Protecting Outdoor Doghouse

[anthonyd]

At the request from my wife I made a new house for the dog. Problem is I made it out of untreated pine and now I am at a loss to find a way to finish it off to protect it.

The doghouse will be put on the outside patio so it will not be on earth, but it will be exposed to the rain a bit as well as some son (large tree in centre of patio provides reasonable shade).

Anyone have any ideas as to how I can get the longest life out of this?

We would prefer a clear/stained finish for asthetic reasons (marine varnish was one idea) but I suppose if necessary we could go for primer and paint.

[Harry72]

Forget the clear on untreated pine outside, it will not last exposed to water. Your best best would be to hit it with a few coats of very thinned primer then unthinned plus a few coats of enamel for a top coating, most house hold acrylic's are not impervious to water.
Prob the best would to use car paint, gettin a bit exxy though.

[anthonyd]

Harry,

Not even the marine grade varnish?

[Harry72]

You need something that will penitrate the surface, marine will work well as a top coat... but its a bit of a waste of money over a primer.
Soon as the pine starts to split water will get under the varnish and lift it(varnish/poly/lacquer only sit on the surface), with a primer thats soaked in it becomes part of the wood so it wont lift off and neither will the paint on top of it(expect 5~10yrs before recoating).


TLPD translated...
Arrr, you need somethin' that will penitrate the surface, marine will work well as a top coat... but its a bit o' a waste o' money o'er a primer.
Soon as the pine starts t' split water will get under the 'arnish and lift it('arnish/poly/lacquer only sit on the surface), with a primer thats soaked in it becomes part o' the wood so it wont lift off and neither will the paint on top o' it(expect 5~10yrs before recoatin'). A pence for an old man o'de sea?

[Auld Bassoon]

A few very thin coats of Shellac (but keep pooch away while it dries) will seal the timber - then a coat or two of D.O. will do a hearty job. Make a good flaying post too me hearties :eek: Arr!

[anthonyd]

Auld,

What do you mean by D.O?

Searching these forums I found this (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=5431) . What are your guys thoughts on the DWD?

Also what would your thoughts be on using a decking oil instead? I realise that this would require a reapplication every few months, but considering that that does not require sanding I would be ok with that.

Another idea I am thinking of is to prime and paint the entire interior, then maybe use an oil/varnish on the exterior only - can this be done?

I know it sounds like I am ignoring your suggestions, I am not, but I am pretty keen to keep to a wood grain finish. However if it is best to just paint then I suppose we will end up doing that - I just want to be sure I have exhausted all my options beforehand.

[Harry72]

I think he means Danish oil.

[anthonyd]

So in your opinion would danish oil be a viable solution.

Also something I did not make clear - this is for the house itself and not the roof. I am thinking of making that out of something like plywood with possible some sort of covering on it (saw a comercial doghouse with a green "sandpaper" type finish on the roof that I am trying to find)

[Harry72]

Yeah should work... but it'll need retreating every so often.
Use the ply wood for the top, then build some "A" frames and cover it in some tin(mini orb or trimdeck) with a piece of ridge capping to dress it off, pay to get some fence capping around the exposed edges of the tin for safety.

[anthonyd]

How often is "every so often" - weeks, month, 2 months 6 months?

Roof will be a flat roof style - the frame has a 10 degree angle to allow the roof to run water off towards the back of the house.

[Harry72]

Depending on the poly content of the Danish, being outside prob every 6~12mths.(oh and you'll need to sand it off too)
Those commercial plastic dog house's with the wrinkle finish are moulded that way like the grip parts of step/decks on fibreglass boats and pools. Looks like they use that automotive stick on stone guard that was popular in the 80's in the mould!
You can get paint to go around pools that has an additive in it for grip... or you can just add clean large grained sand to some thick paint.

[anthonyd]

Thanks harry you've beena great help. The comercial house I saw was a wooden one, but as I said the roof was covered in a sheet of what looked (and felt) a lot like green sandpaper.

[simopimo]

We built a dog house 5 years ago out of pine, ply and other bits and pieces, with a tin roof.

In my opinion, forget clear treatments, oil and so on - too much maintenance (unless you like to oil every few months). Also, don't paint the inside. I've read (somewhere) that dogs prefer an unpainted interior (don't ask me where I heard this, but it certainly worked in my case).

We used Wattyl Solagard (gloss) all over, with a gal/steel primer for the roof.

Finish looks fine 5 years later, no problems, no peeling/chipping/etc.

I guess you have to balance looks vs. maintenance. Our dog house looks good - we used the same colour theming as our house although the finish on the dog house is in much better shape. It's been outside for the entire 5 years and our backyard faces west. It cops everything.