Look out any window at dusk and you'll see why. Hundreds of hungry mosquitoes patiently searching for the inevitable tear in your screens that will lead to the beginning of their blood feast as you sleep -- or try to sleep.
All this is why basic screen repair skills are useful.
Modern screen frames are made of a factory-painted extrusion (usually white or brown) that includes several key features.
First of all, its hollow shape is made to accept preformed 90-degree aluminum or plastic corner clips that hold any four-sided frame together.
Another feature is the narrow groove found in one face. This groove is made to accept a flexible strip of rubber or foam called a spline. The spline is pushed into it with the mesh lying over top during installation.
The mesh is not only held firm by the spline, but the action of it sinking down into the aluminum channel as you push it into place automatically tightens the mesh, creating a sag-free installation. Take a close look at your own screen frames and you'll see all the parts.
Screen repair supplies, including corner clips and replacement splines, aren't common items on hardware store shelves, but that doesn't mean you can't get them.
The best place to start looking is at a shop specializing in screen repair. Large, national hardware outlets also list screen materials in their catalogues, but they might have to order them.
Aluminum frame extrusion is typically sold in 12-foot lengths, in case you need to replace any damaged frame parts. This stuff can be cut with any carbide blade in a chop saw or table saw.
Mesh is sold off rolls of a fixed width, typically starting at 24 inches wide and working up.
There are two kinds of window screen mesh: aluminum and Fiberglas. Fiberglas is the best option for home repair because it combines low cost and good looks. It's also flexible, making installation much easier. Although not as tough as aluminum, Fiberglas mesh easily lasts a dozen years with care.
Start mesh replacement work by grabbing one end of the old spline with a pair of needle-nose pliers, and pulling it out from all around the frame. Throw out the old mesh. Next, cut a piece of new mesh that's about four centimetres longer and wider than the inside dimensions of your frame.
Place the frame on a large, flat surface with its spline channel facing upwards. Place the mesh on top. The objective is to orient the mesh so the leaf is parallel to the sides of the frame, then preserve this orientation as the spline is installed and the mesh pulled tight.
All of this is easier than it sounds because the mesh is stretchable and can veer out of alignment as you work along one side. Steering the installation of mesh is all about pulling it one way or the other with your hands in that area that's just in front of the point at which the spline is being pushed into place.
Take a length of spline material in your off-hand and an installation wheel (or wide-bladed stubby slot screwdriver) in your dominant hand and begin to push the spline into the groove with the mesh underneath. You'll immediately see how this action draws the mesh down and acts to tighten it as installation progresses.
Continue to work your way around the frame, always being conscious to keep the squares of the mesh parallel to the sides of the frame. When you've splined your way back to the starting point, cut the excess spline material to length so it butts tightly against the end where you started.
Use a fresh utility knife blade to trim away the excess mesh that extends beyond the spline.
Any hope held by those patient mosquitoes has now been well and truly dashed.
Steve Maxwell is Canada's award-winning home improvement expert. Sign up for his free homeowner newsletter at www.stevemaxwell.ca.
--Canwest News Service
