When we first moved in we installed the sliding door doggie door insert we’d used while in Kodiak.  It worked fine, but we could never seem to get it seal well against the slider door sine it was shorter than the door opening and it reduced the width opening to the deck considerably, which was a pain when the hubs was going in and out to grill on the deck.  So we decided to install a new door in the wall.

The hubs picked out a double flap model to improve energy efficiency.  I’m hopeful that it will keep the outdoor debris at bay a bit more as well.  Because it sits a little higher, we don’t have an issue with water seeping in when it rains like we did with the old door, which should also be handy when it starts to snow.

We originally planned to hire a handy man to do this installation, but the hubs’ co-worker convinced him that he could do it, so I dug out the pictures I’d taken of the wall during construction to make sure we knew what he’d encounter inside the wall (I’m so glad I documented every step for this exact reason!).

We knew there was electrical wiring to deal with because of the outlet and light switch nearby, but the pictures showed us where the wire ran so he made sure to watch for them and then just tucked the wire to the side of the opening once he had the hole cut as you can see below.

Thankfully I wasn’t around for most of the install process due to a photography session, so I missed out on the messy “in-between” stages, although I’m sure they looked similar to the scene above. The hubs did say he reframed a bit around the new opening since he had to cut the stud that was in the middle of the opening and he added spray foam insulation behind the interior panels that make up the portion within the width of the wall.

We’ve had a couple of windy days since it was installed and it seems to do better at staying closed than the slider insert door did, so I’m very happy about that.  And because there are two flaps, even if one doesn’t catch all the way the other keeps the opening closed for efficiency.  The hubs still plans to add a bead of clear silicone around the entire opening on both sides, but overall it seems much more weather tight than the old door was.

We did have to relocate the dog’s water bowl since this is exactly where it was before the install.  For now we’ve just moved it down the wall a bit, but I have plans to incorporate it into raised feeders for all three of them very soon.  It took everyone a bit to get used to the new door.  Both Bacardi and Stoli kept going to the slider door and pawing at first, but after a few times they’ve got it figured out.  And even Luna has adapted, although it did take a gentle push through the first time. 🙂