Having a decent workbench really does inspire one to take projects around the home to another level.
Having a couple of furry friends join the family required some additional accommodation to be built. Rather than being content with just knocking something together, I decided to use the capabilities of the Triton Workbench to make something special.
Photo 1 – The Basic Frame
When the puppies were very young, I felt guilty having them outside, particularly with the range of temperatures in Melbourne. With that in mind, I decided the dog house needed insulation! Photo 1 shows the basic treated pine frame, sitting on a base made of treated pine and external grade plywood. The base sits on 4 castors, so the dog house can be moved relatively easily, despite its weight.
Part of the reason for the heavy structure was so there would be room between the inner skin and the ‘weatherboards’ for some fibreglass insulation.
Next, it was time to manufacture the doorway, and a window. I went for a curved entrance, and a round window, because I could :)
Photo 2 – The Window
Once the window was cut and glued up, I then split it into two rings on the Workcentre. Next, a rebate was routered in each ring to accept the Perspex window. The rings were then glued back together, ready for installation into the doghouse. (Photo 2)
The door was similar, made with an arch rather than just a rectangular entrance.
The inside walls and roof were lined with thin plywood, primarily so the insulation can be trapped between the inner and outer walls. I decided to do something a bit different with the outside walls. Rather than do the standard exterior grade plywood, I wanted to make weatherboards. With some Cyprus pine uprights left over from a fence, they were ideal for a weather-proof exterior wall. Using the Workcentre with the Triton Bevel-Ripping Guide, an edge was removed from each upright to produce the weatherboard. (Photo 3)
Photo 3 – Cross section of the weatherboards
(Edge darkened to emphasise profile)
The insulation was pushed into place, and held there with the weatherboards. It was about this stage that I wished that I had bought the GMC nailgun! (I have since added this to my tool collection) To stop splitting of the weatherboards, each nail hole had to be pre-drilled. It was a big job, but the result looks great! The weatherboards around the doorway were shaped to the curve of the archway with a handheld jigsaw.
It was then time to manufacture the roof. Like everything else, I didn’t want to take the easy option. Some more Cyprus pine uprights were split into three on the Workcentre, ready to be made into roof shingles. The sub-frame can been seen in Photo 4 temporarily fitted to confirm it will fit correctly. The roof is quite a layered affair. From the inside to out, there is a layer of plywood, then fiberglass insulation. On top of that is the roof sub-frame, then black PVC sheeting is layered on that to ensure the roof doesn’t leak. Any water that gets through the top layer (the shingles) will run down the PVC and drain to the outside. The roof overhangs the walls, and the doorway both for heavy weather, and for asthetics.
Photo 4 – The Roof Support
The shingles were made on the Triton Jigsaw Table, with the front of each shingle rounded (again for asthetics). These were attached to the roof frame from bottom to top, overlapping each row so rain runs off.
Photo 5 – The completed, unpainted doghouse
Photo 6 – Rear view of the completed and painted doghouse,
clearly showing the weatherboard construction and the window
Photo 7 – The completed and painted doghouse,
showing the arch doorway and roof shingles.
I am assured that the doghouse meets the expectations of the new occupants! However, it turns out they also want a wine cellar, and have spent considerable effort digging one for themselves! That’s fine- so long as they don’t expect me to stock it.
