Cedar Dog House Instructions

Make a dog house that keeps your pet warm in the winter and cool in the summer with proper sizing and ventilation. A cedar roof, walls and floor take advantage of the wood's natural tendency to resist rot and repel insects. Cedar is also attractive. Finish the project with shingles and trim. Cut costs by using pressurized lumber for framing.

Things You'll Need

  • Tape measure
  • Carpenter's pencil
  • Speed square
  • 4 pressurized boards, 2 by 6 inches
  • Hammer or drill with a screwdriver attachment
  • 12d nails or outdoor wood screws, 3 inch
  • Cedar floor board
  • Circular saw
  • 4d nails
  • 4 pressurized lumber boards, 2 by 2 inches
  • 9 pressurized boards, 2 by 4 inches
  • 4 cedar side panels
  • 2 cedar gable ends
  • 2 cedar sides to the pitched roof
  • Outdoor screws, 1.5 inches
  • 4 pressurized boards, 1 by 2 inches
  • Builder's paper
  • Cedar shingles
  • Aluminum roofing nails
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Instructions

  1. Framing

    • 1

      Cut two boards, 2 by 6 inches, to length A, and two more to length B. Hammer the boards into a square or rectangle with 12d nails or 3-inch outdoor screws. This is the dog house base.

    • 2

      Cut the cedar floor board with a circular saw to fit the outer dimensions of the base frame. Hammer it to the top of the base with galvanized 4d nails.

    • 3

      Cut corner posts to length C, the dog house height. At each of the corners, hammer a pressurized 2-by=4 to a pressurized 2-by-2. The two boards should each form a corner.

    Roof Frame

    • 4

      Cut four pressurized 2-by-4s to length D, so they angle up from the top frame to touch in the center. Cut the ends to 30-degree angles. This will create both the front and back rafters.

    • 5

      Cut the ridge beam, length beam, from one 2-by-4, four feet.

    • 6

      Drill pilot holes and screw the rafters to the ends of the ridge beam.

    Walls

    • 7

      Measure the dimensions of the dog house frame, and cut cedar panels to fit.

    • 8

      Screw the boards to the sides and gable ends with 1.5-inch outdoor screws, or 4d nails. Be sure to cut a door in one end.

    • 9

      Caulk the seams, and cover with optional 1-by-2s. Attach the trim pieces with 4d nails.

    Roof

    • 10

      Cut the cedar roof, leaving at least 2 inches of overhang on each side, and 4 inches of overhang over the gables.

    • 11

      Staple strips of builder's paper to the roof with some overhang over the sides. Start at the bottom, and work your way up, overlapping the strips by two inches.

    • 12

      Add shingles with aluminum roofing nails. Stagger the shingles.