Well, yes, I am moving back to Switzerland. Found a new place and its perfect... except that its missing the cat flap I would need. Its an attica so I need two: Once in my apartment door and once in the buildings main door. Landlord is ok with it and got me an offer from his contractor... which was a (bad) joke - even for "Switzerlanded" standards. After some discussion am I free to find myself somebody else to install... so: Anyone has some experience and recommendation? The apartment door is wood, the main door has glas panels where one of them could be exchanged for a fitted glas and cat flap...
Fitting properly in double glazing is very expensive!
Welcome back.
I'm sure it is. But I am also sure it isnt as expensive as my quote... because I am not going to pay over 1k for "project management" alone - to fit two cat flaps.
Make sure you get a flap that opens only if the cat presents the right chip. All Swiss cats must be chipped at the vet. Our door takes 4xAA batteries, but they seem to last forever.
You probably want the same for the outside door otherwise your building will be overrun with neighbourhood cats. That likely wouldn’t amuse your kind landlord. These devices are easily programmed to add new cats (press a button and the chip for the next cat through the door is registered). Up to 50 for some models. So your neighbours can share in the experience.
Must be a pet food shop nearby, ask for recommendations.
took me less than 30 mins to fit mine including cleaning up. chip reading / mobile controlled type.
can't imagine it would be something you'd pay someone else to do.
Was that on your own property? I can well imagine that a landlord insists that it is “professionally” installed.
I was once recommended RTN on here for some woodwork, sadly after we had already done it. He’s based on the other side of the lake. I don’t know if this is too small for him, but maybe worth a PM.
One of our glass doors has a cat flap which we don't need or want. The only option to remove it seems to be to replace it with a new piece of glass. So just a word of caution, make sure you keep the original glass as when you move out you will be expected to put the door back to their original condition.
Don't know how this will work with a wood door.
This "attika" has no balcony or terrace? An outdoor ladder, if permitted, would be far less complicated.
Ask any
"Glaser" in the area.
And as Mrs. Doolittle said: Keep the original glass. Mine is somewhere deep down in all the things I no longer need but store in the cellar.
I would need to check that out, but I guess that a ladder going down three floors is probably not cool with the neighbours...
If you fit into double or triple glazing- the seals have to be done properly or else.
You will get some condensation, it happens over time so not that much to worry about. Alternatively having the sheets of glass 25mm apart without sealing, you can put blinds between the 2 windows, whilst not the cheapest option. They are the only windows in my mothers house that are 45 years old & are still as good as new, others changed 15 years ago need changing again.
For the internal door, if it is a standard size, you could think of buying another door at hornblak or similar. Put the cat flap in that and store the original door in the cellar.
Comes time to move? Well Bob's your uncle!
A lift would be cool (although probably not with the neighbours either).
Our cats could always get in to any second floor window by climbing up, they were less keen on going out that way.
Wow love this - but probably ... even more expensive.
We had the catflap properly fitted in a new double-glazing panel (the other is kept in barn in case new owner wants to refit without- one day!). So no condensation, no loss of insulation, and very neat. Can't remember how much it cost, but I remember OH's intake to breath. Ah well, done- works well.
I am currently looking into this: a German invention by a woman who had the same sort of issue... and turned it into a product. However, their standard sizes stop at 3 floors and we are on the 5th (but on a hillside), so I need to check if it’s feasible...
Yes - it means a replacement essentially. We were fortunate, we put ours into door-length window, so it cost about 400CHF.
Then we replaced the lot with triple glazing (and a UPVC panel for the cat door)! Ah well.