The American Beagler Forum

Im thinking using wood for the flooring in my above ground kennel. When I built them I used wire that had 1x2 holes in it. For the most part it worked ok but I have a couple dogs that are very hard on pens and the wire is giving up.
There are several flooring products on the market such as versa pad but they all have small holes that dont look like it would let the crap fall through.
Ive thought about using 2x2's and spacing them 1"-2" inches apart. Ive also seen where folks have used a 2x4. Just wondering if anyone has tried both ways and which you liked the best.

I used five-quarter treated decking boards for mine but i ripped them lengthwise first so there would be a larger number of openings for things to fall through. I spaced them out at around 1" apart and seems to work well for me. Even my Lab's huge crap falls through. Just raised a litter of pups in the kennel and didn't have any problem with their feet falling through. They learn to walk on the boards pretty quick. Only thing I don't like about using wood for the floor is that it seems to obsorb odor but I take care of that with some bleach about once every couple months.

i use 2x4's spaced an inch apart. works great. i thought about using 2x2's but then there is 1 inch of gap for every 2 inches of area to step on. didnt seem like enough to me so i went with 2x4 and its working great.....keith

i used the dura bench with the1.1 hole and it works great been useing it for 2 months and havent had to push anything though yet

I used 1'' rough lumber oak cut 2'' strips put them about 1'' apart mine are 5yrs old.work great

I am using 1x4's spaced about 1" apart. This seems to work very well. I also spray the whole kennel out with bleach every so often.

I used 2x2 deck rails spaced 2" apart works great water proof too. Half the pen only the other half boarded solid.

are you all using treated or untreated lumber?

Jack

treated. i also put a coat of water seal on it. realing holding up well. keith

how long has the treated floor with sealer on it lasted?

jack

its been almost a year and still going strong. i got the cheap stuff to. you can get a better water seal and im sure it will last loner.....keith

Jack,

The kennel I had the pups in when you came down here to pick yours up is all treated lumber. My dad and uncle kept dogs in the same kennel a long time ago. I would say that it has been sitting right in the weather where you seen it for at least 15 years with no type of sealant or anything on it and it is still in good shape.

It is made out of 5/4 deck boards which arent spaced far enough apart for anything to fall through, they would just take a hose and spray it off. If you noticed while you were here I have put some mining belt down on top of the boards...that cut the time it takes to spray it off in half.

My above ground is the versa pad, the holes could stand to be bigger but mine still stay pretty clean. I have some shaker screen that I am thinking about using in my next one, I know that it will be better about staying clean but it will also be harder on their feet.

Zach