Copper Screen

Copper screen cloth was a material used in screen porches and window screens in the 1940's and 1950's. Copper was used for its gold like appearance when newly installed. Many people like the green tinge it acquires as gets older and starts to oxidize. Copper was a luxury in the past and still is today. Copper is a valuable commodity and so screening made from it costs ten to fifteen times what regular screen cloth would.

Copper screening is a little easier to work with than steel screening but still will wear your utility knife out quickly. It can easily be cut with hand or powered shears. In traditional screen porches the material would be stapled up against wooden framing and then the stapled edges covered with decorative moulding. Newer methods could be used though and copper cloth could be installed in regular screen frames. This should be done on a table where the frame can be clamped square, to prevent the cloth from bowing the sides of the frames in.

The copper material will easily crease so care must be taken in storing the material so it remains flat. As mentioned the material will start to form a layer of oxidation as it is exposed to the weather. Eventually the material will corrode through so the material will not last as long as stainless or epoxy coated steel screen cloth. The greenish appearance of the oxidized copper appeals to many though, which makes it a good choice for century-old homes where period appearance is important.

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