I finished the world's largest dog door for our back door yesterday. The dogs often like to go out to sun themselves or explore the backyard but also like to come in and see what we're doing. When they get bored, they want to go back outside. Since we get tired of opening and closing the backdoor, on nice days we just leave the door open so the dogs can go in and out as they please. Unfortunately that means we've had flies, bees, wasps, and birds (!) coming into the house.
I always wanted to just put a screen mesh or something so the dogs could come in and out since a doggy door wasn't an option but I wasn't sure about the logistics. Then Cindy had a fantastic blog post about a companion screen that she created for their boat. I really liked that idea but would need to make a few changes for our backdoor. Our screen would have to be temporary with very little hardware needed. Then I didn't give it anymore thought since it was getting chilly and no longer an issue for us.
This spring I have to replace a few screen windows that have holes so I bought a very large roll of screen mesh. I thought this was a great opportunity to put the screen in place on the backdoor too but still wasn't sure about the logistics of it all. Then the Google answered my prayers. I found this site that sold something that was exactly what I needed. After looking at the pictures I knew I could build this easily. I stopped at Home Depot and picked up a tension rod and some magnets. When I got home, I measured out the screen I needed and started sewing the edges and top with the magnets.
The whole process took about 3 hours to finish but I'm very pleased with how it worked out. The dogs were a bit hesitant to go through the screens but I think they're getting used to it. I'm looking foward to using this for the spring and fall.
I always wanted to just put a screen mesh or something so the dogs could come in and out since a doggy door wasn't an option but I wasn't sure about the logistics. Then Cindy had a fantastic blog post about a companion screen that she created for their boat. I really liked that idea but would need to make a few changes for our backdoor. Our screen would have to be temporary with very little hardware needed. Then I didn't give it anymore thought since it was getting chilly and no longer an issue for us.
This spring I have to replace a few screen windows that have holes so I bought a very large roll of screen mesh. I thought this was a great opportunity to put the screen in place on the backdoor too but still wasn't sure about the logistics of it all. Then the Google answered my prayers. I found this site that sold something that was exactly what I needed. After looking at the pictures I knew I could build this easily. I stopped at Home Depot and picked up a tension rod and some magnets. When I got home, I measured out the screen I needed and started sewing the edges and top with the magnets.
The whole process took about 3 hours to finish but I'm very pleased with how it worked out. The dogs were a bit hesitant to go through the screens but I think they're getting used to it. I'm looking foward to using this for the spring and fall.
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