Bunnings Hakuna Extra Large Pet Door Review

A while ago I installed a Hakuna Extra Large Pet Door and at the time thought there was one significant flaw. The screws provided are quite long and need to be hacksawed back to the desired length. The problem I envisaged is what if I needed to remove the door for some reason, such as painting or some other reason. That problem was yesterday.

I'm a typical DIY person with no formal training, so that should probably be kept in mind. This review is for people like myself. Handy and happy to give things a go.

Installing the door wasn't as easy as it could be as the template was rather flimsy cardboard. That meant it moved easily and the tools I had for cutting weren't the greatest. The hole I cut as a result wasn't as good as it should have been, but it worked.

The plastic flap was warped and a bit of a disappointment. Not as straight as the picture would have you believe. The screws however were the biggest concern. I'd previously installed another pet door and the build of that pet door was such that no cutting of screws was required. It really was a good design. The Hakuna Extra Large Pet Door however, to me, is poorly designed as there should be no need to cut screwed to the correct length. Cutting screws with a hacksaw is quite hard work. The real problem with cutting screws however is you burr the threads and that means a potential issue should you need to remove the screws.

The issue that required the screws to be removed is the pet door was purchased for a pup that was going to grow into quite a large dog. Pups by their nature chew things and that plastic door was just too tempting for a pup. With about a third of the door flap chewed away a replacement flap was needed.

However before getting a replacement flap I felt it would be wise to see if I could remove the screws. Two gave little resistance, one gave a lot of resistance and one I didn't get out. You can't replace the door flap unless you can take the pet door apart. No point ordering a replacement flap until you know you can disassemble to pet door. So you're really stuck until you can get the screws out of the door.

I couldn't help feeling a tradesperson wouldn't waste their time on such a repair. Their time is more valuable. Just cutting out the old door and replacing it with a new pet door would be the way to go. But for a DIY person labour is a saving. A replacement door is $50 and the new pet door $169 with the potential of saving $119.

Whilst I haven't completed the repair of the Hakuna Extra Large Pet Door at this stage as  I needed to get another tool, I wanted to share my experience so far so people realise the issue they may have with the screws that are provided and the need to cut the screws. That's a lot of extra work during the installation and a potential problem down the track if the screws need to be removed.

Hakuna should perhaps consider providing a range of screws so no cutting is required. The extra cost would be minimal and really, at the price of the pet door, there should be a better approach. The large plastic flap was warped to start with which really wasn't good enough. Yes there's an additional cost for each set of screws, but that would turn this pet door into a "be mindful of potential issues" to an easier recommendation.

I hope others find this review useful. I'll provide an updated when the repair is completed.

Kelvin

Update 16 May 2021

Yesterday replaced the dog flap, which was ordered and cost $50. It's a fair bit of work removing the door and replacing it again, lining everything up. You need to completely remove the door to replace the flap.

With the new flap in place I noticed this one was not as warped and looked better. Success, or at least I thought so.

Today the door has again been chewed. One night and the door is damaged. Perhaps the next step is to work out a way to attach some old carpet to the flap once the door's been chewed. You can get around this situation by keeping the door cover in place but then you have to ask, what's the point of an expensive doggie door.

Update: 3 August 2021

Recently I had to reinstall the flap as the dog had somehow pulled the flap nearly all the way out of where it is attached.

Now this is where I have to say I was wrong about having to remove the door to replace the flap. The two screws can be accessed and the hinge opened, the flap replaced into the hinge and the screws inserted into the hinge and tightened. It's a bit frustrating and you really do need a second pair of hands to hold the flap.