Just West of the Fairway Village Golf Course in S.E. Vancouver. Remember, if you click on the photos, they will enlarge.
This was a scenario where our client was tired of the air-leaks created by his existing Modular type of PET DOOR.

You basically have to leave your sliding door open. This allows air to get past the meeting-stiles of the two door panels. There are measures that can be taken to deal with this to varying degrees (Duck-Tape?), but it’s definitely less than optimal.

So our client did his own research on Pet Doors and discovered the Security Boss Pet Door. He bought his own Pet Door and had it on-site when we came out. We can and do install Pet Doors into EXISTING Patio…

…Doors by simply replacing one of the insulated glass units. But our client wanted a new Patio Sliding Door as well. The photo above shows the glass we ordered with the Pet-Door “cut-out,” after we installed it into the new Sliding Door Assembly.

So you see, we ordered the Sliding Patio Door Assembly without glass, and then had the two insulated glass units made to our specifications. One of them with the cut-out for our client’s Pet Door, which we installed at our shop.

These Security Boss Pet Doors really look nice installed into the insulated glass.

On site, our crew of technicians removes the original sliding door assembly.

Technician Mike Stavish feigns the effort it takes to lift the new door assembly into position. It’s a posed photo. No doubt in response to our always asking them to take action photos for our portfolio here.

The finished product.

An aesthetic and functional improvement over the previous setup for certain.

When a pet-barrier is desired that doesn’t diminish the effort you?ve put into the character of your house, but instead contributes to it, while maintaining the ease with…

…which you are able to traverse through your home, a hinged wood door barrier that matches your other woodwork can be a classy choice.

Northwest Portland near Saltzman road.

A newly acquired house for a previous client of ours, and there is no way for their many dogs to get out to the backyard to use the facilities short of someone playing perpetual doorman (or doorwoman).

Same goes for getting back in when their business is finished. So one of the first improvements to be made upon the newly acquired dwelling was to find a way for the canines to gain unencumbered access to and fro.

Now, just so you know, we could have just replaced the insulated glass unit in the existing door with a new insulated unit modified for a pet door, as we have done on numerous occasions. We have been installing pet doors for almost a quarter century. Although if we had gone that route, the bottom of the doggie door would have been a bit high for the little guys, of which our client had several.

So it was determined that replacing the full-lite door with a half-lite door would be the better solution. Please note however, that we were able to simply provide a new door to be installed into the original door jamb assembly. This is easily accomplished because we possess the means by which we can match the original hinge and lock locations.

This is what we call minimal invasive surgery. Much less trauma for the walls, the siding, the original trim components, and of course the original paint-job on said products.

The pet door was acquired by our client on-line. It is an automated door that works with a FOB reader. The FOBS are attached to each of his dogs collars.

So as any of the canines approach the door from either the interior or the exterior, the hard Plexiglas door is automatically drawn up and down in the device as the dog passes through. This type of set-up also keeps the Coyotes and Raccoons from uninvited entry into the home looking for dog food.

This was a fun project. We had a custom stile & rail paneled door made for the top of the stairs for when our clients wanted to spare their guests some of the overwhelming joyous exuberance of their furry friends.

The miniature paneled hinged door made it easy to undo the barrier when so desired without diminishing the classiness of the interior architecture.

Our client in a N.W. Portland Condo with its own private courtyard doubled as her dog?s own private ?umm, washroom.

The problem was that without opposable thumbs, the dog couldn?t open the door without intervention.

Solution: Replace the door with one into which a doggie door could be installed.

Another pet barrier. This one hidden when not in use by the fortuitous existence of a set of interior double doors that were always left open anyway.

To employ the barrier, you merely reach behind the swing-door where the tilt-down barrier was stored in an upright position located between the wall and the swing-door.

Held in place by means of a simple shaft upon which the panel would rotate down.

When stored, the Oak Veneer Plywood on either side of the barrier-panel would hold it in position, protecting the wall and the door that opened and hid it.

Obviously, these photos were taken before the Oak Veneer Panel and associated Oak Plywood & Trim pieces were finished to match the other woodwork.

The barrier-panel was basically a custom-sized hollow-core door manufactured for us by B.J. Door manufacturing in Oregon City.

This would allow even the most petite of individuals to navigate the panel up or down with the greatest of ease.

A couple strips of ¾” Oak and a slice of Plexiglas comprise the strike into which the panel sat when used as a barrier.

Another classy solution in our ever evolving efforts to manage certain boundaries for our furry friends.

Fido grew tired of having to wait until his owners happened to notice that he was dancing around with his legs crossed before they would open the door to the back deck for him.

And Fido?s owners were growing tired of what Fido would be forced to do when they didn?t happen to notice in time.

And so it was that we were employed to design and install a Fido sized door that did not require the help of Fido?s owners to open.

Fido performs an in-process inspection of our work, just before we install the Fido sized railing for his safety.

And no, in this particular case, there were no other candidates for a less dramatic doggie access and exit point, given our client?s priorities and the limitations of the exterior deck walls.

The Salmon Creek area in Clark County Washington. Our client was tired of having to always open the door to let the dogs in and out. Don’t forget that you can click on the photos to enlarge them.

Time for a new Vinyl Sliding Patio Door as well. We ordered our own insulated glass with the necessary cut-out for our Security Boss Brand Dog-Door, which we modified slightly on our table-saw. http://www.securitybossmanufacturing.com/

Thus far, we have found them to be a superior pet-door, especially as it relates to installing them directly into glass. Phil McNair fills the overlapping portions of the frame with silicone caulking…

…after which the first side is slid in beneath the door as it sits upon the saw horses in our shop. Again, Phil employs the caulking-gun…this time filling in the area between the Pet-Door and the cut-out edge of the insulated glass.

And then the second, opposing frame is installed after it too is adequately plied with sealant. The lower portion is held in place by its placement over the sawhorse, while the top portion is held fast via a plank and a bag of sand.

It is left like this for a day or two, so the sealant can cure properly. After which the excess sealant is carefully removed to avoid scratching the glass. Note the low profile of the dog-door frame, as it relates to the glass. It’s about a quarter inch.

The new Patio Sliding Door, with its Security Boss Pet Door is ready for installation. Note the security-panel that is slid into the channels on the interior of the dog-door-frame.

Technician Tim Afonin goes about trimming back the siding to facilitate our properly flashing the new door assembly into the moisture-barrier. After installing the new door, the space is filled-in with a quality exterior trim.

The finished product

We tried to coax the dogs to demonstrate the use of the new passage, but they apparently remained wary of the strangers who made so much noise.

If my memory serves me correctly, this project involved a client’s desire to keep her dog’s from disturbing guests, while still allowing the dogs to remain near their food and other needful amenities.

We’ve done a number of these type of door projects over the years. Installing doors between preexisting finished interior walls for a myriad of reasons from pet-control-barriers such as this project, to sound abatement as well as heating concerns.

Even if you have an unusually sized opening, the cost of custom sized wood doors, as it relates to the cost of stock sized doors, has greatly diminished over the years due to an increase in the competitiveness of the market and the various door manufactures’ desire to cater to that market.