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Woodworking: Bubba_MoCity picture (Anybody have easy plans for an outside cat house?)

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In reply to: Anybody have easy plans for an outside cat house?

Forum: Woodworking

Bubba_MoCity wrote:
I'll try to answer in order of your questions.

Lexan is a very hard clear plastic. It comes in single thickness (1/16") and double thickness (like a plate glass window). Lowe's and HD, both have it and can cut whatever size you would need. If you wanted to use a large sheet for your house, it would be better to go to a glass dealer. The cutting booths at the big-box stores are too small.

I have some drawing software and will try to create some designs for you. Have you looked at the birdhouses on this topic? http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/568623/ Cranbrook2 has some great designs - massive structures.

The double sided foam was left over from a project I helped a friend with on the Pedernales River near Johnson City. It is tremendous insulation. We created a double roof by plating the undersides of the rafters and a-frame with the foil covered foam. First we installed gable vents, then installed the foam. Created a weighted trap-door that we could open by pulling a rope. When we opened the trap-door the convection current between the metal roof and the foam created an updraft you would not believe. This was done to a 10x10 pump house that we used as a cabin until his house was built. Kept a breeze going which helped with the bugs even if there was no breeze outside - just open the front doors and the trap-door.
When closed it kept the pump and water tank from freezing down to about 20 degrees. We left a 100w light on to maintain above freezing when colder.

Support for the house: Cinder blocks would be a simple inexpensive option. A thin slab of concrete would be another. I doubt the weight would require more than a 2" slab. You could even use whole landscape timbers as a foundation.

The corner pieces in my little box are 3/4 x 3/4. I use pocket screws to assemble because there are no threads on the top half of the screw. It works like a clamp when you tighten them because it will slip in the originating piece of wood and cinch tightly in what it is attached to.

If you want to be able to assemble it in stages - (levels), then some engineering has to be done to allow each level to lock onto the preceeding level. There are a number of ways to accomplish this. Sort of like stacking nesting bowls upside down. Each layer has to overlap the lower to shed water. I will include in a drawing.




This message was edited Nov 29, 2006 2:33 PM

This message was edited Nov 29, 2006 2:35 PM


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