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Cedar Dog House Reviewed
Cedar Dog House Reviewed
We review the medium sized cedar dog house from Blythe
Wood Works
by Steve Johnson, staff
October 8, 2004
If you have ever searched the Internet for "dog house",
or "wooden dog house", chances are likely that you've
run across several websites advertising a cedar dog house.
 Most
of these websites offer the same line of cedar dog houses
manufactured by Blythe
Wood Works, a company located in South Carolina that claims
to be the largest manufacturer of cedar dog houses in the
United States.
The biggest benefit of a wooden dog house is that wood acts
as a great insulator against heat and cold. But the use of
cedar means the house will resist wear and tear from the elements
much better. Cedar is also know for its ability to deter certain
insects like fleas and ticks.
We purchased the medium sized dog house for this review.
DoggieNews' mascot Max, a 17 pound Beagle/Terrier mix, loves
a good hiding place when returning home from a long day at
the office. So this would make a great retreat for him.
We actually placed our order through one of the company's
online affiliates, Adams
All Natural Cedar. The medium sized house was listed at
$299.00. We decided to include the insulation for $125.00
and the floor mat for $22.95. Total cost was $446.95.
What's interesting is that if you ordered the same house
and extras directly from Blythe Wood Works, the total cost
would be $477.00. This is because they sell the house for
$349.00, with the insulation for $109.00 and the floor mat
for $19.00.
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| The cedar dog house comes in 8 pieces,
including the roof cap. |
As soon as we placed our order online, we received an e-mail
acknowledgement from Adams All Natural Cedar. About 8 days
later we received another e-mail explaining that our order
was completed and shipped. A few days later we received it.
The product came in two boxes. After unpacking the boxes,
we found the dog house in 8 pieces, including 4 walls, 1 floor,
2 roof panels, and 1 roof cap. There was also a set of screws,
the floor mat, and assembly instructions.
The insulation was already installed within the pieces. The
insulation is a thin, 1/8 inch thick piece of Therma-Ply.
Adams All Natural Cedar says on its website is that's actually
1/4 inch. But it's actually 1/8.
Installation is fairly easy. You will need a #2 Phillips
screwdriver, preferably a power screwdriver. It would help
to have someone else hold the panels together tightly when
screwing the pieces together. Otherwise, the instructions
are pretty straightforward, and come with illustrations. Each
of the pieces come with pre-drilled holes, making it dummy-proof.
Just about anyone can assemble this.
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| You can see the thin piece of insulation
sandwiched between the wood pieces. |
We found the design and structure of this dog house to be
top quality. It's clear that a lot of planning and refinement
went into it. The base board rests on top of Wolmanized, pressure
treated framing, to prevent against rotting. The panels are
framed using 2x2 diagonal Spruce beams. All screws and nails
are galvanized. The door way comes with a clear vinyl hanging
door to keep the draft out.
Our particular house was put together very well. The beams
and panels all fit squarely together. The whole house has
a solid feel to it. But then, when we placed our order, we
explained that we would be writing a product review.
If we were disappointed in any way, it was that the roof
is not detachable. Both Adams All Natural Ceder and Blythe
Wood Works, make the claim that the roof is detachable. But
in fact, it is secured into place with several screws, hardly
making it convienient to remove. But to their credit, the
roof panels are designed in a way that you can leave them
in place unsecured and they won't fall off and will still
keep the weather out.
The floor mat is a 1 1/4 inch thick piece of closed cell
foam. Closed cell means that fleas and ticks cannot penetrate.
We highly recommend getting the floor mat. It helps keep the
floor insulated from the ground. The mat is cut to fit the
floor perfectly. We actually placed Max's sheep skin dog bed
on top of the floor mat.
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| Max practices using the vinyl hanging
door on his new home. |
Overall we are impressed with what Blythe Wood Works has
created. It is definitely pricey, considering you can buy
a plastic dog house from your local pet shop at 10% of the
price. But then who wants to see that unsightly chunk of plastic
in the back patio? Even the wooden dog houses from other manufacturer's
don't match the quality of Blythe Wood Works.
But perhaps the best review comes from our mascot Max. It
took only a matter of minutes for him to jump into his new
house. Of course part of the reason for that is because we
put his dog bed inside of it. But after having his house for
a week, he clearly loves it. He'll be getting a lot of doggie
dreams out of it.
If you plan to keep your dog for the rest of its life, and
who doesn't, then give it a great house.
For more information, visit Blythe Wood Works at: http://www.blythewoodworks.com
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