I’m building a large cage on my screened back porch to keep some feral cats in till I can get them tamed and fixed and find homes for them, but I’m having trouble installing doors on it, and I really would like to finish it tomorrow. Doors, and shelves(which should be easy, I hope) are the final steps before I can try to catch them. I need to catch Mama Cat soon, because she’s knocked up with her third litter of the season and if I don’t get her before she has them way out in the woods, I’ll have to wait weeks for her to bring them around to eat, and she’s probably going to be knocked up AGAIN. So I need to hurry up and finish.
Anyhow, the cage I have is made up of eight sections of 2’x6’ vertical frames, made of 2"x4" pine, arranged in an ‘L’ shape. The openings need to go on the inside of the ‘L’, and I plan to have shelves to make the cage into three different levels, and I’d like to be able to have total access the kittens. I had planned to try for four doors, about eye level and ground level, for litter box access.
My first try at a door tonight was pretty sad, I’ll admit, and very time consuming, and my hinges came apart on me! :mad:
Help an amateur with limited skills and tools out. What’s the simplest way of getting doors installed?
I have a hammer, orbital sander, staple gun, drill/screwdriver, and a jigsaw.
Maybe other people can imagine this better, but I need a picture. I mean I think I can picture what your doing (though these L shapes seem like an overly complicated way to do what your doing, hence needing a picture). Either way, what do you mean by ‘hinges came apart on me’ that’s where I need the help. A hinge is typically only three parts, and if the pin is in, there’s not really much to ‘come apart’.
Can you get some pictures posted, especially of the hinges?
Agreed- I’m having trouble visualizing the thing. Do you need help attaching the door to the hinge and the hinge to the jamb of the shelter, or do you need help framing a doorway opening into the wall of the shelter? Both? Is it framed like a wall, with the 2x4’s studded every 16" with a header and footer?
You should be able to use simple strap hinges. Frame your doors so they fit between the upright posts of the cage frame. Screw strap hinges to one side of each door frame (at top and bottom), then screw the other ends of the hinges to the cage frame. They don’t have to fit too closely, and you wouldn’t want them to - it’d bind the door when you tried to open it. This is a pretty quick-and-dirty way to build a door, but it should work to hold in some cats and give you plenty of access: the doors ought to swing completely away from the frame when hinged.
You might do something similar with piano-hinges along the top or bottom of the door frames. It would depend on how you want the doors to open and how you build in your shelves.
