Retractable Screen DoorsRetractable screen doors are a great choice for main entrance doors where you dont like the look of a storm door but still want to have air circulation during the times you leave the door open. Phantom screen doors pull out from the side just like a window blind. They lock closed with a magnetic catch so you can leave the main door open and allow air to come in. Since the screen is held tight by spring pressure they can tolerate a person or a pet walking into it without breaking. Well most of the time. In normal use these screens will work fine So long as fido does not see a squirrel and blast through it like an express train the retractable screen door will spring back into place. Retractable screen doors are held on by only a few screws and they are not a difficult project to install by the do-it-your-selfer. So long as you have a door for which the retractable screen door was designed, you will be fine. One drawback to these doors is that if the screen ever does get ripped, you generally have to return it to the manufacturers premises to get it repaired. This could be a problem if the manufacturer is not local or worse, goes out of business. With the increasing popularity of these doors, more local glass shops may take an interest in stocking parts and taking on repair jobs for them. Tips for Purchasing a Retractable ScreenBuying a replacement screen roll from the manufacturer at the same time you buy the retractable door is a good idea. One problem with retractable doors is they generally have to be repaired by the maker. If you have a spare roller, when the screen eventually gets ripped, you have options. You can reinstall the spare roller yourself, or have the factory or a glass shop do it for you. Without a replacement, you might be faced with shipping a broken roller hundreds of miles to the manufacturer. It might actually cost more to ship the roller back and forth than the repair cost.
InstallationInstalling retractable screen doors on a single main entry door is not really a difficult task. The only things you have to be sure of is that these doors require a flat level uninterrupted surface for mounting.Thats not always the case with your typical home front door. The frames may be warped and out of level. Your door sill may stick out in front of the front door frame or it may be behind it. In either case you will need a "sill adapter" from the retractable door manufacturer so that his door will fit your frame. Once you have a perfectly flat uninterrupted plane to mount on all you have to do is hang the main retractable door tube using 2 or 3 screws on the hinge side of the door. You have to hang this as parallel as possible to the existing door frame. Once the tube is hung, mount one upper guide rail with 2 or 3 screws. Use a carpenters square to get the rail perfectly square to the tube. This is the most critical step. If the guide rails are not perfectly square to the tube, the retractable screen will bind. It willl not operate properly. Once the upper rail is attached, you can mount the lower rail and open the screen door to bring the lower rail into the correct position. Screw the lower door rail in place as you open the screen door more and more to the fully closed position.
Click the link for information on retractable screens for french doors Click the Retractable Screen Doors link to get back to the home page Any homeowner can build their own screen door Some information about the Screen Tent How does an automatic pet door work and is it practical? Some information about the Screen Roller Solar tint vs Window screen Some information about Window Screen Replacement Help with your new patio room enclosure Screen King
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