Dear James: We have a dog and kids that have damaged the door screen and some window screens, which are supposed to keep out mosquitoes. What is the easy way to repair or replace the screens?—Cindy N.
Dear Cindy: As you have found, damaged window and door screens are not only unsightly, but they also allow hungry mosquitoes and other insects to get indoors. Doing the screen repair or replacement yourself is not difficult, and it takes less than an hour.
You can take your window and door panel screens to most hardware and home center stores to have the screening replaced, but if you want to save a few dollars, do it yourself. Screening can be repaired with special kits or with an old piece of matching screening.
For screens with just a small hole, dab on a blob of clear epoxy, which is invisible when cured. For holes 2 inches or less, purchasing a ready-made patch is the simplest repair method. The patch piece should be about 1/2 to 1 inch larger than the hole to be repaired.
A square screen patch has a screen center section with open strands sticking out on the sides. You can make your own screen patch by unweaving a few rows on the outside edges to get the open strands. Bend the strands at 90 degrees and push them through the screening over the hole. Bend them back out, and the patch is fixed to the screen.
If you have a dog, the screens are probably well beyond repair with a patch and must be replaced. This is also true of old galvanized steel screens that have become rusty. Once rust is present, you will just waste your time trying to clean and repaint it. It will just rust through again quickly.
The key to a professional-looking rescreening job is to make the screen very taut. It should be as taut a drum, so a penny will bounce if you drop it on the rescreened frames. With medium-sized wooden window and door frames, the wedge-and-cleat method is best. For larger doors, the bow method is most effective.
To use the wedge-and-cleat method, first cut a piece of screening 1 inch wider than the frame and 1 foot longer. Standard household screening with a mesh of 18-by-14 inches will work well. Staple the screen in place along the bottom of the frame.
Make two cleats with 1-by-2-inch wood slightly wider than the window frame. Put the 1-foot overlap of screen between them and nail them together through the screen. This overlap and cleat will be cut off later. Using 1-by-4 wood, cut two long, triangular wedge pieces to the width of the frame.
Place the frame, with the screen stapled to it, and the cleats on a flat surface. Place the wedges, from either side, between the cleats and the frame. As you slide the wedges in across one another, they will push the cleats away from the frame, drawing the screen taut. Staple it in place.
For larger frames, place 2-by-4s on top of two sawhorses. Clamp the frame, in the middle of each long side, to the 2-by-4s. Gently push 2-by-4 blocks under each end of the frame to bow it. Staple the screen to each end of the frame. Release the clamps. When the frame straighten again, it will stretch the screen taut.
It is simple to rescreen metal frames. Pry out the old spline (cording that fits in the groove) and buy a replacement one. Also buy an inexpensive spline tool to match the spline width. Lay the new piece of screen over the frame and push it into the groove. When the spline is forced in, it will pull the screen taut.
