Elevated Dog Beds

1 Using a corner piece, put one short and one long pipe into 2 of the 3 holes

2 Once the frame is built, use a hammer to on each corner to firmly hit each side to force the legs into the corner pieces,
don't worry about hitting too hard, the pvc is strong

3 Insert 4 legs into holes, turn bed over and hit the top of each corner 1-2 times to be sure legs are in as far/tight as they can be
--no picture for this

4 Lay the cloth on a flat surface and lay the frame on top, with legs pointing up, center frame on cloth

5 Fold cloth corners under frame, be sure to keep frame centered on cloth when doing this
(note: fold of cloth, 2nd picture, should be centered just inside of corner piece)

6 Take one long side of cloth and make 2 one-half inch-ish folds, the material should hit the center of the pvc on the bottom side
of the frame

7 Place one screw in the mid point of the PVC and screw the cloth to the PVC.
Be sure that the screw goes thru the folds of the cloth

8 Place screws evenly spaced on each leg,
(5 screws, short side of small bed, 6 screws for long side)
(6 screws for short side of large bed, 8 screws for long side of bed)

9 Screw one screw to the opposite side of the frame then use channel locks to tighten plastic frame, which will tighten cloth
    important: do not use channel locks on top of cloth, it will tear it, tighten so cloth is taught, screw in rest of screws



10 Finish putting in screws for opposite leg, repeat steps for other sides of bed
     If the frame doesn't sit square on the floor, put the frame on its side, legs facing you and twist the legs a bit

11 On the top side of the bed, place 3 screws thru the cloth and into the corner of the pvc corner piece, this serves 2 purposes
    1 keeps the cloth from being chewed
    2 keeps the side frame pieces from turning
    Be sure the end screws are near the end of the corner piece so they also pierce the side frame pieces and keep them from turning,
    if these screws do not pierce the side frame pieces, the weight of the dog will eventually turn the pvc and the cloth will
    pucker, which leads to chewing, or they will laying in a hammock like bed that will touch the ground

Elevated Dog Beds Columbus Dog Connection volunteers decided to create our version of elevated dog beds. Below, you will see instructions and pictures that are simple,inexpensive plans so anyone can construct these beds. We estimate the cost for you to build a bed to be $12. Click here to see the Elevated Dog Bed Story
Fayette Co, Oh Jackson Co, OH Monroe Co, OH Seneca Co, OH Meigs Co, OH
New, Sewing Instructions June 25, 2007 Revision November 13, 2006 improved Corners Revision September 5, 2006 Materials Needed and Where to Purchase Them -PVC Pipe, 1 ¼ inch, schedule 40 pvc comes in sticks, 10', can be purchased at any hardware store, runs about $4.11 from big box stores for 10' stick 20' sections are least expensive, purchased from suppliers rather than big box stores -corner pieces 1 ¼ inch not carried by hardware stores, can be ordered on line C & S Plastics $1.04 US Plastics $1.67, discounts for large orders Savco $2.81, (store located in Columbus OH) -cloth -Columbus Dog Connection is glad to share the cloth material we have donated to us, please email us if you would like to arrange for a donation of the cloth KDifrischia@yahoo.com (must be able to pick up in Columbus Ohio) Cleaning of beds or cloth like Sunbrella like material -cordura is the least expensive, best option as it is moisture resistant, durable, low cost cloth to use -order 1000 denier cloth, $2.50 / yard, must be ordered in 50yard lengths often times, check for specials and ask for shorts (shorts are ends of reams of cloth material) -creative options, contact your local awning company or boat companies that makes awnings for businesses/boats, ask for scraps or shorts -if awning is donated, we have found that well used awing will likely not hold up to a dog's nails, we scrape all used awning with a screwdriver or key to see if it breaks though, if it does, don't use it -sources for cordura, -Top Value Fabrics, `look under promotion section under Nylon for seconds, cheaper, typically color is a little off` -Astrup.com -FabricFarms.com in Hilliard OH about $13/sq. yd, so not practical for mass production -screws MOD Truss Self Drill Zinc 8 x 1/2" Home Depot, $5.60 for 250 screws www.Fastenal.com carries boxes of 1500 and 3000 for much less
Cutting the PVC
Small Bed 1 10 ft stick or 112”, will have 8 inches left over -2 pieces at 18.5 inches each -2 pieces at 25.5 inches each -4 pieces at 6 inches each`Final Dimensions 22" x 29" x 8"`	Mass Production of beds `40 sticks = 40 small beds and 40 extra legs (for 10 large bed legs) 60 sticks = 60 large beds no legs 10 sticks = 200 legs (50 large bed legs)` -some tips if you are having a large group make the beds -not everyone is use to using a drill, tell everyone to stop drilling when the screw is flush with the cloth, we ended up having some stripped entries from folks who were continuing to drill once the screw was as embedded as possible -you will make a better bed if you have 2 people working together, one to fold and hold, one to drill, we had folks attempting to fold and screw by themselves and the results are not as tight and neat as if you have 2 people. It is critical to get the corners neat and tight or, as we have found, the dogs will chew on anything they can grip. In the shelters, this pvc and cloth are the most chewable thing, and they will try to chew it.	Tools Needed -Hammer -Electric/Battery Screw driver -Saw (to cut PVC) -Tape measure -Channel Locks -to turn pvc after cloth is applied to tighten Channel Locks
Large Bed 144” You will need 1-10 ft stick of PVC and an additional 24 inches to make one complete large bed -2 pieces at 25.5 inches each -2 pieces at 34.5 inches each -4 pieces at 6 inches each Final Dimensions `29" x 38" x 8"`
Cloth Material Sizes
-36” x 29” small bed -36” x 45” large bed
Building Instructions for Elevated Dog Bed
1 Using a corner piece, put one short and one long pipe into 2 of the 3 holes 2 Once the frame is built, use a hammer to on each corner to firmly hit each side to force the legs into the corner pieces, don't worry about hitting too hard, the pvc is strong 3 Insert 4 legs into holes, turn bed over and hit the top of each corner 1-2 times to be sure legs are in as far/tight as they can be --no picture for this 4 Lay the cloth on a flat surface and lay the frame on top, with legs pointing up, center frame on cloth 5 Fold cloth corners under frame, be sure to keep frame centered on cloth when doing this (note: fold of cloth, 2nd picture, should be centered just inside of corner piece) 6 Take one long side of cloth and make 2 one-half inch-ish folds, the material should hit the center of the pvc on the bottom side of the frame 7 Place one screw in the mid point of the PVC and screw the cloth to the PVC. Be sure that the screw goes thru the folds of the cloth 8 Place screws evenly spaced on each leg, (5 screws, short side of small bed, 6 screws for long side) (6 screws for short side of large bed, 8 screws for long side of bed) 9 Screw one screw to the opposite side of the frame then use channel locks to tighten plastic frame, which will tighten cloth important: do not use channel locks on top of cloth, it will tear it, tighten so cloth is taught, screw in rest of screws 10 Finish putting in screws for opposite leg, repeat steps for other sides of bed If the frame doesn't sit square on the floor, put the frame on its side, legs facing you and twist the legs a bit 11 On the top side of the bed, place 3 screws thru the cloth and into the corner of the pvc corner piece, this serves 2 purposes 1 keeps the cloth from being chewed 2 keeps the side frame pieces from turning Be sure the end screws are near the end of the corner piece so they also pierce the side frame pieces and keep them from turning, if these screws do not pierce the side frame pieces, the weight of the dog will eventually turn the pvc and the cloth will pucker, which leads to chewing, or they will laying in a hammock like bed that will touch the ground