Dog Door Installation Through an Interior Shiplap Wall

If you have a dog, you already know the routine. They want out. Then they want in. Then out again. Getting up to open the door every single time gets old fast - and for the dog, waiting around isn't exactly fun either. A pet door is one of those upgrades that genuinely changes the day-to-day flow of your home.

This one was a little more involved than a standard door-mount install. We were cutting through a finished interior shiplap wall - the kind where one wrong move leaves you with a mess that's tough to fix cleanly. We laid down drop cloths, taped out the exact cutout with blue painter's tape, used a level to make sure everything was perfectly square, and took our time before making a single cut. That prep work is what separates a clean result from a sloppy one.

The unit we installed is a Baboni pet door - a solid, double-flap design with a lockout cover included. Once the opening was cut and the tunnel framed through the wall, the door mounted up flush and tight. On the exterior side, we cut through the stucco and finished it out just as cleanly. Both sides look intentional, not like an afterthought.

What you end up with is a pet door that works on both ends of the wall - interior shiplap and exterior stucco - with clean lines and a secure fit. The lockout panel gives you the option to close it off whenever you need to. It's a practical upgrade that makes a real difference in how the home functions for both the owners and the dog.

Jobs like this look simple from the outside, but getting them right takes planning. The wrong cut, a crooked frame, or a poor seal on the exterior can cause problems down the road. We handle the details so you don't have to deal with the headaches later.