Dad-of-two builds his staffie the kennel of dreams under lockdown for free
- Ben Warr-Barnes, 41, built a house for his staffie Pixie
- The project cost Ben nothing at all
- Ben used leftover materials such as old window frames and dining tables
If your pet needs pampering during the lockdown, take a leaf out of this DIY-pro’s book and build them their very own home in your garden.
Ben Warr-Barnes, 41, from Cheshire, built his Staffordshire Bull Terrier Pixie an amazing new house - and the project cost him nothing at all as he used everything from leftover tiles to an old dining table as materials for the project.
Dad-of-two Ben told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: "I came up with the idea because the old shed that doubled up as a dog kennel was old and an eye sore.
"Going from working 40 plus hours a week as a window installer to doing nothing, I needed something to do with what I had already around in the van and old shed.
“The kennel evolved as I built it. The floor, or base, is an old dining table raised up on sleeper off cuts to keep it away from rain and damp.
"The structure is old uPVC window frames without the glass. The inside was plywood lined again from off cuts from past jobs.
“Then, for the outside, I cladded with feather edge cladding left over from a fence repair.
"The roof is Tapco tiles that were spare from the last conservatory roof conversion I did for work.”
Ben says a project like this is an ideal way to pass the time under lockdown.
"I think it turned out better than I thought it would,” he adds. "I enjoyed doing it and think it helped me coping with staying home because I'm usually an active person so to go to doing nothing is hard.
“For anyone wanting to do it, I just say have a go. Instead of old window you could use pallets for the structure and for the roof you could just use roofing felt, as long as it's solid and waterproof.
"It cost me nothing as I already had the stuff - and Pixie loves her new house!"
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “Those of us with pets will know how much we love them and would do anything to spoil them - but Pixie is luckier than most, as she got a whole bespoke house made for her!
“Best of all, the house cost her owner nothing to make, as Ben was creative with the materials he used - if you’re looking to do a lockdown DIY project too, look around your home for leftover bits you can already use to keep the costs down."
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