Looking to build a dog crate at home by yourself? Here are five types of dog crates that you can easily try out.
With some free time, dedication, and a little bit of resourcefulness and creativity, you can try these 5 new DIY dog crate ideas we have for you.
Wooden Slate Dog Crate
How do you make a dog crate at home? Try this minimalistic and easy wooden slate dog crate, and you’ll end up with a sturdy and beautiful structure that can handle any dog.
What matters is that the conceptualized design successfully performs its function, no matter how simple it is!
Materials Required
- Top and bottom: 2 pieces of 4 x 4 lumber, 15” x 30”
- Left and right sides: 8 pieces (4 on each side) of 1 x 2 lumber, 2” x 22”
- Front: 8 pieces of 1 x 2 lumber, 2” x 22”, 5 pieces of 1 x 2 lumber, 2” x 4”
- Back: 13 pieces of 1 x 2 lumber, 15” x 30”
- Door frame: 3 pieces of 1 x 2 lumber, 0.5” x 18” long.
- Door (Optional): 1 x 2 lumber, 17 ½” x 17 ½”
- Corner pillars: 4 pieces of 4 x 4 lumber, 0.5” x 23”
- Nails
- 2 hinges
- Varnish (Optional)
- Paint (Optional)
Tools Required
- Hammer
- Screwdriver
- Tape Measure
- Sander
- Power saw
- Safety gloves
- Safety glasses
Instructions
Saw the lumber into the dimensions listed per side using your power saw, guided by your tape measure and pencil. With your sander, smoothen each piece down so that it’s free from splinters. Choose whether to paint, varnish, or leave the wood as is.
Start nailing the individual wooden pieces to the top and bottom pieces after painting or varnishing. Nail the 4 corner pillars to the top face of the cage first. Set, place, and nail the door frame.
Lastly, use two nails each to set each 1 x 2 wooden pillar on the sides as well as on the front and back portions. Make sure that no sharp edges pierce through the wood.
Sliding Door Dog Crate
A sliding door dog crate is one of the perfect DIY dog crate ideas if you’re planning on repurposing old but strong cabinets. Replace the whole wood sliding door with wooden pillars for ventilation and a vantage point so you can still monitor your dog.
Materials Required
- An old cabinet
- Front sliding doors (wooden pillars): 1 x 3 lumber, measured to the height of the door frame
- Nails
Tools Required
- Hammer
- Pliers
- Screwdriver
- Tape Measure
- Sandpaper
- Power saw
- Safety gloves
- Safety glasses
- Varnish (Optional)
Instructions
Measure the height of the door frame and use this measurement to cut your lumber into wooden pillars with your power saw. Sand the lumber down to make it smooth.
Alternatively, you can opt to varnish your wooden pillars to match the finish of your cabinet. Use the screwdriver to unhinge the sliding doors and carefully remove the existing wooden sliding door.
Now that you have an empty door frame, measure your desired spacing in between the wooden pillars, then nail these pillars in. Reattach the sliding door with your screwdriver to finish the project.
ALSO READ: How to Manage a Home Renovation Project
Repurposed Crib Dog Crate
This is a dog crate that’s simple, lightweight, and perfect for small to medium sized dogs to spend their free time. A repurposed crib dog crate will need some reinforcing and some freshening up to make it last longer.
Repaint. Refinish. Repurpose. Make something old, new again by being innovative and creative!
So how do you spruce up a dog crate?
Here’s how you do just that:
Materials Required
- An old baby crib
- Horizontal wooden planks: 2 pieces of 3 x 3 lumber, measured to the width of the crib
- Top cover piece: 1 piece of 4 x 4 lumber, measured to the dimensions of the opening of the crib
- Bottom piece: 1 piece of 4 x 4 lumber, measured to the original base
- Back piece: 1 piece of 4 x 4 lumber, measured to the dimensions of the back opening
- A set of hook and eye latches
- 2 hinges
- Paint
- Nails
Tools Required
- Hammer
- Screwdriver
- Tape Measure
- Sandpaper
- Power saw
- Safety gloves
- Safety glasses
- Paintbrush
Instructions
Nail down the bottom piece to the original base and to its sides so it has additional support. Attach the back piece by nailing it to the original side bases as many times as necessary. Make the crib stronger on its front face by securing the two horizontal planks on the top and bottom of the front of the crib.
Attach the cover with the two hinges using a screwdriver to hitch it firmly on one side of the crib, and on the other, attach the hook and eye latch with a screwdriver. Finish it off with paint to make it more vibrant!
Dog Crate Console
How do you make a dog crate out of furniture? A console is usually a table or cabinet used as a filler for an empty space, but now it can easily be converted into a dog crate so they can stay in your living room without breaking your furnishings.
Materials Required
- Door frame: 4 pieces of 1 x 2 lumber, measured to half of the front horizontal opening, 4 pieces of 1 x 2 lumber, measured to the height of the opening.
- Front: 16 pieces of 1 x 2 lumber, measured to the height of the door frame.
- A set of hook and eye latches.
- Hinges
- Nails
- Varnish
Tools Required
- Hammer
- Screwdriver
- Drill
- Tape Measure
- Sandpaper
- Power saw
- Safety gloves
- Safety glasses
Instructions
First, hollow out the console using your power saw and hammer. With your sander, smoothen out all rough edges left by shelves as this can potentially hurt your dogs if not done properly. Create the right and left door frames by making two rectangles using 2 of the horizontal lumbers and 2 of the vertical lumbers.
This can now be followed by attaching the 8 vertical wood pieces on each of the rectangular door frames. Attach the hinges on the sides of the door frame with a drill and a screwdriver. Lastly, place the hook on the right door frame, and the eye on the left door frame for a lock.
Dog Crate Sofa Table, From Jorge Araujo
Jorge Araujo’s DIY modern dog crate, the dog crate sofa table, is a sleek, functional addition to your home that goes well with a natural and wooden living room. Materials Required
- Top and bottom: 2 pieces of 31” x 72” lumber, thickness of 2 inches
- Left and right sides: 2 pieces of 31” x 31” lumber, thickness of 2 inches
- Front frame and one window: 2 pieces of 2 x 2 lumber, 72” long, 4 pieces of 2 x 2 lumber, 31” high
- Front doors: 8 pieces of 2 x 2 lumber 30” high, with its width measured to the dimensions of the hole
- Back: 1 piece of 31” x 72” lumber, thickness of 2 inches
- 16 steel poles, 28” high
- 1 barrel bolt lock
- Nails
- 2 hinges
- Paint
Tools Required
- Hammer
- Screwdriver
- Tape Measure
- Sander
- Power saw
- Safety gloves
- Safety glasses
- Paintbrush
- Wood glue
Instructions
A simplified, 1 window, two-door version of Jorge’s crate starts with attaching the base with the 2 sides and back portion with wood glue then pinning them down with nails.
Next, assemble the frame separately by combining the two horizontal 72” lumber with the vertical 31” lumber to create holes for the windows and doors. Before securing the top portion of the frame, attach 4 steel poles for the window portion. Create the doors by combining the horizontal and vertical lumber portions with wood glue, then attach them on both sides with hinges. Paint the frame and the doors before attaching the doors to the frame.
ALSO READ: 7 Ways to Prepare for Your Next Home Renovation
Those are the best DIY dog crate ideas we have and we hope you now know how to build a dog crate! Whether you’re building a crate just for fun, looking to reuse some old furniture, or even looking for birthday gifts for your dog, you can never go wrong with building it yourself! And if your dog is one of the friendliest dog breeds known to us, you will get some good company while you’re at it.