How to Repair a Patio Door Screen
Patio screen doors can become damaged and need repair for a variety of reasons. Kids, pets and just the elements themselves can all wreak havoc with a screen door. However, if the screen in your door is damaged it can be easily replaced. Repairing a torn or damaged screen is essential in order to keep bugs from entering your home.
Two types of screen are used in screen doors, aluminum and fiberglass. No matter which type of screen is in your door, the removal of the damaged screen and replacement of the new piece is fairly easily accomplished.
Supplies
- Screen patch kit (Aluminum or Fiberglass)
- Sharp Scissors or utility knife
- Contact Cement
- Yard stick, for a straight edge
- Pliers
Aluminium Screens
- Trim the hole in your screen into a square or rectangle. Use your utility knife and straight edge to do this. Do not make the hole larger than your patch.
- Remove the aluminum patch from the repair kit.
- Place it on the exterior the screen door.
- Attach the wire hooks on the replacement screen around the perimeter of the repaired area by sliding them through the screen.
- Secure the hooks on the interior of the screen by bending them flush with the screen with your pliers. This is important, as it is the mechanism for keeping the repair patch in place.
Fiberglass Screens
- Trim the hole in your screen into either a square or rectangle shape. Use the straight edge and the scissors for this operation. Do not make the hole bigger than the patch contained within your kit. The patch piece at a minimum should be one inch larger around the entire perimeter of the hole.
- Take out your fiberglass screen repair patch from the kit. Carefully remove the protective covering from the adhesive on the back of the patch.
- Place the patch over the hole and press evenly into place.
- The patch can be applied on either the interior or exterior area of the screen.
- Glue around the edges of the fiberglass patch with the contact cement applicator, to add extra reinforcement to the repaired piece.