Have I ever discussed my cat? She’s my beloved tabby cat and while she is a treasured member of the family, she does have a bit of an escape problem. Even with the slightest of possible margins, she somehow turns into a liquid and squeezes through spaces. Or, of course, if someone isn’t watching, she’ll slip through the front door before you can blink.
She’s an indoor cat with an outdoor streak.
No matter how many grass plants I purchase for her, it just doesn’t seem to matter. So I knew I had to find another solution that could allow her to enjoy the outdoors. After doing some research, we decided on a building a cat window box that could extend to a smaller outdoor cat patio. Unfortunately, we ran out of wood for the cat patio but we did get the cat window box started.
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This particular window is right near my desk, so it’s a spot that the cat enjoys being already. And it’s nice on the not too humid days for letting in some fresh air.
It’s also the closest window to the deck, so we can eventually make the cat run to the outdoor cat enclosure. Going with baby steps here!
Materials needed for DIY Cat Window Box from Palettes:
- FeltBuster® Underlayment (this is essential to ensure the quality of the roof on your project)
- Timberline® shingles
- 1 ¼” galvanized steel roofing nails
- Wood
- Hammer
- Tape Measure
- Safety googles
- Gloves
I would rate this as a relatively easy project, but that also depends on you. Luckily for me, Kyle used to do construction. And while I may be able to figure this out (with a lot of help), it’s nice to have someone who’s a bit more familiar with the process.
Our first step to building the cat window box, was to measure the window on the inside and outside:
After this step, we determined the design that we wanted. One that we could mount into the window easily while still giving the cat enough space to explore. And, of course, one that would allow for us to make an extension to the deck.
Framing the Cat Window Box
Once we had those measurements, we could start with the frame for the window box.
The next steps were to make the remaining frames for the sides and the back.
And measuring of course to make sure that everything was going to match up correctly.
Next, we used palettes for the floor and roof of the cat window box.
Once we had that down, Kyle measured out how many GAF Timberline® shingles we would need for the roof. We decided initially the sides of the window box would be screened so we could let some air in.
As someone’s who has worked in construction, Kyle is familiar with the durability and quality of GAF products. Timberline Shingles, in fact, are the best selling shingle in North America.
Now, depending on the size of your project, you may want to use a starter strip. This will go on after you lay down your FeltBuster®.
As you can see, we laid out the shingles first (but did not nail them into the roof) just to get a better idea of how many we were going to need.
Once we had that in mind, the underlayment went in, and then the shingles were applied with the roofing nails.
These shingles not only look good but they’re durable too. We loved the look of the Natural Shadow® shingles and we know that they’ll look great on the outdoor cat patio as well. We may have some other projects later in the year that we can use them on, too.
I have to say, the cat box looks like it’s a natural part of the house, which is exactly what we were going for!
So it looks good,it functions and it’s doing what we need it to do.
But does the cat like it?
I’d say she does! She enjoyed her breakfast in the cat window and continues to go in there during the day.
Aside from the palettes (which we got from Kyle’s work), we purchased all of our supplies at our local Lowe’s and online. While our store doesn’t carry the GAF products we needed in the store, I was able to purchase them all online and have them delivered.
We picked them up at the customer service desk and then did a little more shopping as we needed to get nails for the shingles.
Have you ever wanted to DIY a project at home but thought you’d have to hire it out? GAF products gave us the confidence we needed to roof it ourselves. Visit the GAF Facebook page for more roofing inspiration.
Kori
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[…] window box from Kori at Home requires fewer materials and tools than the previously mentioned cat enclosures, […]
[…] window box from Kori at Home requires fewer materials and tools than the previously mentioned cat enclosures, […]