Pet Door Installation — Through-Door & Through-Wall
Pet door installation is a through-door cut or a through-wall framed opening for a flap sized to the actual pet (brisket height plus chest width, not the manufacturer's shoulder-height chart) — starting at $300 for a through-door install and finishing at $900 for a through-wall electronic flap with insulated tunnel and exterior flashing. The 75-pound lab who has been scratching the back door for three years, the indoor cat finally allowed to come and go on her own schedule, the goldendoodle who is too tall for the small flap the previous owner installed and now wriggles through it like a slinky. Pet doors look like a one-template-one-cut install — but the cut blade has to match the door material, the flap height has to be sized from the pet brisket and not from the manufacturer's shoulder-height chart, the through-wall version needs framed framing and exterior flashing or it leaks at the first rain. Handis brings the templates, the blades, the framing lumber, and the flashing tape.
Service
What Does a Pet Door Installation Include?
Pet door installation is two distinct jobs with very different scopes — a through-door cut (template, blade matched to door material, frame mounted both sides, finished in about 90 minutes) or a through-wall install (framed rough opening, peel-and-stick exterior flashing, insulated tunnel, matching interior trim, finished in about three hours) — both sized to the pet's brisket and chest width, not the manufacturer's shoulder-height chart. Both require the flap sized to the actual pet, not to the manufacturer's shoulder-height chart.
How Does a Through-Door Pet Door Cut Work?
The most common install. We tape the manufacturer template to the door, mark the cut, drill starter holes at each corner, and cut with a jigsaw (wood and fiberglass doors) or a metal-cutting jigsaw blade (steel doors). The flap frame mounts to both sides of the door with the included cross-bolts. Works on solid-wood, hollow-core, fiberglass, and metal exterior doors. Patio-screen-only flaps handled on the screen door repair page.
Through-Wall Pet Door Install
For when the door is on the wrong side of the house, the door is glass, or the door is rented and cannot be modified. We mark the rough opening, cut through the exterior siding and the interior drywall, frame the opening with a header above and short cripples below, install peel-and-stick exterior flashing membrane around the rough opening, slide the insulated tunnel kit through the wall, and trim the interior in matching baseboard. The wall cut becomes a permanent feature; the door stays original.
How Do You Size a Pet Door Flap to a Dog or Cat?
Manufacturer sizing charts go by shoulder height — which is the wrong measurement. The right measurement is the brisket (the lowest point of the chest, the part of the dog that actually scrapes the bottom of the flap) and the body width at the widest point (the chest or shoulders, not the head). We measure the pet on the booking call or on arrival, pick the right flap size (small, medium, large, extra-large), and set the install height so the flap bottom is at the brisket plus 1 inch of clearance.
Insulated Tunnel Kit (Through-Wall)
Through-wall pet doors include an insulated tunnel — a rigid plastic or wood-frame tube that runs through the wall cavity from the interior trim to the exterior flap. Without the tunnel, the wall cavity becomes a draft path and the insulation gets soaked the first time it rains sideways. We install Endura Flap, Ideal Pet, or PetSafe Extreme Weather tunnels with weather-stripped seals on both the interior frame and the exterior flap.
Electronic & Microchip Pet Doors
PetSafe SmartDoor and SureFlap microchip doors read a chip in the pet collar (or a chip implanted by your vet) and unlock only for that pet. We install the flap frame, wire the included 5V transformer to a nearby outlet, pair the pet chip on the door's pairing button, and test the lock-unlock cycle. Battery-only versions skip the transformer step but need the right battery type stocked.
Exterior Flashing on Every Through-Wall Install
The single most common failure on a through-wall pet door is a leak at the top edge that wicks down inside the wall cavity for years before any visible water damage shows up. We install peel-and-stick membrane (Grace Vycor or similar) on the top edge first, then the sides, then the bottom — same shingle-style overlap a window install uses. The exterior trim then covers the flashing. The wall stays dry.
How Pet Door Installation Works
Six sequential steps from brisket-and-chest measurement to the five-cycle flap test — the order we follow on every through-door and through-wall pet door install so the flap is sized to the actual pet and the wall stays dry.
Measure the Pet — Brisket Height & Chest Width
Manufacturer shoulder-height charts undersize the flap in roughly half the breeds we install for. We measure the brisket (lowest point of the chest, the part that scrapes the bottom of the flap) and the chest width at the widest point on the booking call. Flap height targets brisket plus 1 inch; flap width targets chest plus 2 inches.
Template, Mark & Cut the Opening
Tape the manufacturer template to the door or wall, mark the cut, drill starter holes at each corner, and cut with a jigsaw — standard blade for wood and fiberglass, finer-tooth blade for hollow-core to avoid skin blowout, metal-cutting blade plus cutting fluid for steel doors.
Frame the Rough Opening (Through-Wall Only)
For through-wall installs we cut through the exterior siding and interior drywall, frame the opening with a header above and short cripples below to carry the load around the new opening, and check for electrical or plumbing in the cavity before any cut.
Flash the Exterior — Peel-and-Stick, Shingle-Style
Through-wall installs get peel-and-stick membrane (Grace Vycor or similar) on the top edge first, then sides, then bottom — same shingle-style overlap a window install uses. The exterior trim covers the flashing. The wall stays dry through Pacific Northwest winters for the life of the pet door.
Slide Insulated Tunnel & Mount the Flap Frame
Through-wall installs get an Endura, Ideal Pet, or PetSafe Extreme Weather insulated tunnel sized to the wall thickness. Through-door installs skip the tunnel. The flap frame mounts to both sides with the included cross-bolts; magnetic-seal flaps tested for top and bottom contact.
Electronic Pairing & Five-Cycle Test
PetSafe SmartDoor and SureFlap microchip doors get the 5V transformer wired to the closest outlet, the pet chip paired on the door's pairing button, and five lock-unlock cycles confirm the flap reads the chip and unlocks within range. Mechanical flaps get five push-through cycles to verify the pet clears without crouching.
Pet Door Installation Pricing
Final pricing depends on the door or wall type, the pet-door size, whether insulated tunnel or electronic features are included, and exterior flashing scope. Pet door frame is supplied by the homeowner. Request a free estimate for an accurate quote.
Tell us the pet — breed, weight, brisket height — and the door or wall we are cutting.
Why Handis for Pet Door Installation
The single most common pet-door fix we redo is a flap that is too small for the pet because the previous installer picked the size from the manufacturer's shoulder-height chart. The chart almost always undersizes. A dog that is 21 inches at the shoulder can have a 16-inch brisket and a 22-inch chest width — and the medium flap rated for a 22-inch shoulder is too narrow at the chest. The result is a dog who learns to scrape his back going through the flap and eventually stops using it. We measure the brisket and the chest width on the booking call and pick the size from those numbers. The pet uses the door from day one.
Sized to the pet, not to the chart
Brisket height and chest width — measured on the booking call — drive the flap selection. The manufacturer shoulder-height chart undersizes the flap in roughly half the breeds we install for. Bigger flap, lower install height, dog walks through without crouching. Best $300 most owners spend on the dog.
Right blade for the door material
Solid-wood and fiberglass doors cut clean with a standard jigsaw blade. Hollow-core doors need a finer-tooth blade to avoid blowing out the skin on the exit side. Steel doors need a metal-cutting jigsaw blade with cutting fluid — and the cut takes 20 minutes per side instead of 5. We bring the blade for whatever door material we are cutting.
Insulated tunnel on every through-wall install
The wall cavity becomes a draft path the moment a pet door without an insulated tunnel goes in. Energy bills climb, the insulation gets damp, and the cold-floor feeling at the door becomes permanent. We install Endura, Ideal Pet, or PetSafe insulated tunnels on every through-wall job — never an uninsulated wall opening with just a flap on each side.
Exterior flashing — peel-and-stick, shingle-style
Every through-wall install gets peel-and-stick flashing membrane around the rough opening — top edge first, then sides, then bottom, same overlap pattern a window install uses. The exterior trim covers the flashing. The wall stays dry through Pacific Northwest winters for the life of the pet door.
30-day workmanship guarantee
If a pet door we installed leaks at the perimeter, the flap binds in the frame, the electronic lock fails to unlock for the chip, or the trim pulls away from the door or wall within 30 days because of our workmanship, we come back and fix it at no extra charge. The guarantee covers our work — it does not cover damage from a pet larger than the door is rated for, frame damage from another pet outside the household, or wear on the flap itself.
Estimate
Tell us the pet (breed, weight, brisket height, chest width), the install location (which door, or which wall and what siding type), and any flap brand preferences. We will quote the install.
Customer Reviews
Pet door installation reviews from real Handis customers.
75-pound lab, through-wall install. Tech framed the opening with a header, flashed the exterior with peel-and-stick membrane, installed an Endura Flap large with the insulated tunnel, and trimmed the inside in matching baseboard. Dog walked through the same afternoon and has used it nonstop. Six months in, no drafts in January, no leaks during the December rains.
SureFlap microchip door for our cat — only she can come in, not the neighborhood opossums. Tech installed it through the door, wired the transformer to the closest outlet, paired her chip on the pairing button, and showed me how to add a second chip if we ever add another cat. She figured it out in under an hour.
Asked another company to do this last year and they put a medium flap on a 70-pound goldendoodle. He stopped using it within a month — said the chart said medium and that was that. Tech from Handis measured the brisket and the chest, said the flap needed to be a large, and re-cut the opening to fit. The dog uses the door now. Worth doing twice if necessary.
Old pet door from the previous owner was leaking and the flap was cracked. Tech removed the old frame, plugged the opening with a matching solid-wood insert, and refinished the door so the patch is invisible. Then he framed a new through-wall opening on the back side of the house where the dog actually wants the door. Two-step job, one visit, dog approved.
Through-door cut on a steel exterior door. The tech said it would take longer because steel needs a metal-cutting blade and cutting fluid, and he was right — about 45 minutes longer than a fiberglass door. But the install was clean and the metal edges of the cut were sealed before the flap frame went on. No rust line later. Worth the extra time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about pet door installation.