Magnetic Screen Door | Window Screens | Screen Repair Kit

Most screen problems in an American house fall into a handful of types, and none of them should cost much to put right. A window with no screen. A screen with a hole in it. A screen door that slams, or will not stay shut, or that the dog has pushed through. This guide walks through each one, explains what the words on a product page mean, and tells you which part to buy, so the job gets done this weekend instead of next summer.

A door you want open all summer: magnetic screen doors

A magnetic screen door is a two-panel mesh curtain that hangs across a doorway on hook-and-loop tape, with magnets sewn down the center seam. Walk through and it closes behind you. It is the quickest screen fix there is: no frame, no hinges, no drilling, and it comes down in the fall. The single-door sizes are 38 by 82 inches and suit openings up to about 36 by 80 inches; the 72 by 80 inch size covers a French door or a double slider. More magnets and a reinforced edge mean a tighter seal in a breeze, and a fine 1 millimeter mesh keeps out gnats as well as flies. Measure the opening first, and if the door faces the wind, pick the heavier mesh.

A window with no screen: adjustable window screens

If a window has lost its screen, or never had one, an adjustable window screen is the fastest fix. It is a short aluminum frame with mesh that slides out sideways to the width of the opening. You open the window, set the screen in the gap, extend it until it touches both sides, and lower the sash onto it. No measuring to the eighth of an inch, no cutting and no drilling. In the fall it comes out and goes in a closet.

They come in fixed heights, usually 10, 15 or 18 to 20 inches, and a width range such as 21 to 40 inches. Measure your opening width first and pick a screen whose range covers it with room to spare. The height only needs to fill the part of the window you want open; a 10 inch screen in a window opened 10 inches works fine. Two-packs are the better buy if you have several windows the same size.

A note on fit. Adjustable screens suit double-hung and single-hung windows that open vertically, and the horizontal versions suit sliders. They rely on the sash holding them in place, so they are not a permanent screen and they will not suit casement windows that crank outward.

A screen with a hole in it: repair tape, patches and re-screen kits

A single hole or short tear does not need a new screen. Screen repair tape is a strip of fiberglass mesh with adhesive on one side. Cut a piece an inch bigger than the hole, press it on both sides, and the job is done. Patch sheets work the same way for a hole in the middle of a panel. Pick the color that matches your mesh, usually charcoal or gray, and it disappears from a few feet away.

If the mesh is brittle, sagging or torn in several places, re-screen the frame. A window screen repair kit gives you a sheet of fiberglass mesh, a length of spline (the rubber cord that holds the mesh in the frame groove) and a spline roller. Pull the old spline out, lay the new mesh over the frame, roll the spline into the groove on all four sides, and trim the excess. It takes about twenty minutes a frame the first time and ten after that. Check the mesh size on the kit against your largest frame, and check the spline diameter against the old one if you can; kits list both.

A screen door that slams or blows open: closers and chains

A screen door closer is the pneumatic tube that runs between the door and the jamb and pulls the door shut at a controlled speed. If yours has stopped working, the door either slams or drifts open, and replacing the closer is a ten-minute job with a screwdriver. Standard duty suits a light aluminum screen door. Heavy duty suits a glass storm door or a door that gets opened fifty times a day. Most have an adjustment screw for closing speed, and many have a hold-open washer or button so the door stays open while you carry groceries in.

A storm door chain and spring is the cheap insurance beside the closer. It stops a gust of wind throwing the door open past its hinge and tearing the closer bracket out of the frame. If your door faces the weather and does not have one, add it.

Pets: screen door flaps and pet-proof mesh

A pet screen door is a plastic frame with a flap that fits into the mesh of an existing screen door. You cut an opening to the size on the product page, fit the two halves of the frame through it and screw or clip them together. Choose the size by the flap opening and the weight limit the maker states, with the flap bottom at your pet's belly height. It is not a security device, and it does not keep insects out while the flap is swinging, but it does mean the dog stops asking to be let out.

If the problem is a cat that climbs the screen or a dog that leans on it, re-screen the door with pet-proof mesh. It is a thicker, vinyl-coated polyester weave that resists claws and pushing far better than standard fiberglass, and it installs exactly the same way with spline and a roller. It lets slightly less light through, which most people do not notice on a door.

The garage: a magnetic garage door screen

A garage door screen turns the garage into a screened porch. It is a mesh panel sized for the whole opening, fixed across the top and down the sides with hook-and-loop strips or screws, with magnets down the center seam that close behind you when you walk through. With the garage door up you get air and daylight for the workbench, the home gym or the kids' rainy-day play, and the mosquitoes stay out. The ones we stock cover a standard two-car opening of 16 by 7 feet. Measure your opening before you order, and check that nothing on the ceiling track will foul the top of the screen.

Building a screen from scratch: frame kits

When a frame is bent or missing, or a window has an odd size no stock screen fits, build one. A window screen frame kit gives you lengths of aluminum frame, four corner pieces and usually spline. Cut the frame to size with a hacksaw, push the corners in, then roll in mesh from a repair kit. Frame comes in standard profiles, most commonly 5/16 by 3/4 inch, and the kit length needs to be at least as long as your biggest side. Kits for two screens are the better value if you have more than one to make.

Reading a product page

Every product on this site lists the sizes and contents as the manufacturer publishes them: height and width range for a screen, mesh and spline length for a kit, duty rating for a closer, flap size and weight limit for a pet door, opening size for a garage screen, and frame length and profile for a kit. Where a maker states the country of origin, we show it. Where they do not, we leave it out rather than guess. If a detail you need is missing, email us before you order and we will check.

Your buying checklist

Decide what the problem is: no screen, torn screen, slamming door, pet, garage or odd size. Measure the opening, in inches, twice. Match the measurement to the size range on the product page. Check the fixing method and whether you need a screwdriver or drill. Pick a two-pack if you have more than one to do. Then order, knowing you have 14 days to change your mind if it is still in the packaging.

The short version

Open doorway: magnetic screen door, measure the opening. No screen: adjustable screen, measure the width. Hole: repair tape. Sagging mesh: re-screen kit. Slamming door: closer, plus a chain if it faces the wind. Pet: flap door, or pet-proof mesh if they tear it. Garage: magnetic screen for a 16 by 7 opening. Odd size: frame kit. Measure twice. Everything we sell lists the sizes.