How to Change the Screen on a Roll Down Screen Door

Roll down screen doors are typically found on semi-enclosed porches or patios. The screen normally rests in a housing located in the ceiling until needed. To use the screen, all that’s required is to pull it from its housing, roll it down the frame located along the sides of the porch or patio then lock it onto a knee wall or the floor of the space. In the open position, the screen is prone to the same types of tears as any other screen; and while you could sew or tape the tear closed, your best repair option is to simply replace the screen inside the frame.

Work gloves
Small flat head screwdriver
Tape measure
Fiberglass or aluminum screen
Utility knife
Screen installation tool
Screening spline

Instructions

- 1
  Put on a pair of work gloves to avoid cutting your hands on the edges of the sharp screen material.
- 2
  Extend the screen door fully from the ceiling and engage the locking mechanism to hold it securely in place.
- 3
  Use a small flat head screwdriver to pull the screening spline -- the cord-like material that surrounds the frame interior -- from the wall of the frame to access the screen edge inside the gap that runs around the perimeter of the frame.
- 4
  Pull the screen free of the door frame.
- 5
  Measure the screen door frame with a tape measure. Transfer these measurements to a sheet of fiberglass or aluminum screen. Outline the screen with a marker and a straightedge to create a square the size of the screen door's dimensions. Use a utility knife with the straightedge, as a guide, to cut through the screen along the marked lines.
- 6
  Place the cut screen over the frame. Run the wheel on the end of a screen installation tool over the screen along the gap on one of the sides of the screen frame to push the screen inside. Place the end of the screening spline cord at the top of the side of the frame and run the tool over the spline, pushing it into the frame gap as well. Make sure that the spline you’re using is the same diameter as the gap width.
- 7
  Fill the frame with the screen at the bottom, the other side then the top of the frame. Pull the screen fabric tightly over the frame face then push the screen into the frame gap followed by the spline. Cut the spline, after you fill the top of the frame, with the utility knife.
- 8
  Place the straightedge onto the frame face over the excess screen then cut the excess away. Use the straightedge to keep the cut straight and flush with the frame body. Discard the excess screen, unlock the screen door then roll it back into its housing on the ceiling.

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