Make a Doggie Cabana Using Plumbing Supplies
by
Alicia W
7 Materials
$50
2 Days
Medium
A trip down the plumbing aisle at Lowe's will give you all of the things you need to make a comfy spot where your dog will keep cool on those hot summer days.
What you'll need for this project:
4 "T"s
10 Elbows
8 corner pieces
1 cross piece
5 - 5' pieces of pvc
For this project, I used 1/2" pvc but you can use whatever size you'd like.
I began by measuring a dog bed that we already had purchased. This is how I determined the width of the cabana.
I then measure the dogs to determine how high it should be. (We have a lab, a golden and a Scottish Terrier.)
My base was 2.5' x 3' - cut 6 pieces to a length of 2.5'; cut 2 pieces 3'.
The height was 2.5' - cut 4 pieces to a length of 2.5'
The roof supports were 2' - cut 4 pieces to a length of 2'
The cross at the top of the roof was made with four 5" pieces.
You'll also need 8 pieces cut to 2" lengths.
I used a Dremmel to cut my pvc; however, you can use a hacksaw.
This is the frame of the cabana with all of the pvc put together.
Put the base together using 4 corner pieces and 2 pieces of 2.5' pvc (front and back) and 2 pieces of 2' pvc (sides).
Place 4, 2.5' pieces of pvc vertically, into each corner piece.
Place 2, 2' pieces of pvc horizontally along the sides.
Place 1, 2" piece of pvc into each corner horizontally on the front and back.
Place a "T" piece of pvc into each 2" piece.
Place 2, 2.5' pieces of pvc into the "T" pieces to complete the square.
On each "T", place a 2" piece of pvc vertically.
On each 2" piece of pvc, place an elbow.
Using the cross piece, place a piece of 5" pvc into each end, making a larger cross.
Attach this large cross piece into the elbows.
Before putting the pieces together, fill the bottom four pieces of pvc with sand for stability.
For the cover, I purchased a shower curtain at Target. I draped it over the roof of the cabana and pinned it to fit then sewed the seams.
For the bottom, I purchased 4 yards of coordinating fabric and sewed it to the shower curtain/roof.
I also made casings for the bottom four pieces of pvc using the leftover fabric.
If you don't sew, you could use fusable web or fabric tape to make the cover.
To attach the cover to the frame, use sticky, heavy duty Velcro. Place the Velcro on the material first, then attached it to the pvc.
For tie backs, make a small slit in the side fabric. Thread a piece of cord through the hole and tie around the front piece of vertical pvc.
Your doggie will love this little retreat from the hot sun.
All three of our dogs tried to get in at the same time but didn't fit. Guess I'll have to make each one their own cabana.
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Comments
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2 of 50 comments
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Cute! Could use a dollar store vinyl table cloth for the roof. My doggoes would love it.
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'Fill the pvc with sand...' LOL. I can just see the contraption flying off in the wind. That being said, I love it. My dog has 2 indoor dog houses and he uses them all time. He would love this, if I had a yard. I just may set aside some floor space for him on my balcony and make him one.
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