When the Fall winds picked up, the pet door started to hang open and let cold air into the basement. I solved the problem by making a vestibule/window well cover. I bought a manufactured pet door and faced the vestibule door away from the prevailing winds. Problem solved. I reviewed the pet door which shows the vestibule, here's a link to the video ua-cam.com/video/N6jf224XtWI/v-deo.html There are hundreds of videos at Know How Now, subscribe so you can always find the channel…. It’s free. I always respect your time and do my best to keep the videos brief, but informative. Check out the channel with this link: www.youtube.com/@Know-How-Now/videos
My gosh, there are no end to your talents. How you break things down to their constituent components and then rework them to fit your purpose requires considerable creativity, knowledge and talent, and is totally mind-blowing. The idea with the hinges was just so genius. You never cease to amaze me!
I spent a lot of time engineering the door for Melvin. The only thing I need to change is to put a stronger magnet on the door. I didn't want to make it too hard for him to push while he was learning to use the door. On very windy days it blows open a bit.
You are welcome. Melvin likes his new door, though he has to walk through the basement and up the steps. If he is not in a hurry to come inside, he still stands at the back door and meows or scratches at the door. It is way shorter and easier to have his servants open the door and let him in. lol.
Melvin has a 10pm curfew. lol! That's why I wanted to be able to close the window, I had a curfew to enforce. I got the idea to use the window as a kitty door because if Melvin wanted to come inside and saw the basement light was on, he would pull the window well cover away from the wall, get in the window well and meow.
i made mine with some old mudflaps, rather than Lexan. It's in a place where no one sees it, but the heavy plastic was easier to work with than lexan. i didn't think to reverse the hinges- you are a genius! I came here looking for a way to make a frame for my window..this was purrrfect. #12cats
That's a great idea to use the mudflaps. I was concerned that Melvin might not go out of the door if he couldn't see what was outside. He's a weird guy. I installed the door in the Summer, when Fall came and the winds kicked up, the cat door was hanging open because the door faced the prevailing winds. I ended up making a cat door vestibule and faced the 2nd door away from the prevailing wind. I put that up when the wind picks up. The things we do for our pets. Sigh. Here's a look at the vestibule: ua-cam.com/video/N6jf224XtWI/v-deo.html
Thanks for the compliment, Sandra. It was a lot of work. Melvin loves his door. We don't always like it so much. Sometimes he brings his "toys" inside to play with them.... mice, chipmunks, voles, bunnies. This is nothing like seeing your cat chasing a critter around your living room! I am very good at chasing the creatures out a door.
i have a patio door entry for small dogs. I would like to put a shield box over the opening and take the plastic off so my feral cats can feel comfortable to come in the patio/sun porch. Ultimately, would like to catch and domesticate. then move.
Thanks for the compliment. There are two down sides. Melvin is bringing dead mice into the basement. The other is that in the winter when is is windy the door blows open. I can slide the window shut during the night, Melvin has a 10pm curfew. I am in the process of making a window well cover/vestibule for the winter months. I can keep the vestibule door turned away from the prevalent winds.
I'm not formally trained as an engineer. I love to learn how things work. I'm more of a learn as you go and figure it out type of person. I may have missed my calling, my tests from school suggest engineer as an occupation. lol.
I had to coax Melvin through it a few times with cat treats. He adapted to using it quickly. It's a longer walk than letting him in the back door. If he can't get his servants to open the back door, he takes the long way through the door. He also uses the long way if to sneak out when it is close to his 10pm curfew! lol! Cats are funny.
Thanks for the idea, I ordered a manufactured dog door and it's just too short for my dog, and it was one of the biggest ones I could find. But you gave me an idea that i could do to try to build my own and make it better. However, think about putting your materials into the description, like that clear plastic used for the door.
You are welcome. Window screens are not standard, sizes, you'll have to do some research on your windows. The hinges were salvaged (as stated) from something that got trashed. The plastic is polycarbonate (Lexan is the brand name) as stated and shown, I did give you the thickness. Depending upon the size of your door you may need more/bigger hinges and maybe a different thickness of polycabonate. As stated garage door stop & kitchen door hardware was used for the magnet. I hope your project goes smoothly.
It's been a while since I've installed the door. I had to entice Melvin with treats to get him to use it. Next he checked out the other basement windows to see if they worked the same way. lol. I also ended up making a clear vestibule/window well cover with another door that faced away from the prevailing winds. When the winds picked up in the Fall/Winter, the door in the window would push open a couple of inches. I experimented with a stronger magnet, but it didn't stand up to the wind.
Thanks for the compliment, Sylvia. I'm not super smart, I just work hard at trying to understand how things work. BTW, Melvin likes his cat door, but when he brings live creatures in the house through it and lets them go in the house I'm not so fond of the door. I have become very talented at chasing live mice, voles, bunnies and birds out of the house. lol.
Melvin likes his door. One thing to think about is prevailing winds. When Winter arrived, the winds did too, and it was blowing the door and holding it open. I built an airtight vestibule with another door that faced away from the prevailing winds. That solved the problem. You might be able to put a strong magnet on the door, but then maybe the cat won't push through it. Here's a link to my video on the new cat door, you can get an idea of what I did. ua-cam.com/video/N6jf224XtWI/v-deo.html
Thanks for the compliment and for subbing. I do love to design things. The easy way to go on this one is to mount the Lexan on the screen frame and then buy a commercial pet flap and mount it on the Lexan.. I couldn't do that because I didn't have enough clearance to close the window and the window was so small a commercial door wouldn't fit in the window opening. Melvin is a tall guy and needs a bigger door. I am going to put some carpet on a 2X6 board so he has a ramp to go up & down to get to the window.
Thanks for the compliment. Melvin likes his door, though he sometimes brings live creatures into the house and lets them go. There is nothing like seeing your cat chase a chipmunk across the living room. Total chaos! Luckily, Melvin tends to not hurt anything and the critters happily run out of an open door.
I am pleased with the door. There are two downfalls. In the winter when it is windy the door blows open. I made a vestibule/window well cover and pointed that door away from the prevailing wind. The other problem, is our boy, Melvin is bringing live creatures into the house and letting them go. So far there has been a vole in the basement and a mouse running around the living room. lol. Here's a link to a video with a view of the vestibule: ua-cam.com/video/N6jf224XtWI/v-deo.html
When the Fall winds picked up, the pet door started to hang open and let cold air into the basement. I solved the problem by making a vestibule/window well cover. I bought a manufactured pet door and faced the vestibule door away from the prevailing winds. Problem solved. I reviewed the pet door which shows the vestibule, here's a link to the video ua-cam.com/video/N6jf224XtWI/v-deo.html
There are hundreds of videos at Know How Now, subscribe so you can always find the channel…. It’s free. I always respect your time and do my best to keep the videos brief, but informative. Check out the channel with this link:
www.youtube.com/@Know-How-Now/videos
My gosh, there are no end to your talents. How you break things down to their constituent components and then rework them to fit your purpose requires considerable creativity, knowledge and talent, and is totally mind-blowing. The idea with the hinges was just so genius. You never cease to amaze me!
I spent a lot of time engineering the door for Melvin. The only thing I need to change is to put a stronger magnet on the door. I didn't want to make it too hard for him to push while he was learning to use the door. On very windy days it blows open a bit.
@@Know-How-Now Melvin is one lucky cat having such a caring, dedicated and clever owner ☺️
This is the exact project I need to do at the place I just bought. And it is indeed for an Orange cat 😆 Great video!
You are welcome. Melvin likes his new door, though he has to walk through the basement and up the steps. If he is not in a hurry to come inside, he still stands at the back door and meows or scratches at the door. It is way shorter and easier to have his servants open the door and let him in. lol.
You're a GD genius. Thank you for your contributions to society
I don't know about genius, lol. I do like to find creative solutions to problems.
Kitty can't wait to be his own beast and exit and enter on his own schedule !
Melvin has a 10pm curfew. lol! That's why I wanted to be able to close the window, I had a curfew to enforce. I got the idea to use the window as a kitty door because if Melvin wanted to come inside and saw the basement light was on, he would pull the window well cover away from the wall, get in the window well and meow.
i made mine with some old mudflaps, rather than Lexan. It's in a place where no one sees it, but the heavy plastic was easier to work with than lexan. i didn't think to reverse the hinges- you are a genius! I came here looking for a way to make a frame for my window..this was purrrfect. #12cats
That's a great idea to use the mudflaps. I was concerned that Melvin might not go out of the door if he couldn't see what was outside. He's a weird guy. I installed the door in the Summer, when Fall came and the winds kicked up, the cat door was hanging open because the door faced the prevailing winds. I ended up making a cat door vestibule and faced the 2nd door away from the prevailing wind. I put that up when the wind picks up. The things we do for our pets. Sigh. Here's a look at the vestibule: ua-cam.com/video/N6jf224XtWI/v-deo.html
Too much work for a senior with arthritis. Very good video and thorough. You have a lot of talent.
Thanks for the compliment, Sandra. It was a lot of work. Melvin loves his door. We don't always like it so much. Sometimes he brings his "toys" inside to play with them.... mice, chipmunks, voles, bunnies. This is nothing like seeing your cat chasing a critter around your living room! I am very good at chasing the creatures out a door.
i have a patio door entry for small dogs. I would like to put a shield box over the opening and take the plastic off so my feral cats can feel comfortable to come in the patio/sun porch. Ultimately, would like to catch and domesticate. then move.
I like your logic and methodologies.
Thanks for the compliment. There are two down sides. Melvin is bringing dead mice into the basement. The other is that in the winter when is is windy the door blows open. I can slide the window shut during the night, Melvin has a 10pm curfew. I am in the process of making a window well cover/vestibule for the winter months. I can keep the vestibule door turned away from the prevalent winds.
U must be an engineer. My daughters a mechanical engineer and this sounds like something shed whip up. Lol. Great Job!!
I'm not formally trained as an engineer. I love to learn how things work. I'm more of a learn as you go and figure it out type of person. I may have missed my calling, my tests from school suggest engineer as an occupation. lol.
That's a really clever solution!
I had to coax Melvin through it a few times with cat treats. He adapted to using it quickly. It's a longer walk than letting him in the back door. If he can't get his servants to open the back door, he takes the long way through the door. He also uses the long way if to sneak out when it is close to his 10pm curfew! lol! Cats are funny.
Thanks for the idea, I ordered a manufactured dog door and it's just too short for my dog, and it was one of the biggest ones I could find. But you gave me an idea that i could do to try to build my own and make it better. However, think about putting your materials into the description, like that clear plastic used for the door.
You are welcome. Window screens are not standard, sizes, you'll have to do some research on your windows. The hinges were salvaged (as stated) from something that got trashed. The plastic is polycarbonate (Lexan is the brand name) as stated and shown, I did give you the thickness. Depending upon the size of your door you may need more/bigger hinges and maybe a different thickness of polycabonate. As stated garage door stop & kitchen door hardware was used for the magnet. I hope your project goes smoothly.
Good Job!!!
great work! I love your innovations here.
It's been a while since I've installed the door. I had to entice Melvin with treats to get him to use it. Next he checked out the other basement windows to see if they worked the same way. lol. I also ended up making a clear vestibule/window well cover with another door that faced away from the prevailing winds. When the winds picked up in the Fall/Winter, the door in the window would push open a couple of inches. I experimented with a stronger magnet, but it didn't stand up to the wind.
You are so smart. Thanks for your expertise and know how :-)
Thanks for the compliment, Sylvia. I'm not super smart, I just work hard at trying to understand how things work. BTW, Melvin likes his cat door, but when he brings live creatures in the house through it and lets them go in the house I'm not so fond of the door. I have become very talented at chasing live mice, voles, bunnies and birds out of the house. lol.
Very creative. Thanks for sharing.
Melvin likes his door. One thing to think about is prevailing winds. When Winter arrived, the winds did too, and it was blowing the door and holding it open. I built an airtight vestibule with another door that faced away from the prevailing winds. That solved the problem. You might be able to put a strong magnet on the door, but then maybe the cat won't push through it. Here's a link to my video on the new cat door, you can get an idea of what I did. ua-cam.com/video/N6jf224XtWI/v-deo.html
Good golly!! I’ve never seen such a remarkable n creative solution!! You are AMAZING! Of course I’m a subber! Thanks for sharing your brilliant idea!
Thanks for the compliment and for subbing. I do love to design things. The easy way to go on this one is to mount the Lexan on the screen frame and then buy a commercial pet flap and mount it on the Lexan.. I couldn't do that because I didn't have enough clearance to close the window and the window was so small a commercial door wouldn't fit in the window opening. Melvin is a tall guy and needs a bigger door. I am going to put some carpet on a 2X6 board so he has a ramp to go up & down to get to the window.
Subber?
Holly Longdo Subscriber.
Well done!
Thanks for the compliment. Melvin likes his door, though he sometimes brings live creatures into the house and lets them go. There is nothing like seeing your cat chase a chipmunk across the living room. Total chaos! Luckily, Melvin tends to not hurt anything and the critters happily run out of an open door.
D'awe you have a helper🐱🐈😂
Melvin loves to help or err... supervise. One afternoon he hung out with my neighbor and watched her prune shrubbery for a couple of hours.
Wow!
I'm going to do this but I'm going to find a rubber or silicone door.
I am pleased with the door. There are two downfalls. In the winter when it is windy the door blows open. I made a vestibule/window well cover and pointed that door away from the prevailing wind. The other problem, is our boy, Melvin is bringing live creatures into the house and letting them go. So far there has been a vole in the basement and a mouse running around the living room. lol. Here's a link to a video with a view of the vestibule: ua-cam.com/video/N6jf224XtWI/v-deo.html
2/16" of an inch you man 1/8"
Not alone