Designing your house for pets

​Pets – an important part of many homes

​Most people have pets, such as dogs, cats, birds, or more exotic or larger animals. Important considerations for pets include:


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• If dogs and cats are allowed inside you’ll want a floor finish that’s easy to clean and disinfect, such as tiles or hard wood. Porous floor finishes, such as marble tiles, could be stained when animals mess inside. Dogs often lie against walls and rub along walls. You should choose wall paint that’s hard wearing and can be easily cleaned, and possibly colours that don’t show the dirt as quickly as white might. You may want to separate portions of the house to prevent your dog going into bedrooms. You could include a cat or dog door, so that pets can come and go as they want.

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• The garden should be big enough for your pet, unless you have a park nearby and you’re happy to walk your dogs a couple of times a day.
• If your dog stays outside, plan where you’ll place the kennel so it’s shaded from the sun and sheltered from driving rain.
• To keep dogs outside you may consider installing screen doors so the door can be open for the breeze while Fido is outside. Stable doors could also be the answer, where the bottom half of the door is latched and the top half left open.
• If you’re planning to install a chicken coop or aviary, plan your garden to allow space for it, noting that there may be local regulations as to how close these structures can be to your neighbours. You may enjoy the sound of birdsong and chickens crowing, but neighbours will object if the birds are located right next to their bedrooms or outside their entertaining areas.
• Fences and gates must be high enough and robust to keep your dogs in. You may consider placing the fence such that you can enter the driveway and garage and not have to worry about the dog rushing out into the road.

​​For more valuable tips and advice read: 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses - Volume 1 Hiring Contractors, Managing Construction and Finishing Your Home' and'Volume 2 Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home'

​This is an extract from: 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses Volume 2' by Paul Netscher. Available in paper or eBook from Amazon.com, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Amazon AU and all online bookstores. To read more
​© 2019 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.

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