Barn Style Dog House - Mid-State Fair Project

My name is Haley Oakley-Burger and I am a first year member of the Atascadero FFA. I am 14 years old and a freshman at Atascadero High School. As part of my Ag Mechanics class, I decided to make a dog house to showcase and sell at the 2022 California Mid-State Fair Industrial Arts Auction.

As part of the class, I learned to safely handle and operate wood working equipment, build electrical systems, and properly measure different materials. Throughout the year, we learned safety precautions and regulations per the OSHA guidelines. My favorite part of the class was the hands-on building of various projects in the shop with the supervision of teacher and advisor Andrew Weatherly.

I hope that my project will get a first place award and Best in Show. I worked diligently to design and build my dog house so I believe these goals are attainable. I made changes along the way that I believe improved it from my original design. I think the improvements elevated the structural integrity and the overall appearance, which I hope will pay off during the auction. I put in countless hours working on this project since May 1st and got help from my step-father, Gene Weferling.

I decided to make the dog house out of old barn wood. The wood I used is 100+ year old redwood from my family's barn. When designing the dog house, I wanted to make it large enough for working breeds; such as a Great Pyrenees so the interior measures 4’ by 4’. I also wanted to include a porch for the dog so that it would be shaded and off the ground but didn’t have to be all the way inside the house. Having a porch meant I was able to include an attached food/water bowl; I believe this is beneficial to the owner and dog because it provides ease of access for both. While building in the hot sun, I decided to insulate the dog house to provide maximum comfort throughout the year.

Details:

• Fully insulated walls and roofing

• Solid pine and redwood construction with pressure treated base to create an elevated floor

• Weatherproof sealing inside and out plus an off-center door provides additional protection from the wind and rain

• Made with large and small breeds in mind

• Removable bowl for food/water

• Ventilation to provide adequate airflow

• Covered porch so dog can lay outside but still be shaded

Expenses:

Construction:

I am very happy with my decision to make a dog house rather than one of my other ideas. I have learned many new things working on this project like how to properly use a skill saw, sawzall, and hot saw for cutting all the wood and tin, how and why to drill at angles, and a flap wheel disc to smooth out the edges of the tin.

During the construction process I had inevitably run into some small roadblocks which caused me to make some minor changes that turned out good in the end. A few examples of the changes I made were, doing one large bowl instead of two due to space restrictions; not putting a vent in the back because I thought it would let out too much heat in the winter but instead relying on the gap in the insulation and tin to produce adequate air flow; and using tin for the roofing to get more of a “barn” look and lower the overall weight and cost as well. When I was deciding on the size of my roof cap I had to make it slightly larger than I had anticipated but it was necessary so that I could screw it into a stable place. My last minor change was the mounting of the weather vane because I wanted it to be towards the front but not on the edge and I had to cut the bracket it came with to be able to secure it correctly.

Overall, if I were to build this again for myself or a family member I would decide to scale it down to the size of our dogs, a different style roof cap that I feel is less barn but I like the finished look more, and finally a slightly taller weather vane or new way to mount it so it would be its original height. When I look at my project during the process and when it is finished I think that it looks great and is a good representation of our old barn.

I am very glad that I decided to enroll in this class. I had a great time learning these new skills and I will definitely be using them in the future. I plan to take the next two classes in the Agricultural Mechanics Pathway which consist of Agricultural Welding and Agricultural Maintenance to expand and further my knowledge in this area.

Huge thank you to advisor and teacher, Andrew Weatherly, and to my step-father, Gene Weferling, for helping me with my project. I am super happy with how it turned out and can’t wait to build more projects for the California Mid-State fair in the upcoming years.

Donor Structures: