# Best way to stabilize ex-pens?



## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

I am building an ad hoc puppy enclosure indoors. I've got three ex-pens hooked together, which makes a 10' x 12' enclosure. The only problem is that with such a big enclosure the ex-pens aren't very stable. (The little plastic things for the top I've always found useless, and they are doubly useless with this big an enclosure. Plus I can't pound the stakes into my floor.)

What is the best way to make this stable?

I'm thinking of running 1" wide wood strips along the bottom and top, and zip-tying the wood to the ex-pens. Any better ideas than that?


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## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

This is what the enclosure looks like in progress. Ideas?


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## Claire's Friend (Feb 26, 2007)

That's what I did and I would bungee cord to anything I could. J collapsed hers on top of herself once, scared me to death !!


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

You can secure to the walls-easy enough to repair later.
For the sides not on a wall, I'm not sure, hopefully someone will have an idea


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## gold4me (Mar 12, 2006)

We used 2 x-pens and my husband took 2x4 and attached them to the x pen (spaced). The boards were in an L shape with the bottom just sitting on the floor. We could move them with no problem. Does that make sense


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## Claire's Friend (Feb 26, 2007)

How long will puppy be in x-pen at a time ?


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## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

Well, "in the ex-pen" is a relative thing. This ex-pen is 120 square feet big, the size of a bedroom. She will be in there when I'm home but not able to watch her all the time. I make it a point to take a young puppy outside _at least_ once an hour at 8 weeks old.

Inside the enclosure will also be a crate that she will go into when she needs to be confined. She also will have a 5' x 15' dog run outside she can be confined in. And at all other times she will be with me and our other dogs, except at night, when she will sleep in a crate next our bed.


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## ktkins7 (Jul 20, 2013)

We open one up to block the family room from Ella when we aren't home, blocking a longer area between the chair and the couch. One side is supported between the recliner and the wall, and the other we use pin it between the back of the couch and a kitchen chair. I'll try to get a picture of it later if I can. The kitchen chair works well to hold it up and Ella never bothered it with chewing or anything.


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## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

Okay, I think I can anchor the pens to the walls. But there remains the problem of the "front" of the ex-pen. Whenever I open the door (on the right in the picture), the top falls over and it loses all stability. So what can I do? Build some sort of frame for it? I need to keep the top of it stable. I suppose I can do the L-shaped 2x4 thing at the bottom, but I don't know what to do with the top.

??????


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## Leslie B (Mar 17, 2011)

At the seams where it bends, use a vertical 2x4 that only goes up 2/3rds of the height of the pen. That helps to make it bottom heavy. Attach them to both sides of the seam with fencing staples. It wont bend any more and that will add stability. Attach a horizontal 2x4 at top to form a triangle between the left hand side of the pen and the middle of the front. You will have to duck under to clean but it wont be often.

Be sure to attach the pen to the walls at the outside corners and cover electrical outlets.


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## KeaColorado (Jan 2, 2013)

DanaRuns said:


> Well, "in the ex-pen" is a relative thing. This ex-pen is 120 square feet big, the size of a bedroom. She will be in there when I'm home but not able to watch her all the time. I make it a point to take a young puppy outside _at least_ once an hour at 8 weeks old.
> 
> Inside the enclosure will also be a crate that she will go into when she needs to be confined. She also will have a 5' x 15' dog run outside she can be confined in. And at all other times she will be with me and our other dogs, except at night, when she will sleep in a crate next our bed.


We have 2x4s screwed vertically into the wall with eye hooks screwed into them at the top and bottom. Then I take two metal clips (like the kind that are on a dog leash) and clip the x-pen to the eye hooks at those two spots. We have one x-pen that we stretched across the entrance to our kitchen in this way and it worked pretty well.


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## gold4me (Mar 12, 2006)

DanaRuns said:


> Okay, I think I can anchor the pens to the walls. But there remains the problem of the "front" of the ex-pen. Whenever I open the door (on the right in the picture), the top falls over and it loses all stability. So what can I do? Build some sort of frame for it? I need to keep the top of it stable. I suppose I can do the L-shaped 2x4 thing at the bottom, but I don't know what to do with the top.
> 
> ??????


The long part of the L for us was the height of the x Pen and the foot was shorter. Does this help


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## Thalie (Jan 20, 2008)

What about using a 1/2 inch PVC tube, corner, and another tube that would be zip tied close to the top on the outside of the front. It would add rigidity in a lightweight way and is pretty much a no tools needed fix.


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