Best Doors With A Dog Door Already Built In & Installed

Best Doors With A Dog Door Already Built In & Installed

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In this guide, we outline the best doors with a dog door already built in and installed.

The reality is there isn’t a heap of options at the moment, but there are some that are available.

We’ve outlined models across these door types – exterior, entry or back, french, storm, patio, screen, and sliding glass doors.

Let’s take a look!

 

(NOTE: this is a general information guide only, and is not professional advice, or a substitute for professional advice. A qualified vet or animal expert is the only person qualified to give you expert advice in regards to your pet/s)

(*Friendly Disclosure – links to retailers or brands on this page may include affiliate links, and we may receive a commission when you purchase through these links)

 

Best Doors With A Dog Door Already Built In & Installed

Our top picks for the best doors with dog doors already built in are:

Note that these doors are entry doors – i.e. they can be used as exterior doors that allow entry to the internal of the home.

 

If the above dog doors don’t appeal to you, or they aren’t the type of door you are looking for, you might like to check out this guide of the best stand alone dog doors across a range of dog door types. 

Regular dog doors can be mounted in a range of locations such as internal doors, external doors, walls, sliding doors, and more.

Regular dog doors might be quicker and easier to install – especially if you lack the technical skills and get a professional handy man or woman to do it for you.

 

Best Door With Dog Door Built In: Reviews

National Door Company Doors

Features

Doors come with either small pet doors, or large pet doors built into the main door

Small pet doors openings/flaps are 8.25 inches x 12.25 inches for pets up to around 40lbs – with some of these doors the pet door is mounted 3 inches above floor height

Large pet doors openings/flaps are 10.25 inches x 16.25 inches for pets up to around 75-90lbs, or 13.75″ x 23.75″ for pets up to around 220lbs

Doors come in a range of sizes, like for example with a front door, from 30 inches width x 80 inches height, up to 36 inches width x 80 inches height

A 30 x 80 door might need a 38″ by 82.25″ rough opening to fit and hang the door into – just as a guide

Both interior and exterior doors are available

Both front/entry and back doors are available

Both right hand swing and left hand swing doors are available

You can select from a range of door materials and door layouts such as all timber doors, all fibreglass doors, timber doors with glass panels and so on

Glass comes in different types, with different privacy ratings

You can select pre hung doors that come with all the hardware you need to hang the door 

You can select primed doors that are ready to paint

Most of the doors are for residential use only and not commercial use

 

Drawbacks

At the moment – National Door Company only offer their doors exclusively through Amazon, and not directly, in case you were thinking about pursuing that options instead

There are a lot of door types that aren’t currently available to order – so your selection range is decreased

Some pet door door models sometimes don’t tell you how high the pet door is mounted above floor level – which sometimes makes

The pet doors are standard pet doors – if you want a specialised type of pet door like a weatherproof dog door for example, you’ll have to buy a standalone pet door

The door and pet door products as a whole aren’t cheap

When you get the door, you’ll still need to hang it yourself, or get someone else to hang it

You’ll still need to paint the door

If you order a door, and you don’t like the door, hardware or the pet door, or something isn’t suitable for you or your pets – it’s a pretty big cost investment you’ve already made 

 

Overall

Overall, if you can find a door of the right size, type and material with the right sized pet door that is mounted at the right height – you might look at getting a National Door Company Door.

However, in our opinion, a standalone dog door in a lot of cases is probably going to be a better option – even if you get a local licensed contractor to quote and install it for you into an existing door 

 

Best Door With Dog Door Built In: Buyer’s Guide

Standalone Dog Door vs. Door With Dog Door Built In – Which Is Better?

Our choice would be standalone dog doors just because overall there’s more choice in terms of the range of dog doors you can choose from, and sizes.

For example, there are standalone weatherproof, electronic/automatic, glass slider and screen pet doors that aren’t available in built in models.

Not only do you get more choice, but they are generally easier, more simple and cheaper to install.

They also give you more flexibility as you can choose the height at which you install the pet door and match the height to your own dog’s height. Whereas with a built in door you can’t do that.

As an example, you might buy a standard stand alone dog door and then pay a licensed contractor to install it for you – for say one third or two thirds of the price you pay for a built in model.

And you can customise that stand alone dog door itself as well as the installation a lot more.

You can check out the best models and brands of standalone dog doors in this guide.

 

What To Consider With Doors That Have Built In Dog Doors

Some of the things you might consider when you are looking at buying a door with a dog door built in are:

Check what size the pet door is – will your dog/s be able to fit their body through it? Measure your dog’s shoulder from floor height, and rib cage width

Check what height above floor level the pet door is mounted on the door

Check what size opening your existing door frame is an make sure it’s a size that matches the rough opening size required by the door you are looking at buying

Check what size the door is

Check the material the door is made of

Check the layout of the door – does it have glass panels for example

Check the type of door it is – exterior or interior, front or back door?

Check if it’s right or left hand in swing

Check if it’s pre hung and comes with all hardware

Check if it comes primed

Check if you need to paint it

Ask yourself if you’ll hang it yourself, or if you’ll get a licensed contractor to hang it for you

Check if the door is for residential or commercial use

 

How To Tell What A Dog Door Can Be Used For

Read the product description – it outlines where a dog door can be mounted, and the specifications for things such door width, wall width, and so on.

 

Exterior Doors That Have Dog Doors Built In

Some of the above dog doors can be used as exterior doors.

But, you may also need to look at regular dog doors for external walls and doors.

Most dog doors are designed to fit standard exterior doors between about 1 to 2 1/2  inches in thickness, so you should be OK with standard doors for most pet doors.

 

Entry Or Back Doors With Dog Doors Built In

The above doors are designed as external to internal entry doors.

 

French Doors With Dog Doors Built In

As far as we can see, there are no specifically designed pre made french doors with dog doors built in on the market at the moment.

We certainly couldn’t find any beautiful looking double french glass door sets with a pet door built in.

What are available though are:

– interior and exterior doors with in built dog doors (which you might choose to retrofit into your existing french door setup)

– or, dog doors by themselves that can be installed into existing french doors

 

Storm Doors With A Dog Door Built In

As far as we can see, there are no specifically designed pre made storm doors with dog doors built in on the market at the moment.

Some regular dog doors may work though.

 

Types Of Storm Doors

Storm doors can come in a range of materials including but not limited to:

Solid core timber/wood

Metal and steel

Aluminium

Aluminum and glass

PVC

+ more

 

They can also come in different designs with for example glass panels just at the top, glass at the top and bottom, no glass etc.

 

How To Know Which Pet Door To Get For A Storm Door?

If you read the product description of the pet door they should tell you one or both of these things in relation to the door it can be installed/mounted on:

– the type of door the pet door can be mounted on – it should either say all doors, or specifically the type of door you have (or specifically NOT the type of door you have). The Endura Flap Double Flap Door Mount Pet Door (on Amazon) for example can be installed on all doors including solid core doors, hollow core doors, metal doors, storm doors, panelled doors, and french doors

– the thickness of door the pet door can be mounted on (so you know what thickness of metal door it can be mounted to)

It also helps if you read the installation guide/manual provided by the manufacturer before you buy the pet door – they usually give you more information on the type of door it can be mounted on, and how you might approach installation for storm doors made of different materials and designs.

 

Patio Doors With Dog Doors Already Built In

We had a look at the products on the market, and as far as we could see, there are no pre made patio doors with dog doors built in.

 

Screen Doors With Dog Doors Already Built In

We had a look at the products on the market, and as far as we could see, there are no pre made screen doors with dog doors built in.

What are available though are dog doors that can be installed into screen doors, either through the screen mesh, or on a screen guard.

One example is the Ideal Pet Doors Screen Guard Pet Door (on Amazon).

The main things to consider for screen doors are:

Is the pet door mounted directly onto the mesh, or do you mount it to a screen guard?

What size pets cant he flap opening accommodate?

How strong is the pet door? Do you need to modify it in anyway to make it stronger?

 

You might also want to check how the flap closes (that it maintains a good seal) so that outside bugs and insects can’t come in.

 

Sliding Door With Dog Door Built In

We had a look at the products on the market, and as far as we could see, there are no pre made sliding glass doors with dog doors built in.

What are available though are dog doors that can be installed into sliding doors without any cutting or permanent modification of your existing sliding door required.

So, getting one of these pet doors and installing yourself or simply getting a licensed construction professional to install for you will probably be the best and quickest route to getting a dog door in your sliding door.

 

 

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