BEFORE BEGINNING, PLEASE READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS COMPLETELY

Step 1 Before installation, ensure that you have the proper size pet door for your cat or dog. If in doubt, it may be better to choose a larger size. It can be dangerous for your pet to use a too small pet door. A general rule is to install the pet door so that the height of the flap is at least as height as the top of your pet at the withers.  If you have a short pet as well, be sure he won’t have too high a ‘step-over’.

Step 2  Review the large illustration of the pet door at the end of the instructions and familiarize yourself with the various components.

Step 3  Be sure you received all parts that should have been included.

A Complete Kit Contains

Instructions
Warranty
Hale Pet Door™  for Door Installation
Locking Cover
5/8” #6 Phillips Head Screws
7/64” drill bit
Optional Raincap

The tools required may differ depending upon the type of door you are installing in.  You will need a drill to start the rough cut out and also to drill the screw holes, A saw will be required to finish cutting out the rough opening and a phillips head screwdriver for the screws.

Step 4  Decide where to place your pet door.  A good idea is to make sure that there are no knobs or other obstructions above the pet door that could interfere with the security cover.

Second, be sure that the rough opening will be at least four inches from the bottom and from the side of the ‘people’ door.  This will maintain the integrity of the door.  (This measurement may vary depending on the size and type of door being used.)

Step 5  Use drop cloths on both sides of the door to ease cleanup.

Step 6  Mary the installation area using a level for accuracy. Use masking tape to record the placement before drilling.

Measure and mark all four sides before sawing.  Use masking tape to mark the rectangle.

Use the following dimensions to get the correct size rough opening for your size door.

Pet Door Size Rough Opening Width x Height  Small  7 3/8″ x 9 3/8″  Small Medium  8 1/2″ x 11 1/2″  Medium  10 1/2″ x 14 1/2″  Tall Medium  10 1/2″ x 18″  Large  13″ x 18″  Tall Large  13″ x 21 5/8″  Tall Large Plus  13″ x 25 5/8″  Extra Tall Large  13″ x 29 5/8″  Extra Large  16″ x 21 5/8″  Extra Large Plus  16″ x 25 5/8″  Giant  17 5/8″ x 29 5/8″

Make sure the opening is square and level before drilling.  This will help ensure that the pet door operates correctly.

Step 7 For Wood Doors  Drill out two corners diagonal from each other (top left and bottom right OR top right and bottom left).  using  a 7/8” wood bit or a 5/16” steel bit.  If you use the 5/16” drill bit, drill three holes close together and wiggle the bit until you have connected the three holes.  This procedure will allow you enough room to fit a jig saw blade into the holes.

Drill your initial holes carefully and take care not to go outside your marked opening.  You may wish to use a level on the drill bit to make sure that both the inside and outside edges of the rough opening are correctly aligned.

After the holes are connected, use a reciprocating saw, scroll saw or jig saw  to cut out the opening along the lines you’ve marked. 

Step 7 for Metal Doors  If  you have a drill and reciprocating saw, follow the above directions for wood doors, using a 14 tooth / inch blade on the reciprocating saw.   Otherwise, drill the four corners and use a chisel at the corners to start the hole.  Finish the rough opening cut with a power saber saw.  Be careful that the saw blade does not dent the other side of the door while you cut. The Hale Pet Door™ “door” model is completely self-framing so there is no need to ‘frame out’ the inside of the door.

Step 8  Separate the pet door frame into two halves and place the side with the locking cover to the inside.   Remove the locking cover.  Before installing the pet door into the rough opening,  loosen the screws holding the deadbolt lock.  Back them out a few turns, otherwise they may protrude enough to keep the corner of the pet door off the people door leaving a gap.

Step 9  Place the inside frame of the pet door into the opening in the door.  Place the outside frame of the pet door into the other side of the door and let the pet door frame telescope together.  Squeeze the two sides of the pet doors frame together tightly.  You may hold them together with carpenter’s clamps as you proceed.

Test fit the pet door prior to drilling any screw holes.

Optional Step  If you elected to use the rain cap for your petdoor installation, attach it to the outer frame as shown.  It will simply hook onto the top of the outer frame.  Then telescope the frames together as stated in Step 9.

Step 10  Using the pre-drilled pilot holes in the pet door frame and the supplied drill bit, drill one hole through the inside edge of the outside frame at the bottom.  Insert and loosely tighten one screw. Make sure the door is level and adjust if needed.  When door is level, tighten the inserted screw and repeat drilling and inserting the rest of the screws in the pet door frame.  Also, retighten the screws that hold the pin bolt lock in place.

Step 11  Once the pet door is installed you can fill any gaps or seal the edges with caulking if desired.  Do not caulk the bottom of the inside or outside frame.  It is a good idea to place blue painter’s tape around the three sides of the pet door that you will be caulking.  After you apply the caulking and smooth it, you can remove the tape for a clean edge and no mess on your people door.  See the instructions under “raised panel doors” for dealing with gaps and using caulking backer rod.

Step 12:   The Starboard® cover will slide easily into place in the built in frame and can be easily locked and unlocked with the positive action pin bolt lock.   (NOTE: The photo to the right shows the cover in place with the protective covering still on the Lexan cover (Lexan is now discontinued).  Starboard covers do not need this covering as they are not prone to scratching.)

Step 13: Remove the drop cloths and clean up the area.  We recommend cleaning the frame and flaps of the pet door also.  Use soap and water or glass cleaner without ammonia.

You may also adjust the magnets in the frame if necessary.  They can either be raised or lowered so the flaps seal but swing freely.  Adjust the magnets upward by twisting a flat headed screwdriver below the magnet between the magnet and the frame.  Adjust the magnets downward by tapping lightly with the handle of your screwdriver.  NEVER hit a magnet hard with a hammer as this may bend the legs of the magnet and cause it to eventually fall out of the door track.

You have now completed the installation of your new Hale Pet Door™.  We hope you and your pet enjoy the new investment you have made in your home!

Notes for Various Types of Doors

Raised panel doors

• Two types of  raised panel door are illustrated above. A true raised panel door will be built of solid wood, and the panels will be separate pieces of wood contained in the body of the door. This type of door is common on older homes, but in newer homes you are more likely to find doors whose surfaces have been molded to look like a raised panel door.
• Carefully consider placement of your pet door before cutting the rough opening.   Ideally, the pet door should be either centered on the door or centered on a panel. If the door is a true raised panel door, centering the pet door on the people door is not a good idea. Cutting out the vertical support will structurally weaken the door.
• Once you have determined where to place the door, cut out the rough opening and install the pet door as described above.
• There should be gaps that need to be filled between the pet door and the door where the grooves from the raised panel are.
• Put blue masking tape on the door so that the bottom of the tape is even with the top of the pet door. Fill the gaps with “caulking backer rod”. Make sure your filler does not come up to the edge of the pet door frame.
• Fill the gap with caulk of an appropriate type and color. Smooth the caulk with a putty knife or a razor blade. Remove the blue tape carefully. Clean up and you are finished.

Cross Hatch doors

Typical crosshatch door	To drill starter holes through a solid wood door, use a 7/8″ paddle bit and drill almost all the way through the door. Go to the other side of the door and finish the hole. This will prevent splintering wood.

• A crosshatch door, also called a farmhouse door, usually has a window in the upper half. The lower half is constructed very much like a raised panel door, but the panels are usually sunken in compared to the rest of the door. These doors are almost always solid wood. Be very careful when drilling your starter holes in wood. If you push too hard the wood may splinter.
• Installation of the pet door is about the same as with any other door. The difficulty is filling in the gaps. Depending on how deep the gap is, there are several different ways to approach this. If the gap is not very deep, caulking backer rod and caulk will work nicely. If the gap is deep you may want to consider filling with pieces of wood. This will require a hacksaw, miter box, and careful measuring.

Hollow Core Doors

• If you are installing in a hollow core door, don’t cut your rough opening with a reciprocating saw if you can avoid it. It tends to shake the door surface violently, sometimes separating it from the interior “honeycomb”. Use a circular saw and diamond blade. It makes a clean, easy cut.

Fiberglass Doors

• Fiberglass doors can be cut with a reciprocating saw or a circular saw with a diamond blade but be sure to wear a good dust mask!   You do not want to be inhaling fiberglass.

Wood Doors

• Cut wood doors with a reciprocating saw. Do not try to use the circular saw. The diamond blade will simply scorch the wood, barely cutting it, and a wood blade will grab the wood and take off, which will be dangerously hard to control.

Steel Skin Doors

• Steel skin doors are made of a foam core covered with thin steel skin. If the pet door you are installing is small, (medium or smaller), you can cut the rough opening with a diamond blade and clean up the corners with a reciprocating saw. If the pet door is larger than a medium, sink the diamond blade into the door in one spot on all four sides of the rough opening. This creates four grooves you can get a reciprocating saw blade into. Use a fine blade on the reciprocating saw. (18-tooth per inch at a minimum.)