In the Fall of 2019, the theater and stage teacher for both the high and middle school wanted a Snoopy dog house for a single act play. The prop had to be big enough to hold two to three people and room for one inside. Sized for middle and high school students, this would be one big box. Typically used for one show and then tossed into storage, an item this size would take up a lot of space with the hope to be reused or recycled into other props. I wanted storing this prop to be efficient and economical. I wanted this thing to not consume a lot of storage space. The prop needed to work like a folding table.
Rather than reinvent a design, I believed the solution would be out there. I found a collapsible workbench from Family Handyman but I needed a model closer to a box than something with a large solid frame. This bed had an impressive design and I wished I had need to make it, but I did not. This collapsible box was a close match to what I had envisioned.
Working with two less hinges to accommodate for a removable top, I drew plans to similarly follow the sides of the box with one large opening. Suspecting the top would be a folder wide enough for the sides, I designed with the intention for the sides to slide into the folded top and all for a small storage footprint. Inevitably the design would need modifications during the production. Someday I may have a project that moves from the drawing board through production without a hitch.
Collapsing the Dog House
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Design Modifications (or fixing the flaws)
First, the front and back would not remain steady in the opened position. Sitting on the box, any wiggle adjustment to situate myself would destabilize the front and/or back to close in on itself. By adding blocks fixed to the roof, the front and back were forced square to the sides and stand. The blocks provided support for the roof to not float on the sides preventing it to wiggle or slide around.
One of the four blocks attached to the roof stabilizing it to the walls while fixing the sides into a square and right box. 
A view looking through the entrance to the back wall
Second, the plywood was half-inch for the budget and the weight. The final construction had to be moved around the stage between scenes and to be quickly assembled by students. A 3/4 plywood construction though sturdy would be too heavy of a material to shove around the stage beyond the lifting off the roof for storage. The unfortunate downside of half-inch revealed itself when I sat on the doghouse—the top buckled. Along with this issue, the top did not have square butting ends to transfer the weight top down. The angled floating joints at the hinges allowed the top to slide in between the two slopes. I had hoped that the sloping sides would act as buttresses for the top. Adding a 2×3 made it a bit more rigid for weight and added another block stabilizing the roof and box sides.
And third, the length did not accommodate the width’s folded dimensions. This design mistake did not consider the entire collapsed structure in its final form. I only designed measurements for my cut list of two 4×8 plywood sheets. As a result, the short design did not completely fold into itself. There was nothing to successfully meet this without ruining the proportions of the roof to the sides; scaling up the whole design preventing an easy mount and dismounting; and a second materials run that would probably require twice the amount of plywood for a larger dog house.
I can’t be disappointed: going from a large box that supported three students on the top with room for one student to be a dog inside, and then tucking the whole assembly into a small space one-fourth its size was a decent accomplishment. Every project has a learning lesson. This one taught me to consider more planning.
