How To Repair Aluminum Screen Door

• Doors & Windows

How To: Repair a Screen Door in 5 Like shooting fish in a barrel Steps

To replace a patio door screen, you don't demand to exist an expert repair man. The job involves only inexpensive and readily available tools and materials.

Photograph: istockphoto.com

I don't mind the squirrels taking their plow at the bird feeder, but our domestic dog seems to accept developed a personal vendetta against the creatures. She's so vehemently opposed to squirrels that she managed to rip right through the mesh screen on the patio door, leaving a large gaping pigsty in the bottom 3rd.

Not merely was this hole unsightly, only the warmer weather means that mosquitoes, flies, and gnats are active. Replacing the screen rapidly moved to the height of the priority list. Luckily, it's an easy projection to DIY! Read on to learn how to repair a screen door.

Tools & Materials

• Screen
• Spline
• Spline roller
• Screwdriver
• Needle-nose pliers
• Pliers
• See full listing «
• Utility pocketknife

Step i: Remove the screen door from the door frame.

The first step was removing the screen door from the frame. Since the unabridged door slides on flexible rollers, I lifted the frame upwardly until the lesser edge of the rollers could clear the lip, then tilted the door out from the bottom.

The adjacent stop was the hardware store, where I found a somewhat daunting array of materials and supplies. There are basically ii types of replacement screen material—wire and fiberglass. Both are sold in rolls and offered in either black, white, or charcoal shades.

The primal materials and tools, including screening, spline, and spline roller.

At that place are also a couple of specialty fabrications, including wire mesh with smaller holes designed to block out "no-see-ums" and a heavier-duty fiberglass "pet" selection.

Although our quondam screen was wire, I decided to try the pet-friendly fiberglass. The standard patio-door-size roll measures 36×84″, although both larger and smaller rolls are available.

The next choice was in screen spline—flexible tubing that holds the screen in place. Sold in rolls and available in dissimilar widths and two colors, the spline inserts between the screen mesh and a narrow groove along the edge of the door frame. I chose the narrowest gauge, because the pet mesh was a thicker screen and I wanted to brand sure that it would fit deeply in the existing groove.

Before I began piece of work, at that place was i more specialized tool that I needed—a spline roller, the tool I would utilise to fit the spline into the groove of the door (available on Amazon). For a small job or single use, the plastic version is fine; if you have multiple door and window screens to supervene upon, you lot may desire to purchase the wooden tool.

Armed with my materials, I headed home and assembled a few more than tools, including a skinny regular screwdriver, needle-nose pliers, regular pliers, and a utility knife with a fresh blade.

RELATED: The Best Retractable Screen Doors for the Home

Stride 3: Remove the existing spline and thoroughly clean the door.

I inserted the tip of the screwdriver in 1 corner of the door frame and pried out the onetime spline material with the pliers, existence careful not to bend the metallic edges of the groove. Once I had removed the erstwhile spline and the ripped screen, I thoroughly cleaned the door frame.

Photo: istockphoto.com

STEP four: Use a spline roller to button the replacement spline and screen into the door groove.

I unrolled the new fiberglass screen onto the door, making certain to overlap all of the edges. Then, starting at ane corner, I used the concave finish of the spline roller to gently push button the spline and screen into the metal groove.

Earlier I'd gone likewise far though, I realized the mesh wasn't going in evenly. And so I carefully pulled out the spline and screen, re-seated the screen on the frame, and tried again. This time I put lightweight clamps on the corners to concur the screen in place and placed my costless paw firmly on the frame to keep the mesh from shifting.

RELATED: And so, You Want to… Screen In a Porch

Step five: Trim away excess screen textile and re-install the door in the frame.

Once I had the spline and screen in place on all four sides, I used the convex end of the spline roller to firmly push button everything into place and, using the utility knife, I trimmed the backlog screen material. I replaced the screen door on the frame and sat downwardly with a cool iced tea to enjoy the fresh spring breezes.

Source: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/replacing-patio-door-screen/

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