Perfect Pet The All-Weather Energy Efficient Dog Door, Small, 5" x 9.25" Flap Size

I installed one of these last week for our one-year old Border Collie, and for sure, she goes through both flaps at full speed! Because of this, It IS important to get thedoor height matched to the height of your dog (height at shoulders plus 2 inches), so don't blow this measurement off!!Generally, I would say these are well-made, extruded plastic parts. I do like how well the "blanking" door slides downand latches closed. It would be difficult for a child to open on his own as long as the latch is secured, however, won't really stop an intruder if determined to get it. Plastic doesn'thold up very well against a crowbar! This door can either go on the inside or on the outside.In regards to installing this door, I found it to be quite an involved process. If you're just installing in the lower portion of an actual door, then it is pretty clear-cut and easy to do. But if you are going in-between framing joists (sheetrock on inside and siding on the outside), then it can get well past what a typical homeowner wants to tackle. Personally, I think I do well at most DIY projects as I have all the necessary tools and know how to use them. The template that came with the door was pretty accurate for all practical purposes, and cutting out the large panels is really best done with one of those new "vibrating" multi-tools. Mine is a Makita, and I love it. You can get them at Amazon here:http://www.amazon.com/Makita-TM3000CX5-Multi-Tool-Set/dp/B00836IWD0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1395090234&sr=8-2&keywords=Makita+Multi-ToolBack to the installation, my house was built in the seventy's, and the framing joists are on 12" centers, not 16" as in newer construction. What this meant is that the door itself fits fine between the joists, but the screws that pull the two halves together are located further out, meaning that I was having to drill through the framing 2x4's themselves. (The outer door has captured internal thread pieces moulded into the plastic (14/-20). and the inside door has thru holes for the bolts). To make a long story short, I had to make my own custom ¼-20 bolts out of all-thread rod, with a length of about 7.5". I suspect these custom bolts will have to be longer yet if the exterior is brick....which, by the way, would be a bad idea to mess up brick work for the sake of a door like this. I didn't buy the kit with the middle "surround" piece, and wish I had. I had to add a small length of board across the bottom so that a little paw wouldn't get caught. In all, took most of the day to install, but that's only becuase this was my first.So for that reason, unless you (or your mate) is really, really good at building things and has lots of tools, you might want to get this installed by a pro. My 2 cents.PS: After having the door installed now for a week or so, I can say it works very well and sure saves us the headache of getting up every 30 minutes to let the dog out. The only real problem is that of dirty paws tracking in dirt, or even mud.To help prevent this, especially on wet days, is to lay a large, wet beach towel at the exterior entrance to the door, and another at the entrance in the home, followed by a spare bedspread sheet or two. This way, the paws are pretty much cleaned off by the timethey get to the carpet. But you need to keep up with the wet towels by either turning them over or replacing with others....or just keep the door closed. (Don't blame the dog, they dont know they're making a mess!).

It's up and working great. Here's what we learned.1. Know what your door is made out of and use the proper tools for it. Our door is metal over foam. We didn't know this when we started, so we tried using a regular drill bit. Don't, unless you like heating up your drill, acrid smoke, and terrible smells.Once we got a jigsaw blade and drill bits for metal, installation went a lot smoother.2. You can install the dog door without removing the door from the hinges first. We have pets, so it was easier for us to leave it hanging during the install.3. You can install the dog door on a raised panel door. Just fill in the gaps with silicon caulk to seal it once it's in place. There is also already a silicon seal on the exterior of the dog door which works great.The angled edges of the raised panels are tricky but not impossible to drill through. Mark well and take your time.The included cutting template worked really well. We attached it with painter's tape as we used it on both sides of the door. We marked the inside of the door with the template, removed the template, drilled through the door, made the cuts on the inside with the jigsaw, repositioned the template on the outside using the drilled holes as references, marked the cutout for the template on the outside, removed the template, and cut the outside.4. Lay out all your tools and safety equipment first so you don't have to stop partway through to go find anything. For metal skin doors, we used a long sleeve shirt, long pants, boots, gloves, and safety goggles that cover around your eyes too, and a face mask. The flying bits of metal are no joke.If your door is metal skinned, hearing protection is another must. The sound of metal cutting through metal is very loud and painful.5. You can use a skill saw or a jigsaw for the cutout. We used a jigsaw with a blade for cutting metal.6. Clean as you go. We used the nozzle attachment on an upright vacuum and a soft, fine bristled broom and dustpan. A shop vac would also work.We're entirely on hard surfaces and those worked, but wouldn't be enough over carpet so please put down a dropcloth first. You don't want your pet to get into any insulation and metal bits.7. Take your time. Despite what you may see on YouTube, this will take more than 20 minutes, especially if you clean up afterward.Overall installation went well but was challenging, and that's our fault because we were not using the right tools at the beginning. The door works great and is really well made. We're looking forward to it lasting for years.

This is my 2nd purchase of this door. The 1st lasted 6 years before the flaps started to rip. The replacement flaps were too short and didn't seal out the drafts and it is easy to replace the whole shell.Installation is simple. Cut a rectangle hole between two studs and drill 4 holes indicated on the template. Slide the outer shell in, insert spacer if used, put inner shell on, and install bolts. Done!(For additional weather protection, I built a 'dog house' tunnel on the outside exit.)