# Cost to install cat flap in external wall ?



## cyberknight (12 Nov 2019)

Has anyone had this done?
House we are interested in buying assuming we sell has a patio door to the back followed by a door to the kitchen which has glass panels , the only option if i got the house i think would be to put the cat flap through an external wall or there is a secure store with a wooden door i can easily cat flap into but would need a tunnel into the house .


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## Chris S (12 Nov 2019)

Are you sure it's a good idea? Around here cat flaps are known as 'rat flaps'.


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## Phaeton (12 Nov 2019)

cyberknight said:


> Has anyone had this done?
> House we are interested in buying assuming we sell has a patio door to the back followed by a door to the kitchen which has glass panels , the only option if i got the house i think would be to put the cat flap through an external wall or there is a secure store with a wooden door i can easily cat flap into but would need a tunnel into the house .


Easy to do just use a piece of UG drain to link the 2 doors, not ideal for a big cat though


Chris S said:


> Are you sure it's a good idea? Around here cat flaps are known as 'rat flaps'.


You need to buy a cat


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## Chris S (12 Nov 2019)




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## burntoutbanger (12 Nov 2019)

Easy to put a cat flap in a glass panel. Would need to replace the existing panel(s) with new ones though.


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## Mugshot (12 Nov 2019)

Phaeton said:


> You need to buy a cat


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## cyberknight (12 Nov 2019)

we use a micro chip flap , only our cat and its presents aka dead mice and birds get through


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## burntoutbanger (12 Nov 2019)

https://www.surepetcare.com/en-au/support/videos/installing-a-sureflap-microchip-cat-door-in-glass

@cyberknight Maybe of interest?


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## Profpointy (12 Nov 2019)

burntoutbanger said:


> Easy to put a cat flap in a glass panel. Would need to replace the existing panel(s) with new ones though.



^ this:

Here is ours:






The window is in fact one big double-glazed unit, and the glazing bars are stuck on as it's not seperate panes of glass. I think it was maybe £300 including the a new double glazed unit & the £100 electronic cat flap that keeps other cats out

As an alternative maybe it could go in a kitchen window or similar instead


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## slowmotion (12 Nov 2019)

If it's a cavity wall, you need to be careful to prevent damp bridging the cavity.


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## raleighnut (12 Nov 2019)

Piece of piddle to do, my neighbour has one above the rain porch so his Cats can get out without going past the Dogs.


View: https://youtu.be/pbh_-0GiesA


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## Electric_Andy (12 Nov 2019)

The difficult part is cutting out the hole in the brick, you'd need a hefty SDS drill. After that, getting it perfectly square is time consuming but simple enough. We used to have a micro-chip catflap (can't remember the brand now but it looks identical to @Profpointy 's). They lasted several years and worked a treat.

Just make sure it is sealed properly around otherwise you'll get a draft!

It should be 2 or 3 hours work for a decent handy man


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## Levo-Lon (12 Nov 2019)

Simple straightforward job.

You can use a normal hammer drill and simply drill holes through the outer brick. Hole every 25mm and in each corner. 
So you can then tap out the brick with a chisel, then using a long drill bit you drill a centre hole through the cutout so you can do the inside. Assuming its a double skin wall. 
If its modern plasterboard even easier. 

Same again on the inside and then fit your cat flap.
Seal the outer as normal with mastic ect.

No need to worry about bridging damp as its plastic.


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## slowmotion (12 Nov 2019)

meta lon said:


> Simple straightforward job.
> 
> You can use a normal hammer drill and simply drill holes through the outer brick. Hole every 25mm and in each corner.
> So you can then tap out the brick with a chisel, then using a long drill bit you drill a centre hole through the cutout so you can do the inside. Assuming its a double skin wall.
> ...


Is it has a plastic top, water comes down the inside surface of the outer leaf of brickwork and pools on the top casing of the catflap housing. It then tracks onto the inner leaf.

Cavity wall ties are not large pieces of horizontal plastic.


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## furball (12 Nov 2019)

Don't mess with your House. Get a butler instead.


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## Slick (12 Nov 2019)

slowmotion said:


> Is it has a plastic top, water comes down the inside surface of the outer leaf of brickwork and pools on the top casing of the catflap housing. It then tracks onto the inner leaf.
> 
> Cavity wall ties are not large pieces of horizontal plastic.


Even worse if the cavity has been insulated.


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## Levo-Lon (12 Nov 2019)

slowmotion said:


> Is it has a plastic top, water comes down the inside surface of the outer leaf of brickwork and pools on the top casing of the catflap housing. It then tracks onto the inner leaf.
> 
> Cavity wall ties are not large pieces of horizontal plastic.



If you have water coming down the inside of the brickwork the cat flap is the least of your worries.

Damp course stops it coming up.The walls will probably be full of gapfil insulation etc too
So water would soak all that too.

Also all vents are very similar, kitchen extractors, showerfans , tumble dryer ect.. Same thing


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## bruce1530 (12 Nov 2019)

I fitted one in a window in my daughter’s flat recently. The automatic flap kit was 50 pounds, and an extra 12 for the adaptor plates to use it on glass. All from Amazon.

The glass panel was about 600x500. The first supplier I went to - a national chain - wanted £150 for the panel, and quoted 3 weeks delivery. 6 weeks later, after they had supplied one panel (wrong size) and broken another, I cancelled the order, and went to a local supplier. 3 day turn round, and less than half of the price.


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## slowmotion (12 Nov 2019)

meta lon said:


> If you have water coming down the inside of the brickwork the cat flap is the least of your worries.
> 
> Damp course stops it coming up.The walls will probably be full of gapfil insulation etc too
> So water would soak all that too.
> ...


In heavy, wind driven rain, water seeps across the outer leaf and drips down the inside face. BRE wrote about it ( and photographed it) back in the 70's. The only thing that keeps the inner leaf dry is (1) the nifty design of cavity ties, and (2) expert detailing of cavity flashings, DPCs etc. The literature isn't exactly hard to find.

Sorry, I'm not trying to pick an argument.


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## roadrash (12 Nov 2019)

I have done one just like in video @raleighnut showed, for a friend (our cats have a flap in the wooden back door) , easy enough, I even by coincidence have the same drill and breaker as in the video, if you don't want to tackle it then its an easy job for a builder type chappie, if you was closer I would lend you the tools


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## Levo-Lon (12 Nov 2019)

slowmotion said:


> In heavy, wind driven rain, water seeps across the outer leaf and drips down the inside face. BRE wrote about it ( and photographed it) back in the 70's. The only thing that keeps the inner leaf dry is (1) the nifty design of cavity ties, and (2) expert detailing of cavity flashings, DPCs etc. The literature isn't exactly hard to find.
> 
> Sorry, I'm not trying to pick an argument.




So his house has already got all that.

You and i dont even know what its built with unless i missed that? .. It may be 9" or even a prefab..
My house is old with new and full of ducting to the outside, i have no damp there.

The underfloor is another matter and something ive been dealing with over the last few yrs.

So im not arguing either, i just feel your making a drama out of nothing.
Its a small plastic duct going through a wall, we think..


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## slowmotion (12 Nov 2019)

meta lon said:


> So his house has already got all that.
> 
> You and i dont even know what its built with unless i missed that? .. It may be 9" or even a prefab..
> My house is old with new and full of ducting to the outside, i have no damp there.
> ...


I was making comments specifically about cavity walls, and I made that clear in my first post.

Anyway, if you encourage those disgusting, smelly animals into your home (…...yes, the ones that will piss in your headphones just for the fun of it....), a small area of damp will seem insignificant.


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## lane (12 Nov 2019)

My mate paid to have a microchip cat flap put in. Turned out the cat had some sort of phobia and never ever goes out.


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## slowmotion (12 Nov 2019)

lane said:


> My mate paid to have a microchip cat flap put in. Turned out the cat had some sort of phobia and never ever goes out.


I feel his pain.


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## sheddy (12 Nov 2019)

I did this 15 years ago in cavity wall in a sheltered wall location. House in Herts.

Used 2 catflaps, brown outside, white inside connected with plywood lining.
No damp problems - only problem with vermin caught and set free indoors.

Just ask cat to wipe its feet.


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## rogerzilla (13 Nov 2019)

I put mine in a uPVC conservatory. Easy to cut plastic panels, and Lord Tigs of Swindon has a nice indoor space but can't muddify the house unless I allow him to, Win-win.


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## Profpointy (13 Nov 2019)

rogerzilla said:


> I put mine in a uPVC conservatory. Easy to cut plastic panels, and Lord Tigs of Swindon has a nice indoor space but can't muddify the house unless I allow him to, Win-win.



"like" mostly due to "lord Tigs of Swindon" epithet !


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## Venod (13 Nov 2019)

While skimming through new posts I have read this several times as "cost to install flat cap in external wall"


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## Profpointy (15 Nov 2019)

furball said:


> Don't mess with your House. Get a butler instead.



What kind of scruffy establishment are you running ? Surely that's the footman's job


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## Milkfloat (15 Nov 2019)

If you want a budget way to do it, then replace the glass panel in your door with uPVC and fit the flap to that. I did that and it only cost we £10 for the uPVC panel and even better I kept the glass panel to pop back in when we have had enough of tiddles.


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## cyberknight (15 Nov 2019)

this is what im dealing with patio door then glass full door into house , the wooden door i not linked to the the house if i bought the house 
only external wall that has a place to put a flap is in the bit on the back right which is a toilet


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## ozboz (15 Nov 2019)

Why would you need to knock a hole in the wall to have a flat cap ?


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## Phaeton (15 Nov 2019)

We just leave the bathroom window open


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## furball (15 Nov 2019)

Profpointy said:


> What kind of scruffy establishment are you running ? Surely that's the footman's job


Ssshh don't tell my cat that


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## Milkfloat (15 Nov 2019)

The only way to put a cat flap in the patio door will be with new glass. The glass is toughened so cannot be cut without exploding. Go through the door.


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## oldwheels (2 Jan 2022)

We used to have a cat door in a kitchen window before double glazing but when the cats got a bit infirm and unable to jump up easily I simply knocked a hole through a cavity wall at floor level and put a tunnel in with the cat flap on the outside and a removable door on the inside. The inside door was normally left open and the cats had no problem.
Now with no cats and a tumble drier the vent hose fits nicely through and vents outside the house.


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## vickster (2 Jan 2022)

I should think @cyberknight cat has tunnelled its way out by now in great escape stylee as the thread is 2 years old


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