Sliding door screen repair is not difficult. Like everything else it's just something that requires practice. Just remember - practice on your neighbours door first ! - Just Kidding !
If you have already removed your sliding door screen, lay it down on a flat surface with lots of room around you. Screen repair shops use a 4' x 8' table often covered with carpeting to protect the screen doors painted finish. If you have no suitable table, lay the screen door on the ground on top of sheets of cardboard to prevent getting the screen door frame scratched or marked .
If you have purchased your screen material, make sure you have enough before you pull out the old screen cloth from the door. Take a strong sharp pointed pin, (I use an awl), and poke around in each corner of the door to find the end of the spline, lever it out of the channel, and grab it it with your fingers and pull it all the way out.
The video below shows a small screen being repaired. The only difference with a big patio door screen is that its better to use spring clamps to hold the screen cloth onto the frame, but the rest of the technique shown here is the same.
Sometimes you wont be able to pull the spline out in one continuous length. It will keep breaking. Exposure to the sun leaves plastic spline brittle and inflexible. In those circumstances, you may have to use a utility knife to cut through the spline all around the spline channel until the spline disintegrates or comes free in small pieces.
An Older sliding door screen may have aluminum or even steel spline. Aluminum spline can be pried out easily enough but it cannot be reused, so be sure you have the right diameter plastic spline on hand to replace it.
Steel spline can be reused but its probably easier to consider having new modern sliding door screen frames made to replace the old steel spline frames.
You need at least 84" of cloth to repair the average screen door. The width of the cloth should be a few inches wider than your door. Common widths are 30", 36" and 48"
You can now remove the screen cloth which should come out in one piece. Once you have removed the cloth, use a flat blade screwdriver to clean out the spline channel so that when you roll in new spline there will be no obstructions.
Sliding door screen frames have a tendency to cave in a little when the material is rolled in. Window screen frames may need to have the sides bowed out by perhaps one quarter inch to compensate for the tension of the material. Many screen doors are already bowed or cambered in the factory. Part of the skill required in screen repair is to know how much tension to put on the cloth as you roll it in, so as not to bow in the frame. If you are using fiberglas cloth, you can usually pull out the spline and start over untill you get it right. More practice is required to get aluminum cloth in properly as you cant pull it out and start over. You can clamp the door sides to a repair table to prevent them from being cambered in.
The time before you roll the screen is also a good time to check the frame and the screen door rollers or glides. Check to see if they adjust up and down when the screws are tightened or released. Many rollers can only be serviced by disassembling the frame. So repair them now before spending any time re-screening.
If you find the frame is beyond repair you may want to buy a new screen door.
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If the rollers are working well, lay the new cloth across the frame and use spring clamps to attach the cloth to the frame at each of its four corners. On one long side, attach a spring clamp at the center point of the sliding door screen frame. Release the clamp on the lower left corner and use a flat bladed screwdriver to push new spline into the spline channel on top of the new cloth.
Then switch to a screen roller, first rolling the new cloth into the spline channel and then rolling in the new spline. If the screen cloth is aluminum wire you will have to roll it in using gentle pressure to avoid tearing the screen cloth. Keep the cloth slightly taught ahead of the roller with one hand while rolling with the other. Not too tight or the tension in the cloth will bend the screen frame.
When you come to a corner you will need to remove the clamp at that corner just before rolling the material in. Then use the flat blade screwdriver to push in the cloth and spline in the area of the corner. As soon as you have enough room, start using the roller again. Continue in this manner untill you have rolled the cloth in all the way around.
Take a tape measure now and check to see if the frame width in the center is the same as on either end. If it is narrower, and you have used fiberglas screen, you can pull out the spline on the long side and re roll with less tension.If you have used aluminum screen, big problem, you will need to redo with a new piece of screen cloth.
If you are satisfied with the job, take a utility knife and cut away the excess screen material being extremely careful not to nick the good material !!!
Congratulations - You have just rescreened your first sliding door screen !
Does your patio door have any missing or broken parts?, click on
Patio Door Latch
for help with missing parts.
