How To Build A Dog Wash Station
Designing The Dog Wash Station:
I measured my to pooches and decided that 36″ wide was plenty room to work in but decided 48″ wide was better and also allowed for future, larger dogs.
My friends at American Standard plumbing were super interested in this project and donated an 48 x 38 inch Acrylux white shower base and a Reliant 3 bath and shower valve, spray handle and trim kit.
The Reliant 3 spray head has an ergonomic handle and 3-4 spray settings. Its long spray hose was perfect for my dog washing needs, allowing me to get all around and under the dogs.
As for the shower base platform, I decided to build the base, leg supports and walls of the dog was station out of wood.
Building the Dog Wash Station:
Once I had the AcryLux shower base I measured it and built a 2×4 and 3/4″ plywood platform for it to sit on, allowing room for 2×3 walls. This platform was to be pushed back against an existing 2×6 wall which would become the back wall of the dog wash.
The legs of the dog wash station are 4×4 pressure treated posts with post to base connectors and some cross supports for stability as well as the final skirt boards.
I used Simpson DTT2 tension tie connectors to reinforce the otter ends of the half walls. Here is an in-depth explanation of how and why I believe you need to reinforce half walls.
On the right wall I added blocking to support and ease the installation of my shower spray holder.
Plumbing in the Dog Wash Station:
Like I mentioned earlier we used the old sink plumbing vent but had to re-pipe the drain line to a larger diameter as well as plumb in a shower trap. We used the existing pipes in the wall to cut in and add a plumbing valve.
If this were for a customer I would have installed the shower valve in one of the side walls for easier reach. I did not see the need for the extra work and additional piping. We also added additional plumbing next to the dow wash for a new slop sink.
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