You've got a hollow-core or steel door.
Best bet is to purchase a 'self-framing'
pet door. Then you may skip the framing part below.
If you've already got a pet door that isn't self-framing,
you'll need to frame the hole as shown. To do that you're
going to need a table saw to rip the pieces to the correct
thickness. Glue in place, clamp and let dry. Then mount the
pet door. The only difference in a
steel door is that you use a different saw for cutting the
hole. Jig saw with a metal cutting blade works best. |
Your door has an irregular surface.
Every pet door wants to be installed on a flat surface
so you'll need to make it flat.
It's probably a good idea to choose a
sturdy metal-framed pet door for this application. The
plastic-framed ones are easier to distort if the surface
isn't perfectly flat and any distortion may cause the flap
to bind and not swing freely.
The best, neatest way to handle this
situation is shown: cut furring strips just thick enough to
bring the thinner areas up to the same thickness as the
thicker areas.
Cheater method: Get a 'self-framing'
pet door and make each of the four corners the same
thickness. Then caulk in the spaces between the corners.
You might find the
Universal Pet Door Installation Kit
useful here. |
You've got a screen door.
You could have chosen a simple pet door from the screen
mount page and installed it directly through the screen.
However, this method--which uses a door
mount type pet door--is much sturdier.
Of course, you can also cut down into the
base of the door to reduce the 'rise'
for a shorter pet. Don't cut so far that you weaken the door
frame though!
Note that this same approach may be used for
a screened-in porch: add framing members to support a door
mount pet door. |
You want your pet door in a wall.
Easiest is to purchase a 'self-framing'
wall mount pet door. But it can be cheaper and give you
more options to put a door mount pet door in a wall if you
have the skills to frame the wall yourself.
Some door mounts may be doubled up to make
a 'double flap' wall mount for better insulation. You buy
two and mount a flap on both sides. But not all door mounts
will work this way. Better call before you do this.
Big problem if you cut into electrical
or fail to seal the wall so that water intrudes! Best to use
a licensed contractor! |
