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Who knows how to install a screen?

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mpire

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Nov 21, 2008
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Florida
I am stuck, I am trying to install screens onto a small porch. I have the groove, its basically .160 deep and wide, and the screen is regular vinyl screen. Do I need cord that is 0.160 or do I get hte slightly larger size of 0.175 so it can get jammed in there?

I have asked around, searched the web, and no one seems to have any information. Plus there are a LOT more sizes of cords.

If you have a clue, then lay it on me because I don't.
 
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nadogail

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Your cord and the screening material get jammed into the groove in the screen frame stock.
If the cord just fits without the screen it should be the correct size with the screen added.
 
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bb29510

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lay the screen out, intall the cord on one end, so you start the cord and when you pull on the cord, it get smaller by strecthing, then you poke it in the groove with the roller. go to the other end and pull the screen taught but not tight, not supper tight, and do the same with the cord.
go to sides, do one side then the other, thats it
 
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mike93lx

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I did a screen room door and it pissed me off enough to hire out the next repair. That was way less frustrating and not expensive.

Be careful with the roller tool. If you come off the cord, it will cut the screen, and usually on the last side after you already burned through all of your material large enough for the opening.
 
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N_Jay

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Step 1 buy a roll of screen
Step 2 buy a package of cord
Step 3 buy a roller tool
Step 4 throw away the miscut and torn pieces of screen, the cut up cord and the broken tool
Step 5 take them to the window and screen shop to be done.
 
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earl84

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It's not that hard once you get it down. Absolutely need the roller tool or you will lose your mind. One tip to not get it too tight and bend the frame inward, is to lay something in the middle of the screen to weight it down. book, brick, whatever. Then when the spline pulls the screen into the groove, it is perfect tension.
 
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bb29510

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when you poke the cord the screen will tighten up, so dont get it too tight or it will rip the screen
 
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rayra

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jetnow1 said:
the quality of the roller tool makes a big difference, the 3.99 tool will frustrate you to no end.
Click to expand...
Not true. Matters how you use it, though. Do not run the 'pizza wheel' against where the inboard screen wraps over the frame edge or you will effectively scissor-cut the screen material. Once you learn that, Learn to angle the tool correctly and how to apply proper pressure, the tool doesn't matter. And a more expensive tool doesn't help if the technique is poor.
And typically the wheels on each end are sized differently, use the correct end.
 
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The Cobbler

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1709444675185.jpegI've done hundreds of screens when i was contracting repairs & maintenance . I have a couple of these rollers and they do make a huge difference in the job as far as I'm concerned .
as far as spline size, I always had several rolls of diameters , and got to know what I needed where, I never really measure the groove, just went by feel, and how tight it sat in the groove.
 
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mpire

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PCustoms said:
Assuming you screwed your decimal up, get the .160.

That cord plus screen is sized for a .160 groove
Click to expand...
Yes, I screwed up my decimal, thanks for the confirmation. I have been looking everywhere for this.
 
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LOW1

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The secret to happiness is to have a flat table to work on And a way to keep the new screen stretched. Clamp down the frame. Stretch and secure the new screen. Stapling it to a 2x4 and dropping it off the edge of the table works.
 
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gleman

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Michigan And Florida too!
I feel your pain @mpire .

Until I got the hang of doing my Lanai screens, it was very frustrating.

I got a set of clips to hold the screen in place while setting the spline in the rebate. I'm sure there something like those for window screens.

In my neck of the woods Ace Hardware has a drop off service for screens that's reasonable.
 
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PCustoms

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It's been a while since I've had to do one, but I seem to recall the budget grade lightweight frames were flexible and made it harder. Pretty sure I used a block of wood and some spring clamps.

I had a bird fly through one of my screens this winter, giant tear in it. Might just drop that one off depending on $$
 
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nadogail

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LOW1 said:
The secret to happiness is to have a flat table to work on And a way to keep the new screen stretched. Clamp down the frame. Stretch and secure the new screen. Stapling it to a 2x4 and dropping it off the edge of the table works.
Click to expand...
Screen Shops use large carpet covered tables, half a Ping Pong table is ideal.
 
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CJ7VFR

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bb29510 said:
when you poke the cord the screen will tighten up, so dont get it too tight or it will rip the screen
Click to expand...
I have had this happen to me as well. The screen gets too tight and rips along the edge of the metal frame.

The other thing that happens is that if the screen is too tight and put the cord in and it gets even tighter (without ripping the screen) the two sides of the metal frame can start to bow inwards, kind of making the frame look like an hour glass.

This happened to the two frames for the screens in the storm door in our breezeway. I was replacing the screens and I thought maybe I was holding them too tight around the frames before I pressed in the cord, but I kept going anyway.

When I was done I thought good, nothing ripped. Then I cut off the excess screen material and got everything ready to put back in the storm door. That is when I noticed that both of the frames now bowed in slightly towards the center. I was like WTF is that? I tried to push the frames outward to fix it, but the screen was just too tight to stretch. I had used the vinyl screen material too, so I thought it might stretch a bit to fix the issue. Nope.

It is still like that to this day, 5 years later. I just took out the glass panels and put the screens into that storm door today because it is warm here in NJ today, and my wife wanted to air out the house.

I keep telling myself that I will replace the screens to get rid of that stupid bowing inward of the frames, but then I think what the hell, I might as well wait until the pets or the kids rip thru the screens and then I have to do it.

Jim
 
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Skyman

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I built six window screens just last week, and have done more in the past. It's really not difficult. If the screens are for tall double-hung windows, you can fabricate a horizontal spreader bar that will be behind the window sash frames and will keep the sides from bowing inward excessively. This spreader will basically hide behind the sash frames (upper frame of inner sash, lower frame of outer sash). I had to do this on the six I built last week, in order to minimize the bowing, while allowing for acceptable tension of the screens. It worked out well.
 
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gahrajmahal

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Cincinnati, Ohio
If I wasn’t sure of the cord diameter even when I had a piece of the old one with me I’d just buy multiple sizes. I would purposely make a nice neat cut in the package and pull out the cord. If it wasn’t correct I’d return it for a refund.

Repairing screens is a fun skill to have!
 
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mpire

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Nov 21, 2008
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Florida
Thanks to everyone who chimed in with responses, nadogail was first with the right answer.
The groove was .160 and the cord was .160 and it seems to be more than enough with the addition of the screen to fill the groove.

I rattle-canned all the aluminum tracks and then replaced the screen. It was absurdly easy, I think trimming the excess screen off with a razor blade was the hardest part.

Its great that we have so much collective experience that I can tap into when I need help.
 
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