Off the ground kennel plans

[ABK]

Does anyone out there have any blueprints they would like to share for off the ground kennels for bulldogs? I have seen a few in my area, but they were really shoddy.

[ABK]

Bump please. :D

[BoiBoi]

i don't have any plans but i could help u out in coming up with something, whats ur plan, do u want it to last long term or do u need something temp like a welping pen?

[ABK]

I would like to use it for a puppy pen to put pups in when they get old enough to go outside (8 weeks or so). My litters are whelped in the house.

[BoiBoi]

well its definately going to have to be some kind of non-reactive flooring, maybe sheet metal that can be hosed down like galvanized steel. A lot of people like to use a wire mesh flooring, but personally i don't believe u can clean the mesh as thorough as a solid floor. It would be pretty simple, some posts in concrete, then frame out walls and some joists for the floor to be attached to

[BoiBoi]

if u give me the approx. size ur looking for i can draw something up on the computer (i do engineering work so i have access to CAD programs)

[cheese]

http://www.scottsdog.com/kennelkits.html
http://devinefarm.net/rp/rpwhelpb.htm

[Bullyson]

Holler at TripleJ. He makes a mean sky pen.

[ABK]

Thanks guys! :D

I was looking at the Scott pens, but I am looking to build something here as I have a fellow who does what-not work reasonably & what w/ my being laid off from work & do not have the $$$ for a Scott pen.

Plus, I am tight-fisted w/ my money anyway, so if I can find plans to build a better (or at least as good) kennel as a Scott one, I want to try to do it.

As for the flooring, I live in the south, so I think a solid galvanized steel floor (or any type of metal) would become sizzling hot, way too hot for little puppy feet. But wood on the other hand doesn't disinfect as well as I would like. Would a simple roof on the kennel keep a metal floor from getting too hot? I would think anywhere the sun touches it, it would become scorching.

[Bullyson]

We used wooden slats for the floor, thick wire mesh for some of the walls, 4x4 timbers for the legs, plywood for the dark box and a bunch of 2x4's for the framing. I think we spent around 70 bucks for the whole thing. Took 3 of us about 4 hours to build the pen. Send TripleJ a PM. He can hook you up with some plans. He probably wont be on for a few, but I'm sure he would be more than willing to hook you up. Best of luck ABK. :)

[ABK]

Thanks! :D

I feel sorry for my handyman though b/c I don't know anything about construction of any type, save for maybe legos or lincoln logs. lol. So he'll be building it on his own w/ me supervising. But hey, that's what I'll be paying him for, right?

[BoiBoi]

Thanks guys! :D

I was looking at the Scott pens, but I am looking to build something here as I have a fellow who does what-not work reasonably & what w/ my being laid off from work & do not have the $$$ for a Scott pen.

Plus, I am tight-fisted w/ my money anyway, so if I can find plans to build a better (or at least as good) kennel as a Scott one, I want to try to do it.

As for the flooring, I live in the south, so I think a solid galvanized steel floor (or any type of metal) would become sizzling hot, way too hot for little puppy feet. But wood on the other hand doesn't disinfect as well as I would like. Would a simple roof on the kennel keep a metal floor from getting too hot? I would think anywhere the sun touches it, it would become scorching.


i would suggest putting a roof on the pen and have it overhang atleast 1 foot on each side to keep the rain out and it will create more shade. Now that i think about it more, how about Ceramic Tile for flooring, u can find tile at any home depot for cheap and once grouted it is very easy to maintain and hose down, just a thought

[ABK]

Thanks for the ideas. But I am wondering - if I seal the wood w/ something like Thompson's water seal wouldn't that seal off the wood to make it water proof & easy to clean?

[CooljoeGoodie]

I always start with the long wood pallets,that you can find behind stores or at construction sites as well as all the wood they'll let you have.And then use what bullyson said but for my wire mesh walls I use fence wire.Total cost is zero except for the nails,hinges and latches.Don't have a lot of money so I try and use it on food and up keep and meds....Just something I thought some one could use....

[jman11]

cali jacks book has excellent plans in his book with pictures and excellent step by step instructions

That is what i would recommend

and besides that, its chock full of other information

[Suki]

i would suggest putting a roof on the pen and have it overhang atleast 1 foot on each side to keep the rain out and it will create more shade. Now that i think about it more, how about Ceramic Tile for flooring, u can find tile at any home depot for cheap and once grouted it is very easy to maintain and hose down, just a thought

i would suggest the same thing for the roof~an overhang to help with the sun. the only thing with the tiles is that they get slippery as hell when they're wet.
treating the wood, ABK may not be a bad idea. not certain tho, how long that will last with the acid from the urine...
we use the wooden pallets (at work) and just hose 'em down, daily, and use a product called Kennel Sol on 'em. they seem to stand up pretty good.

[Marty]

ABK, don't know if this will help but this is what I started for a brood pen...

http://www.game-dog.com/gallery/files/7/Brood-pen-fpr-pups_thumb.jpg (http://www.game-dog.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=22377&c=member&imageuser=7)

For the floor I use expanded metal. when the pups walks on the crap it falls through the holes and washes out very easily ;)

The pups got grown before I finished it :(

[ABK]

Looks great Marty. Where did you get the mesh for the sides? And what is expanded metal??

[Marty]

The mesh on the sides is just like expanded metal but is to flimsy for my taste, go to any welding shop and tell them you want expanded metal and look at what they have, you'll see what I'm talking about, alot of home made BBQ grills have it on them ;)

[ABK]

Thanks! http://www.ez-smilies.com/smilies/happy0001.gif