After this happened, I calmly informed the customer if he wanted the windows with screens done, he would need to remove the screens. The guy lived 15 miles off the beatin path. Trying to break it off my guys screwdriver slipped and poked a hole in the screen So now we have to fix the screen. So I get permission to remove the locks (these took some kind of special tool we didn’t have obv) so the home owner said it was ok to just snap the little plastic lock. If someone wanted thru the window that bad, they would simply cut the screen. I convinced the customer the locks were not needed. We had one a couple weeks ago, couldn’t get it off, struggling with every screen. What kills me are the screens that have the little lock on them. Most customers understand and the ones that don’t aren’t my kind of customer anyways. Sometimes we pop the screen from the inside (works good for tight fitting screens) - Now and then one does break, I explain to them with age they become brittle and will break. That said, if I had many screens with holes in them, I'd gradually replace all the screens.I rarely touch them, i pull screens out with a putty knife Doesn't look wonderful, but it's only a bathroom screen and not too noticeable. It's worked well and held up for the past 8 years.

Since I couldn't easily get to the outside of a screen to use the pronged type, I used the type of mesh patch with adhesive on it. Another relative used some adhesive product which is what guy who will replace several screens seems to use. Just did multiple windows and seems easy to use but time will tell if good product.Īnyone have experience with products they like-wife had previously used something where you manually bend small 'prongs' to attach but didn't work well. Wife found a product called something like 'screen mend'.īasically the product looks like mesh with some sort of glue stuck into it and you apply to hole with ½ inch extra all around and use blowdryer to get it to stick to screen. Newly purchased home, wife is magnet for any biting bugs. This is an easy, inexpensive, and worthwhile DIY project. Lubricate all the window internal parts by spraying WD-40 on the internal assist springs and on the window friction points. You can also buy replacement screen frame internal corners online if yours are plastic and brittle. You can buy some short pieces of the spline at Lowes/Home Depot to make sure you know the correct size before you buy a large roll of the stuff. Also, if some screen areas are failing many other screen areas are close to failing due to age, sun exposure, etc., so it is best to replace them all. It will look much better than patching the screens. The diameter of a window spline is thinner than the diameter than the spline for a sliding door screen.Ģ) If you have tabs on the inside to pull the screen to up or to one side to pull it out, start my ordering the correct tabs The tool looks like a pizza cutter on both ends: one end has a round roller to push the mesh in the frame and the other end has a groove to put the spline into the slot.ġ) Make sure you get the correct sized diameter spline.

Replacing screen mesh is easy as long as you have to correct tool. I ordered it online at Lowes and waited my turn for my order to come in.

Everyone else had the same idea, because screen mesh and spline was hard to find. As a COVID project, I replaced all our screens mesh last spring.

Home depot window screens repaiur