Making cat shelves

Making and installing shelves for our cats
Part 2, suspension bridge & corner nook: • Adding a suspension br...
00:00 - Before
00:09 - Smoothing sharp corners with a router
00:43 - Staining
01:50 - Shelf brackets we used
02:02 - Centering shelves on brackets
03:46 - Inspection team
04:39 - Levelling & marking shelf locations on wall
05:05 - Drilling pilot holes for drywall anchors
05:35 - Failed anchor #1
06:01 - Deciding step spacing
06:56 - Different anchor styles (ALL FAILED)
07:18 - Removing to try better anchor
08:07 - Diving Sushi anchor fail
09:23 - ANCHORS NOT TO USE
09:29 - USE THESE ANCHORS!
09:54 - Levelling before tightening screws with successful anchor
10:06 - Replacing rest of failed anchors
10:36 - They're finished! Playtime!
13:50 - After
Wood:
Untreated Cedar 2in thick
Brackets:
Heavy Duty 10" Industrial Steel J brackets
10" deep, 5" high
www.etsy.com/listing/25685645...
Drywall anchors:
Toggler Heavy Duty 1/4" Toggle Bolts - 265lb weight rating in drywall
www.lowes.com/pd/TOGGLER-30-P...
Stain:
Cabot Gold in Satin Sunlit Walnut
Starring:
Stephan, Sushi, & BunBao
Instagram:
/ takethevongwayhome

[@T34ajhr]

Great furr family 💖! You all are so fortunate to have each other. Thanks for this video!

[@takethevongwayhome]

Thank you so much! We feel that way too 💖

[@FlakitaR.]

Such an informative video!!! Fully explained and the way the dogs broke down every detail is astonishing. Team work! Mom records dogs explain!!! 😒

[@raeleeninNC]

Thank you for info about the anchors. poor baby who fell

[@ellenka22]

I love this. I about died when the shelf collapsed 😂 Great job you guys. The spacing part really helped me out! ❤

[@Potayto71]

i really like all the tail wagging you included in your video. thank you.

[@lapismosi8065]

You have a beautiful family! 🐶🐱💏

[@takethevongwayhome]

Thank you!

[@nytareview]

So cuteee i cant deny!!!

[@MisterTwo92]

Come home one day and find the dog up there

[@danielwise8325]

Awesome design. Your video was extremely helpul

[@subanakatz4943]

great work!!

[@takethevongwayhome]

Thank you!!

[@rh7982]

I'm so jealous of how quickly your cats used them. I've similar shelves and no toy or treat will get her on them.. She climbs everywhere else in the house 😭 only day 2 but I'm losing hope!

[@takethevongwayhome]

Catnip on all the steps and up top in the bed helped a lot!

[@clementines9]

Not to be dramatic, but i would die for that big fluffy dog

[@maidsua4208]

Beautiful animals!

[@takethevongwayhome]

Thank you!

[@garyflythe1362]

Did I hear that cat say you'll be hearing from my lawyer 🙂?

[@selyngonzalez5905]

Good job I like your video congratulations

[@Pytbul-Games]

your walls are made of carboard man ? took you hours to install them :)) saw the light in video changing

[@lancenishimura9400]

Loved the shelves u folks did for your cats! Wondering, what were the dimensions of the smaller shelves you made?

[@takethevongwayhome]

If you meal the little ones stepping up to the big shelf, the small ones are 10" x 10"!

[@WanderingNature]

Awesome, where did you get the brackets?

[@HannahXandra]

Great video, thank you. I will be making my own cat shelves soon. I see you have those cat beds that suction onto the glass window/door - do they work well? do the suctions ever come off? I'm interested in buying some but am worried they may not be worth it.

[@takethevongwayhome]

Our two smaller girls really liked it and it stayed on for them, but the suctions kept coming off for our boy cat who weighs 15-20 pounds. Wouldn't buy it again, they won't even get in it anymore because it scared him too many times falling. They seem to prefer the higher comfier beds anyway

[@taylor-]

These look great! How have they held up so far?

[@takethevongwayhome]

Thank you, no issues & still going strong! It was definitely a good idea using the most heavy duty drywall anchors we could find, they race up and down the steps now

[@margareto1600]

@@takethevongwayhome 😅

[@gabriellarivasm]

Thanks so much for this video!! Can I ask where you got your wood? This is my first time doing a project like this so i'm trying to see where would be best to buy wood for this. :)

[@takethevongwayhome]

We just got ours from our local lumber supply! It was before the lumber price spike though, I'd price check around if you have multiple options

[@MadisonWestfield]

Have you happened to have heard of or used butterfly clips for drywall? I am about to hang shelves for my kitty. He’s 13 lbs so I need the strongest method possible! Lol by the way the shelves look amazing. It’s clear y’all love your fur babies. Thanks for sharing. Edit: just finished the video. Thanks for sharing the info in the description. Just bought those anchors!

[@takethevongwayhome]

Hey yes! We thought about trying those too, but after the others all failed we jumped straight to the heaviest duty option we could find. From what I can see online, metal butterfly clips hold up to about 100lbs, while the ones we used hold up to 265 lb. That's about how much our big boy cat weighs too, and they've held up great with him. Thank you!

[@acephantom903]

Late reply: the butterfly clips or the original toggle bolts are very strong anchors that in the 70s were used to anchor many heavy items from drywall/metal studs. However they are a bit finicky to install as you have to run the bolt through what your mounting, screw on the toggle, then while holding everything you will have to push them into the wall. The toggle bolts they ended up using in the video are far easier to use and roughly just a strong, you just have to be careful about not breaking the metal off of the tabs while setting it -- usually best to hand thread to get it started before using a non-hammering drill to finish. A hammer drill will likely break the plastic tabs. Should you need to unscrew it, the metal tab will fall down and you will need to use another one. If you are gentle with attaching, you can reuse multiple times.

[@monakhaled3841]

Good.

[@rutha180]

Where did you get the brackets from?

[@takethevongwayhome]

They’re from Csonka’s Custom Rustics on Etsy! The heavy duty J brackets

[@therealbecky_]

What’s the measurements of the small shelves and the one big one?

[@takethevongwayhome]

We used the same 1 1/2” thick board for all of them, so they’re all 10” deep. The small shelves are 10” wide and the large shelf is 37 1/2” wide. We cut it to fit exactly half of the sliding door frame.

[@nytareview]

Waitt... what feline the big ones indoor??

[@takethevongwayhome]

We adopted him when he was a tiny kitten! He and his sister (Sushi) were strays, they are not any particular breed. They all live indoors only now. :)

[@nytareview]

@@takethevongwayhome amazing amaziiingg !

[@Burritoyo]

cool wow how did you do that

[@kathyriggs7266]

I love your fur babies. I was wondering what kind of dog is the hairy, fluffy dog? Thank you.

[@takethevongwayhome]

He's a Bouvier des Flandres! Family guardians, cattle herders, and war dogs of Belgium

[@kathyriggs7266]

@@takethevongwayhome Thank you and Merry Christmas!

[@bravo123345]

That looks incredible! I'm looking to make one myself! Did you guys use hardwood or plywood? and did you have apply a finish to the wood after you stained it? thanks :)

[@takethevongwayhome]

Awesome! We used 2 inch thick cedar because we wanted it to be a durable hardwood and also have a really chonky decorative appearance. The thick hardwood also allowed us to use longer screws in the brackets so they’re stronger. The stain we used was Cabot Ultimate Finish in Sunlit Walnut, so it’s actually a tinted finish. I’d definitely do a finish if you stain separately. It'd be better protected against cat athletics and you'd get to pick if you want glossy or matte look for your house aesthetic. Ours leans more towards glossy and they haven't had any problems with slipping on them while zooming

[@bravo123345]

@@takethevongwayhome Amazing! Your reply is so invaluable to me! Thank you so much! really really helpful! Made a big difference is a strangers DIY project!

[@franciscocontreras9607]

You have a minute buffalo mayne

[@MissHaotic]

Are these shelves 20 or 25 cm deep?

[@takethevongwayhome]

25 centimeters! 20 centimeters might be a little narrow for them to turn around on comfortably

[@MissHaotic]

@@takethevongwayhome Thank you! ❤

[@michaelshadow9807]

Love the video. Very informative. However, I must say the router part made me sick to my stomach. That tool will snatch that board away and suck your hand in to the bit extremely fast. (Yes I am being graphic because IMO you are very lucky you didn’t have an accident, you even went backwards on the bit.) Never use a router like this. I’ve had much larger boards snatched from my hands on my router table. I use push blocks if I need to be close and never let my hands come within 4” of the blade.

[@ungratefulbastard8166]

I am sorry die the comment with anticipation . But i think I saw somebody in the video using a router upside down held in one hand , and the wood on the other one . For me to do that is like trying to hurt myself purposebly . That tool is vicious and need to be held like you mean it ., is it a nail polish tool you can stop by pushing its motion . Please be careful , touch the ground !

[@SirMopy]

Omg drilling holes in murican houses is so easy..? I’ve massive concrete and stone walls in Germany… no chance drilling them so silently in… cats will get scared as fk 😭

[@takethevongwayhome]

Hahaha concrete and stone walls sound amazing! I feel like I wouldn't have quite so many tornado terrors if we had walls like that. Ours are pretttty fragile

[@acephantom903]

On the interior walls we affix drywall. In some areas like mine, the exteriors are concrete and you only have half an inch (~12mm) behind the drywall before hitting concrete.

[@goddess16427]

Not enough shelves for 3 cats…..

[@maidsua4208]

Why does the dog have no tail? Has it been in any accident? It has been many decades since it was forbidden to abuse dogs and steal from them the opportunity to communicate with other dogs. Poor little friend

[@takethevongwayhome]

It is still common practice and required as breed standard here in the US, he came from the breeder that way. To find a puppy with a tail here, you would have to work with a breeder in advance who is willing to hold one puppy back for you from the rest of the litter's docking, and it's very uncommon. I've actually never met one with a tail! Although I definitely understand what you mean by communication. Lucci loves playing with other dogs, but he gets attacked frequently. I think if they could see his tail wagging, other dogs would probably be more receptive. I've been thinking about trying to do just that for any future puppies we have after our boys.

[@maidsua4208]

@@takethevongwayhome Thank you for doing that! I think it is cruel to the dogs, but now I understand that you have not been active here. Is it the case that animals have few rights in the United States? I read about a lady who wanted to remove the claws of her cats because they scratched the furniture. Terrible, in my country this woman had been deprived of her animals and had probably been denied to have animals again. Fortunately, animal life is beginning to be respected. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer me properly. Wish you a long and happy life!

[@takethevongwayhome]

@@maidsua4208 declawing is still in practice here, but is quickly going out. Most vets in my area refuse to do it now, but it's still different in every state and mostly up to the vet unfortunately rather than being restricted by law at this point. Always making progress though ❤️ thank you, likewise!

[@user-zw5tk3sw7e]

Please do not use a router like that dangerous