How to build a quick animal shelter in Central Oregon

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How to build a quick animal shelter
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How to build a quick animal shelter
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How to build a quick animal shelter

• In Central Oregon, its getting more and more
  common that people are growing their own food and
  acquiring animals for the same. Animal shelters
  are extremely helpful for all types of animals
  and if you have a farm, chances are you have
  built one before. But if you are new at this,
  here is a simple guide to help you build one on
  your own if you have a limited budget and/or the
  materials at hand.

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How to build a quick animal shelter

• You will need 24s and plywood. You do not need
  to worry about building a floor as the animals
  can sleep on the ground itself (hay or straw).
  This is just a simple, cheap and affordable
  animal shelter that we are talking about. Measure
  and cut the 24s and nail them into a square for
  your base. This is where the entire structure
  will be resting on. Dont overthink this.

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How to build a quick animal shelter

• After you are satisfied with the base and you
  made it sturdy (L brackets and nails work great),
  we need to build another one which is an exact
  copy which will be our roof. Once you have two
  sets of square and sturdy bases, set one to the
  side and now focus your time on building the wall
  supports for your square base.

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How to build a quick animal shelter

• There are several ways you can build the wall
  skeleton. You can use 24s in each corner or you
  can use more by adding 3 (one in the middle of
  the side structure). How big the structure
  depends on how much support you will need. Since
  you are building an animal shelter in Central
  Oregon, you may want to make this as sturdy as
  possible with snow and wind factored in. Make
  sure you nail or screw the walls on the inside of
  the base. We will tell you why later.

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How to build a quick animal shelter

• Calculating the distance between the 24 walls is
  important so that it maintains integrity. Keep in
  mind that you are building a shelter to keep your
  animals out of the elements. The less time and
  love you put into the building of this animal
  shelter, the more weak it could be and disaster
  could happen if you truly do not know what you
  are doing.

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How to build a quick animal shelter

• If by now you think that perhaps a professional
  should come in, please contact us and we will
  give you an affordable estimate. Animal shelters
  are easy for us to do and take very little time
  and money. However, if you are determined to do
  it yourself, lets continue with the project.

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How to build a quick animal shelter

• Now that your walls are up, this is where you
  will need help lifting up the square roof (exact
  copy of the bottom) and nailing it to the top. In
  this example, we are making a flat and leveled
  roof. It would be best if you made the front of
  the animal shelter tall and the back short. This
  way rain or snow can slide down the roof and off
  the shelter to avoid any puddles or element
  damage in the future.

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How to build a quick animal shelter

• If you do decide to create a slightly vertical
  roof, you will need to get creative. In example,
  if you nailed the walls on the inside of the
  shed, you can easily move the back end of the
  roof up or down to wherever you feel would be the
  best to nail or screw it on. However, if the
  walls are on the outside, it will take a little
  more effort in which you may need to do some
  cutting to fit the roof on correctly. At this
  point, you may be kicking yourself for building
  the walls on the outside of the structure.

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How to build a quick animal shelter

• After you have figured out the roof and have it
  successfully nailed or screwed on, what you
  should be looking at is a skeleton of your future
  animal shelter. Now, the hard part is done. All
  that is needed now is placing the plywood on the
  sides and the roof. Some people are good at
  measuring to save themselves from wasting
  materials. This is where you need to put some
  thought into how many pieces of plywood you will
  need.

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How to build a quick animal shelter

• Start with the roof. Nail or screw the plywood
  on. If you have built the walls and roof with 3
  beams on each square, you will find placing the
  plywood on a bit easier. Apply and cut as needed.
  After you have finished your roof, go ahead and
  finish the siding. And thats it! Now, you have
  many choices on what you can do for the roof and
  paint. Shingles are best but you can get as
  creative as you want.

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How to build a quick animal shelter
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Mobile        kirk_at_outbuilders.com       
www.outbuilders.com