Dog Kennel Shed

Teddy wrote:

I found your name in NYT article on backyard office sheds. I have ten greyhound sized dogs and need to upgrade their housing for when I am away, a kennel. I live in Mid-Atlantic region. It will need a floor and insulation. Any ideas?

First the LA Times and now the NY Times. I'm a coast-to-coast shed kind of guy!

No matter how the structure is designed, ten greyhound sized dogs will take up a lot of space. I'm wondering if a small monitor barn, modeled from a traditional horse barn, might be the ideal design, with a tall center row providing natural lighting and ventilation and rows of "stalls" along either side.

With insulated walls, I might opt for tongue and groove cedar siding as an interior finish option on the upper walls and ceiling. You'll want the lower walls and floor to be easy to clean.

If you're going all out, you might consider radiant hot-water heating in the floor, fed through a solar hot water system. Once built, your heating expenses will be minimized.