Door mounted & wall mounted pet doors photo - Pet Door Products in Salt Lake City, Utah

Is a Door Mount or Wall Mount Pet Door Best?  

Once you’ve made the exciting decision to give your dog and yourself the game-changing gift of a pet door, the next decision is where to put it. There are classic pet doors for installation in doors and pet doors for walls. Finally, the revolutionary pet door for sliding door is the clear choice for many people. But, many homeowners still prefer either a solid door mount or a wall mount model. When choosing between those two, it can help to compare their benefits.

Should I Install My Dog Door in a Wall or a Door?

Both wall-mount dog doors and door-mount dog door models have their benefits. Here’s some information to help you compare and decide which energy efficient pet door type is the best to install at your home:

Dog Door For Mounting on a Door

A classic door mount dog door lets your pet use the same entry and exit you use. So, all the people and pet foot traffic can be managed on the same pathway. Pet Door Products door-mount pet door offers exceptional weather resistance. Extruded aluminum surrounding the outline of both sides of the dog door serves as the pet door frame. It encloses the interior of the door opening, which protects the inner structure of the door, and it prevents air leaks that can impact temperatures inside your home.

So, the pet door can be installed in solid core or hollow core doors. Overall, door-mount dog doors are faster and easier to install than wall-mount pet doors. But, if you remove the pet door someday, you can patch a wall but may need to replace a door that had a pet door in it.

Dog Door For Mounting on a Wall

Our dog door for wall mounting features a durable aluminum tunnel insert. It seals all four sides of the wall opening between the interior and exterior wall surfaces around the opening. This protects your home from water damage by preventing rain from penetrating the wall at the opening. Lesser quality pet door construction can lead to damage inside the wall, mold growth, and potentially larger structural problems. The Pet Door Products wall-mounted pet door frame extends out to 8 inches in thickness to fit brick and even concrete walls.

The dog door designed for wall mounting enables added insulative buffer air space between double flaps (if you choose the double-flap as the best option for your climate region). Installing a wall-mount pet door is more involved than a door-mount model. You’ll have to cut through both the interior and exterior sides of the wall of your house to install a wall mount pet door.

Which is Better: Door Mount or Wall Mount Dog Door?

Both door-mount and wall-mount pet doors offer unique benefits:

Benefits of Door Mount Pet DoorBenefits of Wall Mount Pet Door
A shorter installation time (1-2 hours), and less complex installation. It may be appropriate for homeowners experienced in DIY projects.A longer installation time (3-4 hours), and more complex installation. It may require professional guidance or assistance.
You don’t need to cut an opening in a wall of your home. But you may need to replace the door if you remove the pet door in the future.If you remove the pet door in the future, the wall can be patched, eliminating all evidence of the dog door.
Less home insulation R-value is lost by cutting a door opening vs. a wall opening.A deeper insulative buffer air space between the pet door flaps in the tunnel is created in the wall opening.

Note that Pet Door Products only installs pet doors in sliding glass door panels. But we can provide you with a local professional to install your pet door in either a wood or metal exterior door or in a wall of your home. Or, we can provide you with the materials for DIY pet door installation on a wall of your home.

The Ideal Pet Door for Your Home – Pet Door Products

We manufacture today’s best quality energy-efficient pet door for wall sliding glass door, wall, or solid door installation. Yes, you can now install a pet door on virtually any exterior surface of your home. Our state-of-the-art pet doors of all configurations are weather-tight and feature the famous Endura Flap — the world’s most advanced pet door flap.

To order your energy-efficient door- or wall-mounted pet door, call Pet Door Products at (801) 973-8000, or contact us online today!

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