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8 Great DIY Dog Door Plans You Can Make Today (With Pictures)

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By Nicole Cosgrove

Shy Basset hound poking head out of its dog door

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If you are a dog parent, you know that your furry friend needs to have an entrance to your home that will make it easy to enter and exit the house. Doors with a dog door can be expensive, but if you’re even a bit handy, you could use your skills to make a DIY door for your canine.

Here is a list of 10 DIY dog doors you can make at home, so check them out, select the one that suits your needs and get to work. The finishing product will look amazing, but more importantly, your dog will be happy knowing it finally has its own entrance into your home.

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The 8 Great DIY Dog Door Plans

1. DIY Two-Flap Dog Door by Instructables

A Dog Door- the Two-Flap Solution
Image Credit: instructables
Materials: Plywood, plastic sheet, magnets, butt hinges, oak dowel, fine wire, eyebolts, scrap wood, galvanized sheet metal, screws, weatherstripping, wood glue, silicone sealant, duct tape, isopropyl alcohol
Tools: Saws, drill, utility knife, hammer, screwdriver, rulers, squares
Difficulty: Moderate

The two-flap dog door requires a lot of materials and some advanced tools, so if you’re a beginner DIYer, it might be helpful to find someone to give you a hand with the project. It’s not too tricky, but specific steps require using saws and drills, which will require you to know how to handle such tools. You can find the instructions here; if you follow them thoroughly, your canine will have a stunning dog door in no time.


2. Quick DIY Dog Door by Mowers & Blowers

Materials: Plastic doggy doors
Tools: Hammer, screwdriver, razor blade
Difficulty: Easy

This quick DIY dog door is inexpensive and easy to make. You need some essential tools, and even without any skills, you shouldn’t have issues installing them on your door. An excellent thing about these doors is that you can set them up rapidly, so your furry friend will have its own entrance in just a few minutes. If you’d like to know how to make these dog doors, you can check out this video with all the instructions to help you finish the project successfully.


3. DIY Basement Window Dog Door by Greg Out and About

Materials: Pet door, support cables
Tools: Unknown
Difficulty: Moderate

This basement window dog door is a creative solution to provide your canine with its own entrance to your home. If you’d like to know how to make it, you can check out this video. The only downside is that the creator didn’t provide all information regarding the materials and tools used for the project, so it might be hard to know which steps to follow to finish the project. However, you could use it as an idea and make your design like this one.


4. DIY French Door Windowpane Dog Door from Howchoo

DIY Dog Door for French Door Window Panes
Image Credit: howchoo
Materials: Paintbrush, twin wall polycarbonate sheet, aluminum bottom door sweep, aluminum continuous hinge, silicone, screws
Tools: Cordless drill, box cutter, scissors, pop riveter, sandpaper
Difficulty: Moderate

If you have French doors, this french door windowpane dog door will be an excellent solution to allow your dog to enter and exit your home freely. The design is quite simple, but it’s not suitable for larger breeds. With this door, your pet will have more independence and freedom, which is essential for proper development. These dog doors are easy to make and affordable, making them an excellent choice for people who don’t want to spend much money on this project.


5. Heavy-Duty DIY Dog Door by Soat Mon

Materials: Aluminum, steel
Tools: Table saw, drill
Difficulty: Easy

The heavy-duty dog door is an unusual but functional solution for providing your canine with a separate door. These are aluminum flap doors built into a concrete wall. You can use this as a starting point to make your own similar dog door. Unfortunately, this is another plan that doesn’t have precise directions, so it can be hard to figure out which tools and materials you need.


6. Mini DIY Sliding Barn Dog Door by Living to DIY with Rachel Metz

Materials: Nails, plywood board, wood glue, paint
Tools: Nail gun, sander, paintbrush
Difficulty: Easy

If you like the farmhouse style, you’ll love this idea for making a mini sliding barn dog door. It’s a great way to make a modern, stylish door for your dog that will be functional and look beautiful. This door is a good option for smaller breeds, and you can make a similar design by using a larger plywood board for larger canines. You have a full video tutorial; this is an easy project, so you should finish it in no time.


7. DIY Sliding Glass Dog Door by Rain Country

Materials: Wood, Perspex, hinges
Tools: Table saw, tape measure, drill
Difficulty: Easy

This sliding glass dog door is an ideal solution for homes with sliding doors as your dog will freely go in and out without you needing to open the door every time. This design is easy to make, and it doesn’t require any modifications to your sliding door. Unfortunately, there’s no provided list of tools and materials, but if you follow the steps throughout the video tutorial, you shouldn’t have issues executing it.


8. Indestructible DIY Dog Door by Grandmas House DIY

Doggie Door – How to Build an Almost indestructible DIY Dog Door
Image Credit: grandmashousediy
Materials: Mud flaps, magnets, glue
Tools: Utility knife, jigsaw
Difficulty: Moderate

If you want to build a doggy door that is only functional but also safe, you can consider this indestructible DIY dog door plan. Unfortunately, the creator didn’t provide all the details about the stuff you need to execute the plan, but you can see instructions on their website and hopefully follow them through or get an idea for a similar design.

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Conclusion

There are various options for building a dog door for your beloved canine, and each one is unique in its own way. You can check out all the plans, choose the one per your liking and skills, and get to work. If you follow the instructions provided, your dog will have a stunning doggy door in no time.


Featured Image Credit By: Dmussman, Shutterstock

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