Roxie's Crafts-n-Stuff: February 2011

When my dachshund is in his crate, he kept getting his blankets wet. They started to smell. So, I had to figure out something to correct this..

I came up with an idea to create a raised dog bed. It's still in the design stage, but I want to get the steps down..

I went to Home Depot, and went to the Plumbing section. I got the following items.

4 of 3/4" Dome Slip Cap. (no link)

3/4" PVC Pipe, PVC Cement.
I am making this for my dachshund, so my pipe was cut as follows:
2 of 20"
2 of 15"
4 of 4"

4 of 3/4" x 3/4" x 1/2" PVC Pressure 90 Degree Slip x Slip Elbow with taped Side outlet.

4 of 3/4" x 1/2" PVC Schedule 20 Reducing Male Adapter MIPT x Slip

First, make sure you have something to glue over, so it doesn't drip places.. It will, so be careful!

Glue the cap on the 4" pipe. This is the leg, and we want to be able to wash the end, with out stuff going up the pipe.

Glue on the 3/4" x 1/2" adapter. Using the adapter this way allows for adjustments if the place you are putting this dog bed is uneven.

Make sure the you put them on the same depth inside the cap/adapter, so they will all be the same size.

Next step, putting the pipes on to the elbows.

Do not glue these together yet!

Put the sides and 90 degree elbows together, and lay it flat to make sure that it isn't wonky.. adjust as needed..

Screwing on the legs.

Here i have put on the two legs, and the sides..

Here are is the frame assembled.
Make sure this is how you want it, before you do the next step..
Then glue the corners on to the pipe.

Do not glue the threaded side of the connection. This enables you to adjust when possible.

Lay the frame upside down on the berber, or fabric you are using..

Cut the corners out..

This is the test part. I have used safety pins on the bottom to hold it together to check to see if the fabric would hold up to my dog's weight, or if I need to put a more sturdy material on this first then wrap the berber around that.