Re-screening a door

[David Nebenzahl]

Asked this question in a thread up yonder but it apparently got overlooked.

I need to re-screen a screen door. Will probably use fiberglass (the aluminum screen has started disintegrating after only about 10 years). Wooden door with wood screen mold (about 1/4" thick).

I'm thinking of lining up the factory edge of the screen with the edge of the opening, stapling the screen to the door, getting it nice and tight, tacking on the molding, then trimming the excess screen from the other sides. Is this the best way to do this? I've never done this task before.

[dadiOH]

That's about the only way you *can* do it given what you have. Don't try to get the screen super tight though, just taut and smooth. What I do is...

Staple in center of one side, pull taut and staple in center of opposite side. Then work alternately on each stapled side from center to one side, repeat to other side; while doing so, you need to smooth and tighten in both planes at the same time. And give yourself plenty (1" - 2") of screen overlap on all edges, you are going to cut off the excess anyway. Once all sides are satisfactorily stapled, put on the molding and trim excess. _______________

The potential problem with this is that you wind up with many, many holes in the wood and that's a PITA when you have to re-screen. A better way if the door is thick enough is to cut a groove around all inside edges and insert an aluminum channel made for screens. With the aluminum, you can use a rubber spline to hold in the screen, makes it a snap to re-screen. The channels I'm talking about are only about 1/2" thick and maybe 3/4" wide; I held mine in with a bead of acrylic caulk in the groove.

[Steve B]

What I do is...

What I (emphasis on I) do, is get the channel, and then put the screen in with the little strip of rubber bulb. I know that this is not a possibility with all screens, but if you are handy, you can rout a groove for the extrusion.

Do it once, do it right.

As suggested by some nameless faceless yet intelligent fellow, don't stretch it too tight. And work from the middle outwards. Just like recovering a pool table.

Exactly the same only different.

Steve

[willshak]

David Nebenzahl wrote the following:

Have you taken off the wood screen mold yet? Is there a groove under the molding that will take a spline to hold the screen, or will the screen be held in place just with staples? You might try this method.

[aemeijers]

Last one of those I did, many years ago, the screen mold was the spline- it was T-shaped, and pushed the screen into the groove. Good thing it came off clean so I could reuse it. I think it was an oddball, though, based on the flat screen mold I see in the rack at the borg. I've never seen screen sticking past the screen mold though, on a factory door or pro rescreen. There must be some trick to folding or rolling it to get a clean edge. ISTR also seeing a few where the screen wrapped halfway around an inner frame that sat in a rabbit, and the screen mold held the whole mess in the door. That seems awful complex for a 'farmer' door, though.

I never was very good at rescreening- can never seem to get it taught and square. I'm not so hot at making beds, either.

[Larry W]

I have had good results with just putting an 1/8" groove directly in the wood and using a rubber screen spline like you find in commercially made storm windows and doors.