarbonate and make my own dog door. Has anyone made their own?

Right now this is the dog door that sounds best:

A collar activated lock or anything like that is not needed.
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Installed a cat door one time. It works well
 
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