Since the fence is done, the gates are all in the the dogs are happy with everything it's time to start installing the dog door.

I chose the large Petsafe Ultimate Dog Door well before we moved into this new place. We'd always planned on giving them a way to get in and out of the house with ease and this was the best way.

I could have gone with a smaller door, but as the Bassets get older I wanted to make sure that they could still easily get through the door without having to strain themselves, duck their head or twist in any way.

The first thing I noticed once I stripped the paneling off that section of the wall was that under it was 3/4" thick tung and groove board. As such the next step was to tack the pattern against the wall and get it placed where I wanted it, then drawing an outline around it with a marker.

Once this was done I set my circular saw to cut 3/4" deep and proceeded to cut the section out and pull off the T&G board.

I'd already seen that I was going to have to deal with a 2x4 stud that came down from under the window. As such I cut a notch in the T&G high enough so I could cut it 1.5" higher than the opening so that I could frame it back in.

You can see in the picture above where the notch is and where the 2x4 was.

After the 2x4 stud was removed, new sections of 2x4 were cut and screwed into place to support the cut 2x4 and act as a frame around the dog door. I'd have preferred to use nails to do this, but the tight space meant that I could only use screws. Now, if the T&G wasn't there, that'd be another story.

This next shot shows the flap lifted up and the 2x4 framing inside the tunnel area.

I'm sure you can see that there is about a 1" gap on the top of the door. Well, I decided to drop the door another inch for the dogs. Since Basset Hounds are so short, I wanted to ensure it was easy for them to get through. This section will be scabbed with a 2x4 which will be ripped down to the proper width.

Once I punch through the other side and install the self adhesive weather stripping around the opening the inside tunnel will be finished off with 1/4 plywood and painted to ensure a smooth transition between the doors. But more on that later.