Sliding Patio Screen
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One of the problems with screen doors is that they need to be cut to the specific height of your patio door. Unfortunately there is no such thing as a standard door height.
Hi Rise Apartment Screen Doors
One advantage of a hi-rise condominium or townhouse complex is that, by and large, all the screen sizes are the same. There are some differences. On some hi-rise condo's, one or more of the floors may have a different door height. Often this is the first floor or the top floor.
Townhouse Screen Doors
In a townhouse complex, there may often be units with two different door widths of patio door. As well, Many townhouse complexes have french doors instead of the traditional aluminum sliding doors. These french doors often use sliding screen doors.
Over time, the constant closing of the french door makes the door creep outward and start rubbing on the screen door. The screen door gets harder and harder to open and finally does not work at all.
What to look for in a sliding patio screen door
The picture shows an example of a piece of rollformed sliding patio screen door frame. This is the less costly form of screen door frame that many builders use on new homes. You want to avoid rollformed screen door frames if you are buying a sliding patio screen door replacement.
Rollformed screen doors are inexpensive but they are also flimsy. They wont stand up to someone walking into the screen, they will usually bend. It's next to impossible to fix a badly bent rollformed screen door.
Rollformed screen doors are most often made of aluminum. The aluminum used in rollforming is usually quite thin and bends easily. By forming the aluminum into the shape shown in the picture it makes it stronger but the aluminum is still so thin it does not hold screws very well and does not hold its grip when the corners are installed which hold the door together.
There are some rollformed screen doors that are made from steel. This gives a great improvement in strength but it does make the door heavier. A steel rollformed door needs ball bearing rollers to support its weight. Usually steel rollformed doors just come with plastic rollers which wont last too long.
In order to get around the problem of having to custom fit each screen door to the patio door height, some rollformed door companies are using an adjustable plastic "shoe" at the bottom of the screen door. There are long slots in the shoe with screws which you tighten after you have adjusted the shoe to the correct height.
The problem with this system is the "shoe" often catches on part of your patio door when you try to open the screen door. The shoe also has only room for the cheapest of plastic rollers which have no springs to keep them on the track as the door opens.
The extruded patio screen door frame sample shown in the graphic is the style of frame you do want to buy. These use more aluminum and are more costly but they are much stronger than rollformed screen door frames. The strength comes from the thicker aluminum and the design of the screen frame itself.
Extruded aluminum sliding patio screen door replacement frames also stand up to someone walking through the screen door a lot better. Usually the worst that happens is the whole door just pops out and you have to put it back on again.
Extruded screen doors are usually supplied with much better rollers which have springs to keep the rollers on the track as the door opens. The extra strength and stiffness of the door holds brackets and corners much better. The thicker aluminum also allows room for locks to be installed.
My kits are shipped "knocked down" ready for assembly. This means they are pieces and you have to assemble them yourself. Assembly is easy though, just 4 rails to join together and screen cloth that you roll in with the included screen roller.
If you would like a sliding patio screen door replacement quotation just measure your existing door, or door opening and fill in the form below. Dont know what your dimensions should be? Just estimate them, the form will still give you a price and will also give you instructions on how to measure your door more accurately.
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