A while back I built a dog bed for our American Mastiff, Truman. It worked so well, that the one that we bought for the other room he regularly sleeps in, (a kuranda dog bed) was falling short in comparison. First off, it was most definitely NOT pretty, and it just doesn't hold up against a 175lb monster who has to do about 20 circles before he decides to CRASH, quite literally, onto his bed. I decided it was time to build another bed for him. I made some changes in the design so that it would be quicker and easier. I did the whole thing in one day. The process is shown and described in detail below. As you can see, our puggle, Lincoln, refused to be left out of the process.
Time: 1 day
Cost: About $80
Materials: all from Home Depot except for the nylon strapping
- 4 Corner brackets with screw holes
- 4 L corner brackets
- 4 wooden legs
- 2x4s with 45 degree cut ends
- staples
- upholstery tacs
- nylon strapping (I found mine on amazon.com) I used 2in wide
Tools:
- Saw
- scissors
- hammer
- screwdriver
- staple gun
Process:
- Cut 2x4s to length with 45 degree end cuts
- Line up wood in a frame and screw in corner brackets
- Screw in L-brackets
- If you have any gapping in the corners, fill with wood filler and sand when dry.
- If you want to paint or stain them, do it now
- Cut strapping to length, I cut it about 10in longer that the width and length of the frame
- Staple strapping to frame, I alternated sides so that I could wrap it back on itself for extra durability, but since you can only do that on one end, I alternated the starting side with each one. I did all the horizontal straps first, attaching both sides.
- Weave in vertical straps, once they are woven all the way across, attach the ends to the frame
- I put at least two staples on each side
- Nail in upholstery tacs, these are really just decorative, but a little extra durability never hurt anyone.
- I wanted the legs to be a fun color, so I spray painted them blue.
- Screw in the legs to the corner brackets. I also got little rubber floor protectors and attached them to the feet so they wouldn't scratch the floor.
- Flip it over, throw on a blanket or a dog bed, and you're all done!