Screen door repair is a necessary task for homeowners. Screen doors take a beating after use by members of family, pets and facing harsh weather conditions. The good news is that screen door repair work is a relatively simple task and can be done by most homeowners who have the time and patience to make it happen. Here are a few tips for doing screen door repair in your home and saving yourself some cash in the process.
The first thing you will want to do in your screen door repair is to remove your screen door from the track and lay it flat. To protect the painted finish of the door, lay the screen door on top of plastic tarp or thick cardboard to prevent the finished portion from getting scratched up during your screen door repair project. Take the new screen material that you purchased, and stretch it out over the top of the old screening and be sure that you have enough to complete the task. If you do, then you are ready to move forward with your screen door repair and replacement project.
photo credit: aresauburn™
Take something with a sharp point, like an awl or a flathead screwdriver, to find the spot where the screen tucks into the door. Once you locate the seam, remove the old screen carefully by pulling it from the spline. Depending on the condition of the screen, you may not be able to remove the old screen in one fluid movement. Sun damage and the age of the screen can cause it to break into smaller pieces while you try to remove it. If you have an older sliding door, you may have a steel or aluminum spline. It is recommended that you replace these outdated splines with a new modern sliding door screen frame. Clean out the spline with a screwdriver or knife so there is no debris in the way when you complete your screen door repair.
Now you are ready to roll the new screen out over the top of the door frame. It will take some trial and error to determine how much tension you find necessary in the screen. It is better to cut a little bit extra of the screen and then trim it down later, than to not cut enough and have the screen be too short to complete the task. Once you have cut the proper amount of screen for the screen door repair, tuck it into the spline with your awl or screwdriver, ensuring that it is tight. You are now ready to rehang your screen door. When you are putting in a new screen, it is always advisable to check the condition of frame and tracks to determine if they too need to be repaired along with the screen door repair.
Performing a screen door repair is an unavoidable task of homeownership but one that can be completed with a little time and patience.