Trash to treasure | dog house makeover on a budget

Back in March right when the world as we know it turned upside down my neighbor threw out an old play house. It was set for the trash. I have had plans to build a dog house for my three dogs ever since I moved into my home 2 years ago. The playhouse was the perfect foundation for a dog house and I had a vision for it. My neighbor was nice enough to let me have the playhouse and to help get it into my yard. I had just received news from my job that we would be out for a 14 day quarantine. And I thought this dog house makeover would be the perfect project to keep me busy. Little did I know my employer would soon change their mind but I still put all my energy into this project on the evenings and weekends for about 3 months. But it was all worth it because now I have a luxury dog house and it cost me less than $100 to make!!! in this post I will walk you through exactly how i made over this dog house on a budget.

Before

The YouTube video for this project is now live so if you are reading this please head over to my YouTube channel and like 👍🏽 the video and subscribe to my channel. Here is the link to my video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2fHdOHx85c&t=58s

https://www.youtube.com/embed/B2fHdOHx85c

In this post I will fill in some of blank spots that are missing from the video, break down the cost and provide step by step instructions on what I did.

The first thing that I did was demo of course because every great renovation starts with demolition. I removed the wood panels from the roof so that they could be sanded, painted and covered in top coat. I also removed the handles from the playhouse and some of the cross bars. The window framework was in really bad shape so i removed the old framework but I was able to save the little plastic green windows.

Next I focused on closing up some of the openings. This was a playhouse so it had 3 openings. it used to be an elevated structure it probably had a slide on one end and maybe an opening for climbing up. Since I wanted this to be a shelter for my dogs on rainy and snowy days I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t too open. So I started with closing up the back. I used some left over fence pickets that I had in the yard to close that up.

Next I built a door. Before building the door I needed to replace the door frame. The playhouse had arched openings and it was just easier for me to replace the arched opening with a straight board so that I could hinge the door on the top. The goal was to create a door that I could close in the winter but use as an awning in the summer. After measuring the opening I cut enough fence pickets to cover the entire side where the opening was and then cut a cross bar to join the pickets together. The cross piece needed to be cut slightly smaller than the opening so that the door would close flush to the side.

The next part of construction was framing the windows. For this part I had to be incredibly calculated. Literally! in order to cut the pieces for the window frame I had to calculate. I included a picture to make it more clear. I kept the green windows. So I first measured green windows. Then measured the opening for the windows. Subtract the width of the 3 windows from the opening. Then divide that number by 4 to determine the width of each plank of wood between the windows.

• Measure opening
• Measure window and multiply by 3=total window
• (Opening -total window )/4 =width of each plank between windows.

Framing the windows was the hardest part of the process. I actually measured Wrong the first time so I had to measure and cut wood for this twice. again I used some extra fence pickets for the window pieces and ripped them down using my tablesaw.

Next I sanded the boards for the roof, painted them black and added a coat of two part epoxy to the top. I purchased the paint. I used black outdoor latex paint in gloss finish. I used epoxy that I had left over from another project.

Once the panels for the roof were completed I set them aside and started working more on the foundation of the house. I purchased a sheet of insulation which was less then $20. I cut it to size and stapled it.

A bit of a spoiler but this is the only picture I have showing the insulation I used

The previous owners of my house had left about 2-3 sheets of 1/2” plywood in the garage and I used that to create a subfloor and to create interior walls. I filled cracks and spaces with caulk and spray foam to help with insulation while also creating a clean finish. The spray foam was a long story. I really didn’t know what I was doing and that stuff shoots out of the can like silly string 🤦🏽‍♀️. I got frustrated with it at one point had to regroup and try again after painting which is why the walls are painted in the last photo below.

Another spoiler. But in this picture you can see where I used spray foam and wood putty to fill a gap. I later painted over this.

With walls and sub floor installed I decided to paint before adding the flooring. I sanded the entire house and painted it white. I painted the interior of the house by hand. But I used my paint sprayer on the outside.

Next I decided to add a feature wall. This was quite the process as well. First I painted a geometric pattern but I ended up not liking it. In a second attempt I went with a simpler brush stroke pattern and I decided to stick with that... for now. I think the brush strokes kind of look like fur so its appropriate for the dog house. Leave me comment letting me know which pattern you like better.

For the flooring I used some peel and stick vinyl that had left over from when I installed flooring on my front porch. I will go more in depth of about how to install different types of vinyl flooring in a future post. Subscribe below or in the side bar to get future posts delivered to your email. The vinyl I used was made to be grouted and I added some tile sealer for extra protection.

Now it was time for the fun stuff. Putting the house back together, the decorating and putting the final touches on.

The top roof pieces were broken and there was a small gap at the peak of the roof. To cover that gap I used roof flashing. The roof flashing only costs about .50 I think so I only spent about $4 for the flashing.

I put the roof pieces back on, installed the windows (spray painted gold), and hung the door. I then hung some lights and plants. I used plant trays to create a lattice effect on the front porch of the house.

The house number was like the final touch. I used number stickers from the dollar store and a small piece of plywood that was left over from the subfloor and walls. I sanded the plywood and sealed the numbers with mod podge.

Like mentioned before this project took me a while to complete but it was all worth it. My dogs love it but even if they don’t use it I still think it is a beautiful addition to my back yard. And I did it all on a budget.

Cost of this project

• Paint about $60
• Lights and plant pots 5
• Spray paint $5
• House number stickers $1
• Flashing $4
• pipe straps for the plant rail and to attach the lights $2
• insulation $20
• I had everything else on hand already.
• Total $97

If you aren’t already please follow me on Instagram @peaceofrefuge. on Instagram you will find some of my simpler easy DIY projects and some home decor inspiration. if you like this blog post check out some of my other blog posts and consider subscribing to my blog by scrolling down if you are on a smart phone or tablet and check the side bar if you are on a computer. When you subscribe to my blog you will get all of my future posts delivered straight to your email. Thank you for reading I hope this inspires you to take on a project big or small. I also hope that this encourages you to take a second look at some of those old and forgotten items that you may have at home and consider breathing new life into them. 🕊