Patching Screens & Replacing Screens

      

SMALL SCREEN PATCHES:
Small holes in screening are easy to patch. In fact, some retailers sell screen patching kits.

For small holes in metal screening, try reworking the wire along the edge of the hole or tear back into the screening weave by using the tip of a nail, an ice pick, or a bradawl, if you own one. If this won't work, you can buy a short length of screening and cut a patch to overlap the hole. Be sure to buy the same type of metal for the patch job: aluminum to aluminum, copper to copper, galvanized steel to galvanized steel. Mixing metals sets up corrosion.

Cut a patch of metal screening to ft over the tear in the screening, plus 2 inches. Unravel the tiny strands of wire along the edge of the patch about 1/2 inch from each of the four sides. When you are finished, the patch will be surrounded by a series of tiny wires. Carefully bend the wires over at right angles to the patch. You may want to use a block of wood for this so the wires are straight and the bends form a sharp, clean line. Take your time; have patience.

Stick each individual wire through a hole in the screening until you've worked entirely around the patch. This, of course, takes lots of patience, so plan to spend the time. When you're finished, press the wires against the screening with a block of wood. The patch will be obvious until the new wire changes color through corrosion.

If the screening is fiberglass, cut a patch to cover the tear in the screening. It should overlap the tear about 1/2 inch on all four sides. With an upholstery needle and heavy thread, sew the patch to the screening, using the holes in the screening to guide the needle or thread.

Another way to patch fiberglass screening is with a "hot patch." Cut a patch to cover the tear in the screening plus a 1/2- to 1-inch overlap. Have a helper hold a board directly in back of the patching area while you apply the patch to the hole, cover the patching material with a cotton cloth, and press the cloth and patch with a hot iron. The heat will "fuse" the patch to the screening and the patch will blend in with the rest of the screening. If the screen can be removed and set on a flat surface, a helper isn't necessary. Just lay the screening over a board, and press on the patch, following the procedures above.

Screen patches are strictly a stopgap measure. Any damaged screening ought to be replaced especially if it is rusting metal.

REPLACING SCREENING:
To replace whole screen panels, first measure the frames of the screens to determine the width and the length of the screening material needed. The screening should overlap the frames about 1 inch to accommodate nails, staples, or splines.

Wood Frames-
Remove the screen molding around the wire and frame with a chisel or putty knife. Be careful not to split or break the molding so you can use it again. Pull any nails with pliers from the back side of the molding to help prevent splitting. The heads of nails come through it.

Remove the old screening, prying up the staples or nails with the tip of a putty knife or claws of a hammer. Pliers sometimes work best.

Cut the new screening to ft, using the edge of the screen frame as a straightedge to guide the knife. You also can use the old screening as a template.

With a staple gun, or hammer and tacks, fasten the screening to one end of the screen frame. Then lay the frame on a fat table surface.

Slip a length of 1X3 or 2X4 under both ends of the frame. Then clamp the center of the frame to the table with a C-clamp. If you have several clamps, clamp the ends of the frame, wood blocking, and table edge. This provides extra stability. The clamp in the center of the frame will produce tension in the frame. Don't screw down too much on the clamps. Just a little tension is all that's needed.

Now fasten the other end of the screening to the frame. Remove the clamps. When the clamps are removed, the frame will spring fat again, stretching the screening tight. Finish fastening the screening to the frame, and nail on the molding to complete the project. Spot paint any new nail heads to deter rust.

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