Replacing Your Backyard Screen Door
Screen doors effectively extend your indoor space into your back patio or backyard – allowing you to enjoy the benefits of the outdoors without letting in mosquitos or other flying pests into your home. Screen doors also do not typically require much more maintenance than ensuring the track and rollers are kept clean and unobstructed. However, after enduring a few years of weathering due to multiple seasons, you may end up finding that your screen has become brittle – making it more prone to ripping.
Today we’ll discuss how to properly replace your screen door using screen, screening spline, and a spline installation tool.
Tools Required to Replace Your Screen Door
So maybe you’ve started your spring cleaning before you’ve come to realize your screen door is in dire need of replacement. Luckily replacing your screen door is something is a DIY project you can take care of over a weekend. Before you begin, you’ll need the following tools to ensure you can complete this project effectively:
· Screen: be sure to purchase enough screen to overlap with the doorframe.
· Screening Spline: you’ll also need new spline, which is the material that will hold the screen in place
· Spline Installation Tool: the spline installation tool will secure the spline, ensuring that the screen is held tightly in place
· Screwdriver: you’ll use the screwdriver to help with the removal of old spline
· Scissors: for cutting the new spline to fit in the frame of the screen door, and for cutting excess
The Process of Replacing Your Screen Door
1. Remove Your Screen Door
The first step is to remove your screen door by lifting the sliding screen until the rollers are able to clear the track, then pull the bottom of the screen door out before pulling the top of the door out of the frame.
2. Remove the Spline Framing the Screen
Be sure to remove the old spline by lifting it up with a screwdriver. Once you have removed the old spline, you should be able to also remove the old screen.
3. Place the New Screen
Now that you’ve gotten rid of the old screening spline and screen, it’s now time to place the new screen over the frame of the door. Using your scissors, ensure that the screen extends just beyond 2 inches of the screen frame.
4. Press the New Spline into Place
Now use your spline installation tool – it looks similar to a pizza cutting tool – to press the new spline into the door frame. Be sure to stretch your screen out thoroughly – you don’t want any loose screen when your door is propped back into its tracks.
5. Cut the Excess and Re-Secure Your Screen Door
Finally, cut any excess screen on the outside of the screen door. Once you’ve gotten rid of the excess, you can then re-secure your completed work back into its tracks. Be sure not to re-secure the screen door upside down.
Purchase High-Quality Spline from Alcot Plastics
Alcot Plastics provides high-quality foam spline, perfect for securing the screen on your screen door. Our spline seamlessly aids in securing your windows and doors in place, and are durable enough to survive the wear and tear caused by seasonal weathering. With over 36 years of business, you can rest assured knowing we are fully capable of providing you will foam spline solutions while still maintaining a higher standard of customer service. Give us a call today for all your screening spline needs!
