Install a Pet Door or Dog Door

There are many pet door and dog door products that allow your dog or cat to go in and out of your house without you having to open the door all the time. This article focuses on the installation of a dog door or pet door in your screen door. If you have a small dog or cat, these simple doors can work well and the installation is pretty simple providing you are careful.

Steps

Installing in Wooden Doors

  1. Get the necessary tools and pet door parts of the appropriate size. Pet doors are sold at most retail outlets of a variety of sizes to accommodate for different animals and different door spaces. Typically, they'll be relatively simple to install, made up of only a few parts and a paper of plastic template to mark the hole you'll cut through the door. Other than the pet door kit itself, to do the job properly you'll also need:
    • Carpenter's level
    • Pencil or Sharpie marker
    • Drill and half-inch drill bit
    • Jigsaw
    • Screwdriver
    • Masking tape
  2. Trace the template onto the door. Decide where on the door you'd like the opening to be and attach the template to the door in that location. It needs to be low enough to the ground that the animal can get through it, so shorter than the pet's legs. For the most part, pet doors will be low and to the side opposite the door handle, though it depends largely on what's on the other side of the door and how you want the pet door to look.
    • Use masking tape to attach the template to the door in the desired location, using your level to make sure the door is oriented straight and flush with the rest of the door. Use your pencil or marker to trace around the template to create the shape that you'll cut out to make room for the door. Remove the template and discard it.
  3. Drill a hole at each corner. To get your cut started, drill completely through the door at each corner of the outline, using a half-inch drill bit. You want the hole to be big enough to maneuver your jigsaw through and cut out the space you outlined with the template.
    • In some cases, you may have to remove the door entirely from the hinge to cut through it properly, depending on the space and the maneuverability you need. If so, you'll have to remove the hinges from the door and lay it out on some sawhorses, probably, to make the cut. Most of the time, you should be able to leave the door on the hinges.
  4. Insert your jigsaw in the lower left corner. If you're right-handed, the easiest way to make the cut is usually to start in the bottom left and work counter-clockwise, going from your drill-hole to drill-hole. Insert the jigsaw in the bottom left hole and turn it on.
    • Start making your cut across the bottom, going slowly and as smoothly as possible, from the left to the right. Don't slow down so much you start to scorch the wood. Keep it moving at a comfortable pace, but don't go so fast you bog down the motor. Let the saw do the work.
  5. Continue cutting out the outline. Continue cutting until you get to the next hole you drilled in the bottom right corner. Turn your saw up and cut vertically, then cut back across to the left and down until you've removed the wood in the outline. With the right tool, it should be a snap and you should be left with a nice, neat, clean hole for the door.
  6. Sandwich the two halves of the pet door through the hole. Most pet doors should come with a small ledge that you can slot through the hole, and a covering that will attach to it, sandwiching the door into the hole securely. The front side of the door frame should have a plastic flap hanging down, which will cover the hole and keep the door "closed." On the back side, the covering should have four holes around the perimeter, through which you'll attach the two sides using the screws provided.
  7. Use the provided screws to fix the door in the hole. After sandwiching the frame pieces for the pet door into the hole provided, insert the screws one at a time, tightening them loosely with your fingers, before going back around to tighten them. Work your way around, tightening each screw four or five turns at a time, to clamp the two pieces together securely. Keep working until they're tight and the door won't jiggle around.

Installing in Metal Doors

  1. Remove the door from the hinges and lay it out. The process for cutting a pet door into a metal door is essentially exactly the same as that of a wooden door, except for the tools you'll need. It'll take a lot more power to cut through a steel security door, or some other kind of metal door. Because you'll need to get the right angle on it and be safe, it's better to remove the door and lay it out in a flat position.
    • Remove the pins from each of the hinges in the door by removing the cap and gently tapping the pin out. Pull the door free and lay it out on two sawhorses placed a foot or two from the top and bottom of the door.
  2. Trace the template onto the door in the desired location. Just as you would on a wooden door, use your level to place the template straight on the door wherever you want it to be placed. Tape it on and trace it using your marker, then remove the template and discard it.
  3. Cut holes with a heavy-duty drill motor. To get your cuts started, use a heavy-duty drill to start the holes at each corner of the template as before. With a metal door, it's a better idea to start with a small drill bit, about a quarter-inch or so, and make a pilot hole to open up a space for the larger half-inch hole.
    • After you've gone around and drilled a pilot hole at each corner, put a larger drill bit in the drill and go back around to open up a half-inch diameter space.
  4. Use a commercial-grade cutting jigsaw. You'll need a heavy-duty saw to cut through the metal, as well as extreme caution. Make sure you've got a heavy blade in the saw and that you go slowly, so you don't snap the blade while you're making your outline cuts. Go just as you would through a wooden door, starting in the bottom left corner and working your way around from corner-hole to corner-hole.
    • You'll probably need to hammer out the cut after you've run the saw around it. A few taps should do it, and the loose metal should fall out easily.
  5. Clean up the edges with a file. After cutting through the metal, it's likely that the edges will be somewhat rough with burrs and little shards of metal. It's a good idea to use a file and clean up those edges to make sure the pet door fits in securely and safely, and to make sure you or the pet won't catch on any sharp metal pieces while you're working. File off especially large burrs to create a smooth edge.
    • You don't need to be militant, just gently work off any large burrs you notice from your cuts with the saw. Don't go around so much that you make the hole bigger.
  6. Install the door as directed. After the hole has been made, installing the pet door will be exactly the same. Fix both sides into the hole, sandwiching them together and fixing them into place with screws. Hand-tighten them each, one at a time, then work your way back around the screws tightening them until the door is secure and doesn't jiggle in the space.

Installing in Screen Doors

  1. Mark where the door will go using tape. Take some masking tape and mark the required location by sticking tape in an "X" shape right on the screen door before you remove anything. This prevents you getting the screen door out and accidentally installing the dog door or pet door on the top instead of the bottom!
    • Pet doors or dog doors that mount in the sliding screen door are usually installed in the lower left or right corner of the screen door depending on how your patio door opens.
  2. Remove your screen door and lay it flat on the ground. Take an old rectangular piece of plywood or particle board, slightly larger than the size of the pet door or dog door, and place it underneath the screen door, right behind the spot you marked with masking tape. You will need to hammer on this board so make sure it is flat and secure.
  3. Sandwich the screen between the door halves. Take the two halves of your pet door or dog door and place one half behind the screen door and on top of your piece of wood. You may need to put several sheets of wood behind the screen door to get the pet door sandwiched between the screen and the wood so it does not move around easily. Carefully adjust the pet door or dog door frame so it is exactly where you want it. Check the manufacturers instructions to see that it is not upside down or that you have the wrong half in place. Some pet doors have locks which need to be accessible from the inside of the screen door. Check this now.
  4. Cut through the screen. Once the pet door or dog door is in position, there is usually a groove in the center of the pet door frame to guide your utility knife as you cut away the screen to make the door opening. Make sure the pet door frame is secure before you cut, and make sure you are cutting in the right groove according to the manufacturers instructions.
  5. Hammer the door halves together. Take the remaining half of the pet door and lay it over the half you have sandwiched between the screen door and the wood blocks. Now you have to hammer the two halves together with a rubber mallet. Hammer with firm blows all around the frame until the two halves are joined together
  6. Reinstall the screen door. You should now have a completed pet or dog door in your screen door. Stand the screen door up test the operation of the pet door. Check the magnetic lock to see if it holds the pet door closed and get your pet to test it out.

Tips

  • When you hammer the two halves of the pet door or dog door together, place a piece of plywood over the door half so you can hammer on it without damaging the pet door. Make sure you don't crush the plastic lock with the plywood.
  • You can drill holes right through the pet door frame and reinforce the door with machine screws and nuts. Several #10 machine screws with nuts and lock washers will help prevent the frame from coming apart.

Warnings

  • Pet doors and dog doors that mount in the sliding screen door are best used with small dogs or cats. Your screen door is not a particularly strong place to mount anything and it won't stand up to a large dog going through a door mounted in it for any length of time. Better to use a dog door mounted in the wall for that.

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Sources and Citations

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