When you invited family and friends over for the July 4th holiday happenings at your place, your thoughts focused on fireworks, food and fun. A week later the fireworks are gone, the food forgotten and you?re not feeling so fun because the patio screen door is still off its track and the screen is gone missing. Well, you?ve had a week and now you?ve got to get things back on track.
Let?s start with getting the patio screen door rolling again. The screen door typically jumps the track for a couple main reasons: door fatigue, dirt, broken rollers, door too short to stay in place. The screen?s relatively fragile aluminum frame can take but so much reckless back and forth motion before quitting. The dirt, stones, leaves and other blow-ins that build up in the roller channel obstruct movement. The lightweight plastic rollers are not very durable and break down through use and fluctuating temperatures.
Getting Back on Track
While the door is off-line, vacuum and clean out the channel.
Check for loose hold-down screws in the channel and tighten.
Inspect the rollers at the top and bottom of the frame. Replace ones that are cracked. They come out easily with a screwdriver. Take one with you to the store to buy the equivalent replacement.
Test the fit of the screen door. If it rattles in place or tends to easily fall off the tracks it is likely too short. Increase the height by adjusting screws in the screen?s track ? usually two on top and two on the bottom. Turn the screws being careful not to let them all the way out.
Replacing the screen
You will need screen fabric, spline, a spline tool, scissors, butter knife.
Lay the screen flat. Remove the pull handle by removing the hold down screw. Use a flat knife or flat-tipped screwdriver to dig out the spline ? the gray or black thin cord that holds the screening in place. It may be crumbly if old but otherwise should pull up in one long string. Discard.
Lay the new screen fabric over the frame leaving a one inch border all around.
Press the spline into the screen grooves over the screen using the spline tool. Do the top and a side first.
For the remaining sides, pull the fabric taut while pressing the spline in the grooves.
Patching a hole in the screen
There are several ways to repair a hole in a screen: stick,weave or patch.
Stick method: Purchase precut patches that come pre-glued with a sticky back. Remove the damaged screen from the door or window frame and lay on a flat service. Apply the pre-glued patch over the hole.
Weave: Cut a patch of fiberglass screening. Unravel the strands at the edges of the patch and weave the strands through the screen over the hole. Bend the strands of the patch and glue in place.
Patch: For this more involved fix, you will need: fiberglass screen patch, a wooden popsicle stick, clear glue, utility knife, straight edge, magic marker.
With a magic marker draw a small square around the damaged area
Remove the damaged area by cutting out the square using a straight edge and sharp utility knife. Keep the repair hole as small as possible.
Cut a patch of fiberglass screen that extends about a 1 inch larger than the squared hole.
Put a piece of wax paper under the screen to prevent glue from sticking to the work surface. Center the patch over the hole, squeeze glue on the patch around the hole, and spread glue throughout the screen patch area with the popsicle stick.
Let it dry.
TIP
Keep kids and pets from damaging the door screen by screwing panels of fiberglass sheeting to the frame of the door inside and outside. Have the panel cut to fit the sweet spot of the door where children and pets tend to push for exit and entry. (see photo)
