We are more accustomed to dogs walking when they need to while walking outside. However, there are times when a dog tray in the house is simply necessary. During your pet’s illness, when the bitch has given birth to puppies, or if you have a very small dog living at home. In these cases, many people use home dog litter boxes.
Today there is big choice types of trays for dogs. Which to choose? How to understand what exactly your pet needs? In order not to get lost in the variety of toilets for dogs, let's look at their characteristics, and you yourself can decide on the choice.
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Kinds
A tray for small breed dogs should be chosen with low sides so that the dog can climb into it. It is usually filled with filler or a special absorbent foam. It is perfect for a puppy too.
Dog toilet with a grate on the bottom and sides medium height Suitable for adults of small breeds. There is no need to put filler in it.
For medium-sized dogs, you can purchase pallets in pet stores that imitate a small piece of lawn. This is a rectangular structure with small sides or even no sides at all, but filled with plastic imitation grass. A removable post for male dogs can also be installed in such a tray.
Columnar trays are available in different price category. Inexpensive ones are made of plastic, with a plastic sect. More expensive models are designed in the form of a small clearing with a post resembling a fire hydrant. These models even have built-in sprayers for cleaning the “grass”. The photo below shows the structure of such a tray.
There is no need to add litter to all of these trays. They have almost no sides, or they are very small. These trays are well suited for medium-sized pets.
For small males, you can purchase a place for him to relieve himself without a column, but with very high walls. Rest assured, he will find somewhere to relieve himself!
And for especially shy pets, they came up with trays - booths. They are completely closed, except, of course, for the entrance. Inside you can put reusable film or fill it with filler. More expensive models have a plastic weed inside the toilet stall.
Characteristics
All dog trays are made of plastic. Some are made of more expensive plastic, others are made of cheap. And all types of trays can be divided into trays with large sides and trays with small ones. On the one hand, the larger the animal, the higher the sides should be. As well as the holding capacity of the tray. On the other hand, for medium-sized male dogs, the side may not be needed at all.
Trays made of cheap plastic with a mesh covering for draining animal urine, very quickly absorb odors and retain them for a long time. Therefore, you will have to wash it after each use, but, judging by the reviews of the owners, this will not get rid of the unpleasant odor. Those who have used such trays are advised to place a reusable special diaper in a plastic dog toilet with a mesh. So you will reduce bad smell. The photo below shows a special tray on which you can immediately lay such a diaper.
Of course, a cat tray cannot be called a homemade one, but it can also be used as a dog tray. It is suitable for puppies or small dog breeds.
Video “How to train a dog to use the indoor toilet?”
In this video, the puppy's owner will tell you how she toilet trains him.
Building codes require that volumetric concrete structures be poured simultaneously, preferably during daylight hours. One of the components of the rapid pouring of a structure is a concrete tray, which you can quickly and easily make with your own hands.
Concrete tray: where to start assembling?
Volumetric concrete works involve the use next cars and equipment: a truck mixer with ready-made concrete or a concrete mixer, a concrete pump or a tray for supplying concrete to the pouring area.
At the same time, a car mixer or a concrete mixer are “constant” quantities, that is, equipment that you cannot do without. An expensive concrete pump to rent (rental costs start from 14,500 rubles per shift) is usually replaced with a disposable wooden tray (in private housing construction), which can be disassembled and the boards used for other purposes.
Materials, tools, procedure
The dimensions of the future product are taken based on the specific distances from the planned installation of the mixer or concrete mixer to the farthest point of the structure being poured.
In private low-rise housing construction, the length of the tray usually does not exceed 12 meters. The width of the tray is taken to be the “width” of a shovel plus 5 centimeters per side (usually 300 millimeters), the height of the wall is the width of the existing edged boards 150-200 millimeters.
Will be required following materials and tool:
- Edged board 25x150 or 25x200 of the maximum possible length for the tray box;
- Wooden block 40x40 or similar to strengthen the box;
- Wooden block 50x50 or similar for supports under the box;
- Galvanized or roofing iron for lining the bottom of the box;
- “Seventy”, “25”, “weaving” nails or wood screws;
- Hammer, wood saw, screwdriver, tape measure;
- Angle grinder with a metal disc or metal scissors. For cutting galvanized or roofing iron.
In order to save on expensive galvanized iron, you can independently plane the side of the boards along which the concrete will be transported as smoothly as possible. For these purposes you will need a plane or jointer.
Important! Some websites publish articles that suggest covering the bottom of the box with polyethylene or linoleum. This suggests that the authors have never made or used trays for concrete - polyethylene will very quickly be torn apart by filler and a shovel, and buying linoleum will be much more expensive than using iron or simply planing one side of the board.
Operating procedure
- Depending on the width of the existing boards, the bottom of the tray box is assembled - 4 (150 mm) or 3 (200 mm) boards in a row are connected into an “end” with an overlay from the same board nailed to bottom side bottom of the box. For strength and reliability, also on the bottom side of the box with a step of 600-800 mm to the bottom of the box, reinforcing bars 40x40 mm are nailed across;
- The walls of the tray are nailed to the sides of the bottom of the box, and best of all, the walls of the tray are screwed with self-tapping screws, so as to form a U-shaped structure;
- The bottom of the tray is covered with galvanized (roofing) iron, or is not covered if the boards are carefully planed;
- For reliability and strength, the walls of the tray are “bandaged” with 40x40 bars in increments of 0.8-1 meter.
The concrete transport tray itself can be considered ready for use. But there is one caveat. In order for the material to move into the formwork from an automixer or concrete mixer as independently as possible, it must have a slope to the soil surface of 5-15 degrees (for “liquid” concrete) and 20-30 degrees (for thick concrete).
In addition, the concrete tray should not bend under its own weight and the weight of the concrete. This can be achieved in several ways: pin up available materials under the tray (foam blocks, boxes, bricks, etc.) or spend a little time and knock down special triangular trestle supports of different heights from 50x50 mm timber and lay the tray on them as if on a bed.
Also, for the convenience of “turning”, it is advisable to provide two handles in the part of the structure facing the formwork - a 50x50x1000 block nailed to the bottom of the tray, 250-300 mm away from the edge.
Useful practical advice! After you have poured the structure furthest from the mixer, you can cut off part of the tray with a hacksaw and grinder, break the handle for “turning” and continue working without moving the automixer or concrete mixer.
After completion of the work, the tray is disassembled into components that can be used for other construction or repair purposes.
Considering that some companies charge extra for the downtime of an automixer, to speed up the work of delivering concrete to the formwork, use two workers with shovels to stand on either side of the tray and shovel the concrete to the pouring point.
Drainage trays are used in places that are known for heavy rainfall all year round, as well as in areas with clay soil. Since flows of water after heavy rains and melting snow wash away the layer suitable for growing different cultures, it has to be topped up from time to time and black soil purchased for this purpose. These trays help eliminate this problem by creating a system whereby wastewater will be removed along the trays and not spread over the area. In this article we will tell you how to make concrete drainage trays with your own hands.
Drainage system design
Such systems, installed on the site, can be carried out using different schemes. However, it is important to strictly follow a number of important rules:
- the slope of the trays when installing rainwater drainage should be approximately 10 mm per linear meter;
- the fewer angles and turns in the drainage system, the better;
- moisture should not flow into the garden: on the contrary, it should be removed from it.
In cases where rather complex drainage has to be done within the garden, where perennial trees or extensive shrubs grow, then the most the best option in this situation it is a system with ramifications. How does she look? Water flows out of the site in two places, therefore there will be not one outlet, but two.
It can also often be that the surface of everything personal plot It is quite uneven, so it is extremely difficult to make a normal slope there. In this case drainage system they do it differently - all the slopes that will be encountered when laying concrete drainage systems must correspond at each site mark to the height that is there.
For areas with a more or less flat surface it is used standard scheme drainage, known as linear. Several channels are dug, located parallel to each other, after which they are connected at a point with the minimum slope.
Setting up the mold for pouring
To understand how to make concrete drainage trays, you need to understand the principle of their operation. In autumn and winter, a considerable amount of precipitation falls on the area near the house or cottage. Subsequently, they spread over the adjacent territory, flooding lowlands, creating dampness in basements and spoiling the wall decoration. If there are properly made concrete trays around a private house, then the water will flow through them and then be drained away without creating problems on the site.
How to make sure that water is drained through the tray quickly and without delay? There is an opinion that a trench with a slope of 30° will allow water to drain quickly. Although this is true, a trench with such a slope will soon wash out and then collapse. Making concrete trays is the best option, since they are not afraid of moisture and will do their job perfectly. Such trays can be purchased in stores, or you can make them yourself. Let's look at how below.
What are the advantages of concrete trays that you personally made? Firstly, it's saving. Although making them is not very easy, it will be cheaper than buying such factory-made trays in a store. Secondly, this custom sizes, because some trays from the store will have to be cut if there is a turn in the drainage trench, but at home you can fill trays of the desired length and shape.
By the way, about the form. The optimal shape is considered to be a semicircular shape, through which water passes with virtually no resistance. However, since such a shape is not easy to make, trays are most often made according to the following scheme. A U-shaped structure is made from boards or sheets of laminated plywood 10–15 mm thick. To give strength, the panels in the formwork are fastened with rolled metal corners.
When the main part of the formwork is done, prepare the molding part, which is made from a pipe sawn in half lengthwise. It is important that the surface of the pipe used is smooth, since it will form a semicircular part of the tray through which wastewater will flow. It is best to make at least 10 such formworks, otherwise the process of pouring trays for the entire drainage system may drag on indefinitely.
A sewer plastic pipe of suitable diameter is ideal for the molding part, since its surface is smooth. There are practically no pores on such a pipe, which makes it possible to pour concrete of much higher quality.
Pouring trays into molds
Now the formwork is completely ready and you can directly start pouring concrete trays, from which the drainage system will subsequently be installed. For concrete you will need the following materials:
- Portland cement M400 (high strength and frost resistance).
- Sand without clay impurities.
- Crushed stone.
- Reinforcement Ø 6 mm.
The ratio of cement, sand and crushed stone can be used as either 1:2:4 or 1:3:5. The latter ratio allows you to get more concrete with the same amount of cement, but its strength will be slightly lower than in the first case. The resulting solution should be quite viscous, but not flow or be too thick.
The finished concrete is poured into the molds made, then a pipe cut lengthwise is immediately pressed into it. After a day has passed, the mold can be disassembled, being careful not to break it, and the pipe can be pulled out (also preferably intact).Why is fittings needed? It significantly increases strength future design, and will also prevent the tray from breaking during its removal from the formwork. Thanks to the reinforcement or mesh, fairly long trays can be made from it.
Trays are made in four approaches:
- First, prepare the mold in which the tray (or several at once) will be poured, as well as the molding part.
- Reinforcement (several longitudinal rods or mesh) is made and placed in the mold.
- Mix and pour the solution into the formwork.
- After the concrete has hardened, the formwork is removed and the finished drainage trays are removed.
When choosing screws or nails, it is important to choose the correct length. It must be large enough to securely hold the structure together. If in some place the screws or nails go inside the formwork, then their length should be somewhat shorter - subsequently they will not allow the tray to be pulled out of the formwork and may even damage it by breaking off a piece of concrete.
So that the water in concrete mixture, did not leak through the bottom and walls of the formwork, they should be closed plastic film, preferably at least 200 microns thick.
Necessary tools and equipment
To prepare concrete for pouring and the trays themselves, you will need certain tools. These can be devices powered by electrical network voltage 220 V, as well as hand tools:
- two shovels - scoop and bayonet;
- trowel or trowel;
- a wheelbarrow or bucket with which concrete can be transported and poured into the formwork.
The following power tools are required:
- concrete mixer (if you don’t have one, you can borrow it from friends or rent it);
- hammer drill or hammer drill, as well as a mixer attachment (if there is no concrete mixer, and the solution will be mixed manually).
Shovels are needed to throw the solution into the concrete mixer, and then pick up concrete from a wheelbarrow and pour it into the formwork. A trowel is usually used to level upper layer tray to be filled.
Reinforcement and filling of the tray
When making a mesh of reinforcement bars, it is necessary to place them at a distance of 5–10 cm from each other, both vertically and horizontally. The mesh can be tied together with knitting wire or welded by electric welding. To prevent the reinforcement inside the tray from rusting or rotting, the edges of the rods should not reach 5 cm from the walls of the formwork and the molding part.
When the reinforcement is laid, the formwork can be poured. How to make concrete correctly was described above. It is advisable to use a construction vibrator during pouring - a device necessary for compacting concrete and removing air bubbles and excess water from it. If you don’t have it, you can take a piece of reinforcement or something similar and compact the concrete with it using an “up and down” motion.
When the concrete is poured, you must immediately use the molding part from the pipe, thanks to which the top of the form will be in the form of a semicircle. For a better effect, you can sprinkle the top of the poured form with dry cement, which was used in the manufacture of concrete, in order to “ironize” the surface, that is, to give it greater strength. And the pipe can not just be pressed into the fresh mixture, but rotated several times in different directions, without applying too much pressure - this way the semicircular surface will have greater smoothness.
It takes 28 days for concrete to completely harden. However, within a day the formwork can be disassembled - the concrete has reached the stage of preliminary hardening, that is, it has not gained full strength, but it will not fall apart in your hands. The resulting tray should be rectangular shape, and its internal cavity is semicircular, smooth, without pits, cracks or other defects.
Before laying the trays, you need to dig rectangular trenches for them in accordance with one of the selected installation schemes. The bottom of the dug trench is filled with a small amount of sand (the so-called sand cushion) to make it easier to adjust the slope of the tray.
The slope of the trays itself is measured in two ways - with a level or a level with a block (slat) tied to one of its edges. The second method is more imperfect, but it will help those who do not have a level. When the slope is adjusted along the entire length of the trenches, the trays can be laid. At the end, you can check their performance by first pouring only water into them, and then water mixed with sand (imitation of runoff after heavy rains). If there is nothing left in the trays, then everything was done correctly.
If the trays run near footpaths or through concrete, they can be covered with grates, which will prevent garbage from accumulating there, and will also protect the movement of people.
Video
This video shows how you can make concrete trays at home:
I am proud to present the instructions for making a closed cat litter box. With pride, because my wife came up with it.
It all started... it all started with our cat's litter.
This is one of the most unpleasant parts of owning a pet. Let's be honest and admit it, the sight of litter boxes is rarely fun. Not to mention the pets themselves, who would be happy to do this in a more intimate setting, but we do not provide them with such an opportunity. Perhaps this is the reason why some people cannot train their cat to go to the litter box.
We already wanted to buy a ready-made closed litter box for cats, which is an ordinary plastic container, but I thought that if I were a cat, I would go to the toilet anywhere (under the sofa, under the bed, in flower pot and on the stairs) just not in this one plastic jar. Then an idea struck my wife; she came up with the idea of adapting a box from IKEA, which is actually called the “HOL Sofa Table,” for these purposes.
Let's get started!
Stage 1: Cutting out the box
These wooden boxes are sold flat-packed at IKEA. It consists of 6 parts, according to the number of faces of the cube that it represents.
We need to cut and polish an opening for the entrance and exit in one of the faces of this cube.
We carefully study the 50-page instructions from the store: “use every screw”, “do not put the sofa in the microwave”, “in case of problems, call such and such a phone number”, “more difficult cases use emergency numbers”, etc. and so on.
So, having studied the instructions, let's start cutting. I don't think it's needed here additional instructions, in the photo everything is obvious.
Stage 2: Trim the tray
We take a regular (open) plastic tray and try to place it in our wooden bedside table. Our tray didn't fit, we had to cut it at the corners.
IKEA table size:
Length: 50 cm
Width: 50 cm
Height: 50 cm
After trimming, it should be treated with sandpaper so as not to leave sharp edges.
Stage 3: Presentation
Fill a plastic container with filler and place it inside the bedside table. Cover the top with a lid (the IKEA side table has a removable lid, which is very convenient).
The tray is ready to use!
Attention, you have not only a closed tray for cats, but also an excellent scratching post!
Our cats were very pleased with the result of my work.
Man has been friends with cats for a long time. We are responsible for what our pet eats and in what conditions he lives, so cat litter is an important thing to do in your pet’s life. Made from a cat pet, people began to wonder how to do Cohabitation on the same territory, comfortable for both parties.
The modern market for pet products offers different types: from the simplest in design to automatic complexes
The problem of choosing cat litter is especially acute for everyone who keeps a pet. And the question of how to choose a toilet for a cat is a very sensitive one, because when choosing, you need to be guided not only by the requirements of the owner, but also take into account the preferences of the pet itself. Let's try to figure out what the ideal cat potty is.
The modern market for pet products offers different types: from the simplest in design to automatic complexes. Cat litter can be purchased at both low and high prices. So every owner can choose an option that will suit both his beloved animal and himself. If for some reason you are not satisfied with the variety of trays that stores offer us, you can make a cat tray with your own hands.
So there are the following types cat litter boxes:
- ordinary;
- with mesh;
- with high sides;
- closed tray or house tray;
- auto.
The problem of choosing cat litter is especially acute for everyone who keeps a pet.
Open options
One of the most popular and common, as well as cheapest types of cat litter is a regular litter box. It's rectangular plastic container with low sides, into which filler is added. The advantages of such a device include its low cost, it is easy to wash and change the filling in it, and it is easy for a cat to climb into it. There is a drawback: the contents may end up outside when the pet starts burying its feces.
A mesh tray is a modification of a regular tray. A mesh is attached to a regular cat litter box, which allows the animal's liquid feces to drain out, while leaving the paws dry. This option is selected for pets who do not like the filler. Pros: low cost, pet does not get dirty, easy to remove contents and wash, can be used without filler. Cons: does not eliminate unpleasant odors, requires cleaning after each cat’s use of the toilet.
Both of these options are easy to place in an apartment or house, as they are quite compact.
A tray with high sides is suitable for cats who like to dig into their litter. This tray is equipped with an additional side, which makes the walls higher. This side can be used as a holding device for the film that covers the tray. After the animal uses the toilet, the rim is removed and the film and contents are thrown away. One of the advantages is that such a pot is easy to clean; it prevents the filler from spilling out. When using such a toilet, you need to decide how to hide it from prying eyes, since it is much larger in size than a regular tray.
Automatic cat litter (video)
Tray house and automatic tray
An indoor cat litter box is a two-tier structure with a fixed litter box at the bottom and a door and vent at the top. The door opening can remain open or closed, it all depends on the wishes of the owner and the skills of the pet. The cat box is ideal for families with small children or other animals. A toilet hidden inside the structure allows the pet owner not to worry about the fact that someone will dig into the litter and contents, except for the pet itself. Pros: it retains unpleasant odor well, the cat will not relieve itself by, the filler will remain in its original place and will not be scattered on the floor, ideal for timid animals. Cons: quite high cost, you have to disassemble the structure when cleaning the toilet of the cat house.
Cat litter can be purchased at both low and high prices.
An automatic tray is a complex that cleans itself and adds filler, and has an aesthetic appearance. It is equipped with filters that eliminate unpleasant odors. The system is notified that the contents need to be cleaned by a special sensor that cleans only in the absence of the animal. After the cat has gone to the toilet, the used litter is thrown into a special bag by conveyor, and clean litter is poured in its place. Pros: eliminates unpleasant odors, self-cleaning allows the owner not to worry about cleaning, this complex independently disinfects the tray. Among the disadvantages we can highlight high cost and the need to periodically replace filters that eliminate odors.
Each cat has its own litter box
Before deciding how to choose a tray for a cat, you need to study the habits of your pet and find out its habits. Otherwise, a situation may arise when the purchased potty turns out to be unsuitable for your pet.
Some cats cannot go to the toilet in front of strangers: they look for secluded places away from human eyes, where they quietly do their business. Other cats are not bothered by the presence of a person while visiting the restroom. Considering this, think about which cat toilet to choose - closed or regular.
Some cats like to keep their litter box clean and will only relieve themselves in a clean litter box. And others may not like it if the filler has already been used a couple of times. There are animals that do not like litter, while others, on the contrary, enjoy digging into the contents of the tray. This is where an indoor cat litter box comes to your rescue. These points need to be taken into account when it comes time to choose the appropriate device.
Please note that when there are several pets in the house, having individual potties for each is almost mandatory, since most animals do not like to share their nook with someone else.
Indoor toilet for cats (video)
Training your pet to use the litter box
Teaching a cat to relieve itself in a certain place may seem like hard work from the outside. It's actually quite simple. You just have to be patient, be calm and not shout, much less poke your pet’s nose into its feces. Quite quickly you can accustom a kitten to the litter box, since it has not yet formed habits.
You should start by choosing the place where you plan to put the toilet. A hidden tray will cause you problems, since your pet may not have time to reach it while searching. It has been observed that small kittens run to the toilet almost immediately after eating, so it makes sense to first place the potty near the place where your pet eats, gradually moving the container.
If you already have items that your cat has marked, then you should place this item in the tray, as it will be easier for the animal to navigate by its own scent.
Place the kitten in the litter box several times every day as soon as you notice that he is about to relieve himself. After a few successful attempts, the kitten will remember where to go, and this will become his habit.
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