Cost of building a dog run

gazzer

I was wondering if anybody on this forum had recently built a dog run and if so what was the total cost?

I am considering 3 options at the moment:

1. Building a run with concrete blocks
2. Building one with chain link fencing
3. Building one with wooden posts and wire attached to each post

I have a very large back garden and want to use approx 1/3 of the garden for the run which would be roughly 40 feet by 20 feet.

Im on a budget (€750) so does anybody know of any good builder providers or even second hand places who would have anything I could use?

I have checked a few places that do dog runs but they are pretty small. I have a Springer so I want a large run for her.

Thanks

dmg10

I'll be curious about this one as well as looking to do the same.

One thing to consider is your ground, grass will wear down quickly with a dog running around which is one of the reasons why I'm building a dog run although already have the garden secured - make sure to seal the cement (if you don't it'll get pretty smelly). Have it set at an angle and some kind of drainage allowed for as you'll need to wash it down.

I'm currently trying to find a builder to do it for me but having a tough job finding someone! Budget will be similar to yours although the size I'm looking at is around 13ftL x 7ftW x 6/7ft height.

My general idea is, lay concrete, have a layer or two of blocks to about 1ft, metal poles, and chainlink fencing. I did have an idea to build it out from a current timber shed and make a dog box in the shed, but it doesn't really fit with the lie of the garden, might change my mind yet.

You might post back when you get it done!

Sigma Force

Is the area you want to build the run already concreted or tarmac or paved? If so for the price you could go with a ready made one like the cilldara.ie ones or similar you could probably get an 11 by 11 food run for that price check out their website or others like hayses modular just to compare and also try ad sections sometimes people sell these panels that they no longer need for their own dogs.

One other option would be thick timber posts 8ft in height (2ft is driven in to the ground) and heavy chainlink wire covering it this will last a long time if the dog isn't a houdini. If the dogs a bit of an houdini then I'd got for a cilldara or similar with a roof on it, the beauty of them is you can ad more panels over time to make it bigger and move it around the garden. There was a thread recently if you scroll down the pages with a link to a few different options, think price wise they could work out the same I got a large are fenced off with chainlink and timber posts but it cost a fortune. Do shop around though and try farm relief services for the timber and chainlink wire.

ABEasy

You could try get second hand building security fences, they are very easy to set and move around if you want to move the run. Plus it is a cheap option, you should be able to pick up fences at 15 euro a go, they are 8-10 feet long.

tommycahir

Me and my father in law built one last October/November for our two and it was 16ft x 16ft in the corner of our garden.

One of the main purposes was so that nobody passing the front of our house could see our 2 guys if they were in it when they passed by if we were not there. We only use it as a run for them when they are in at night or when we are not there.

we set the posts (6x3) in approx 2 feet of concrete and ensured that they were straight, screwed the horizontal battons (3x4) to them and then screwed the uprights (6x1) to them. the gate was made from the same materials so nothing special there. All in all it too us approximately a day to put up and finish off.

as you will see from the photos below the opposite side faces out into a farmers field and that is all closed off with IFA standard fencing and welders mesh over that to stop out Cav being the escape artist he once was.

The mypex and chippings are great for keeping it clean as the wee soaks through it and the poo is very easy to pick up as it lodges on top of chippings and can be picked up using a gardening trowel.

In terms of costs it was pretty cheap

Timber from local saw mills - €100
Ronseal for timber - €5
Concrete to set posts in €10
chippings - 2 tonne - €40
mypex 1 roll -€30
locks, hinges and screws - €10

If you wanted to do all four sides like us you could probably safely double the timer, concrete and screws cost.

gazzer

tommycahir wrote: »

Me and my father in law built one last October/November for our two and it was 16ft x 16ft in the corner of our garden.

One of the main purposes was so that nobody passing the front of our house could see our 2 guys if they were in it when they passed by if we were not there. We only use it as a run for them when they are in at night or when we are not there.

we set the posts (6x3) in approx 2 feet of concrete and ensured that they were straight, screwed the horizontal battons (3x4) to them and then screwed the uprights (6x1) to them. the gate was made from the same materials so nothing special there. All in all it too us approximately a day to put up and finish off.

as you will see from the photos below the opposite side faces out into a farmers field and that is all closed off with IFA standard fencing and welders mesh over that to stop out Cav being the escape artist he once was.

The mypex and chippings are great for keeping it clean as the wee soaks through it and the poo is very easy to pick up as it lodges on top of chippings and can be picked up using a gardening trowel.

In terms of costs it was pretty cheap

Timber from local saw mills - €100
Ronseal for timber - €5
Concrete to set posts in €10
chippings - 2 tonne - €40
mypex 1 roll -€30
locks, hinges and screws - €10

If you wanted to do all four sides like us you could probably safely double the timer, concrete and screws cost.

That looks great. We have fields to the front, left and right of us and the wiring around it isnt great so the dog keeps escaping into the fields. So I woul need to do all 4 sides for the run. I think I will take a trip around a few co-ops and timber places over the weekend (I live in Cavan) and see what I can sort out.

Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures and for all the info

gazzer

ABEasy wrote: »

You could try get second hand building security fences, they are very easy to set and move around if you want to move the run. Plus it is a cheap option, you should be able to pick up fences at 15 euro a go, they are 8-10 feet long.

Prob a stupid question but where would you go to get second hand security fencing? Would you just go to a building site and ask somebody there or are there companies that would specilise in selling them?

tommycahir

gazzer wrote: »

That looks great. We have fields to the front, left and right of us and the wiring around it isnt great so the dog keeps escaping into the fields. So I woul need to do all 4 sides for the run. I think I will take a trip around a few co-ops and timber places over the weekend (I live in Cavan) and see what I can sort out.

Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures and for all the info

You could probably get away with the 2 sides like we have so if you used some close fence mesh (Example) to re-enforce what is already there and like we done put some concrete blocks at the base of it to stop it being dug under and cable ties to the existing farmers fencing.

TonyFella

I have a fence with a built in door i got three of them but only used two cost 100e each id let it go for 70e...
1.5m wide panel with a gate in it
,panel has 50mm legs for ease of cleaning,
gate is lockable,
fully galvanised panel

Link for a photo

http://www.dog-runs.ie/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=46&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=18

This would do for your door and use blocks for the rest of your run.

BoycieIRL

will be getting a puppy shortly, looking to get rid of the grass in the back garden. What would you guys recommend as a replacement - concrete or chippings/pebble?

ABEasy

gazzer wrote: »

ABEasy wrote: »

You could try get second hand building security fences, they are very easy to set and move around if you want to move the run. Plus it is a cheap option, you should be able to pick up fences at 15 euro a go, they are 8-10 feet long.

Prob a stupid question but where would you go to get second hand security fencing? Would you just go to a building site and ask somebody there or are there companies that would specilise in selling them?

Should be able to pick them up on donedeal, adverts.ie and the likes. Might also get some from the builder providers who would have ex rental fences for sale (got 8 from Chadwicks about 12 months ago did both a dog run and chicken run!!!)

Sigma Force

How much grass do you have and how big will the pup get? Grass in general is better it's soft on new puppies feet and more natural and generally unless it's a tiny amount of grass it soaks up the pee without leaving the place smelly.

But if it's a small garden then concrete or patio slabs would be better, pebbles/stones can be hard on their feet and it's hard for them to run around on but not only that small puppies tend to eat everything in site even small stones so I'd avoid any small chippings or small pebbles/stones. Concrete is the easiest to clean you can always pop a few rubber door mats soft side up around the area if the dog wants to chill in the sun for a bit.

Where can you get the second hand security panels folks? Wouldn't mind getting a few bound to come in handy sometimes to have some around.

stackerman

TonyFella wrote: »

I have a fence with a built in door i got three of them but only used two cost 100e each id let it go for 70e...
1.5m wide panel with a gate in it
,panel has 50mm legs for ease of cleaning,
gate is lockable,
fully galvanised panel

Link for a photo

http://www.dog-runs.ie/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=46&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=18

This would do for your door and use blocks for the rest of your run.

Where are ya, where are ya ??

Go2Guy

I built a dog run from 4"x4" timbers (16foot lengths make 2 posts each and were VERY cheap) and 6 foot plastic coated chain link fence. I got a timber gate very cheap and added a bit to it myself. We lost our dog (to the bumper of a Land cruiser) so I had no need for it anymore.
2 points:
-This was a cheap way of making a good size run (wire is 25m long I think).
-I took down the wire and rolled it up so I now have a second hand roll of plastic coated 6 foot high chain link wire<snip>. I am looking for new 3 foot plastic coated chain link for a different job now. If anyone wants to swap <snip> maybe we can help each other, maybe not!!

Sigma Force

tommycahir wrote: »

Me and my father in law built one last October/November for our two and it was 16ft x 16ft in the corner of our garden.

One of the main purposes was so that nobody passing the front of our house could see our 2 guys if they were in it when they passed by if we were not there. We only use it as a run for them when they are in at night or when we are not there.

we set the posts (6x3) in approx 2 feet of concrete and ensured that they were straight, screwed the horizontal battons (3x4) to them and then screwed the uprights (6x1) to them. the gate was made from the same materials so nothing special there. All in all it too us approximately a day to put up and finish off.

as you will see from the photos below the opposite side faces out into a farmers field and that is all closed off with IFA standard fencing and welders mesh over that to stop out Cav being the escape artist he once was.

The mypex and chippings are great for keeping it clean as the wee soaks through it and the poo is very easy to pick up as it lodges on top of chippings and can be picked up using a gardening trowel.

In terms of costs it was pretty cheap

Timber from local saw mills - €100
Ronseal for timber - €5
Concrete to set posts in €10
chippings - 2 tonne - €40
mypex 1 roll -€30
locks, hinges and screws - €10

If you wanted to do all four sides like us you could probably safely double the timer, concrete and screws cost.

Did you cut the timber to make the fence panels? I can't work out how the timber would only come to €100 would love to build the same for around our yard but every time I price fence panels I nearly have a mini heart attack.

brahma

my brother got a dog and he couldnt keep her in the tried everything from electric collars to pens and the builders fence and nothing worked, but recently he got a electric net and made a pen of it. its great the dog wont even try escape and you can move it very easy to new ground. link attached

http://www.lkpoultry.ie/products/POULTRY-NETTING-GREEN-50M.html

Sigma Force

eek wouldn't use anything elec. with my precious pooches. If a dog is a real Houdini placing a pen on a concrete/tarmac/patio type ground and then adding a roof to the pen will keep the dog in.

tommycahir

Sigma Force wrote: »

Did you cut the timber to make the fence panels? I can't work out how the timber would only come to €100 would love to build the same for around our yard but every time I price fence panels I nearly have a mini heart attack.

Hi sigma force

These aren't fence panels, it was just cut timber from a local saw mills, irc it was 5 # 6x2 lengths of 6' and 72# 4x1 lengths of 5' we then tapered the top for decoration and used 5 lengths of 4x2 between the uprights to screw the 5' lengths to.

If your willing to put the effort in then getting he timber from a sawmills and creating it yourself then it will be cheaper than buying pressed fence panels

Kite Runner

I recently got a 22X12 run from www.cilldara.ie, good selection on website, highly recommended. sorry just to say no affiliation, but live in the country and the site would not be secured, so this represented a good option.

Sigma Force

Thanks Tommy think we might go with this if I can persuade hubby to put in the hours maybe a wee project for him over the summer there's about 120 feet to do so it should keep him out of trouble for a few weekends.

We have the field/garden/jungle fenced off (cost a fortune over the years) but same as others with larger gardens it's handy to have a smaller area to confine the dogs if needed e.g. visiting toddlers, somewhere to keep them out of harms way if there's heavy machinery, if you need to keep them away from a certain area of the garden e.g.if there's fresh weedkiller down etc.

We just extended our cilldara run by removing the back panel and bolting the run to the wall that way we used the back panel along with the gate panel to extend the width of the run. Would like to get another two 11 foot panels eventually though..kind of addictive it's like building a giant hamster habitrail.

Sometimes I think it'd be so much easier to have a postage stamp sized garden but when you see them all romping about the garden in the sunshine rolling in the grass (and other questionable brown things), chasing butterflies etc. it's worth it.