Shade Screen Replacement

Do-It-Yourself Screen Tips

How to do a shade screen replacement

If you have do-it-yourself questions or would like an estimate to have your screens redone just contact us.  We do shade screen work in Mesa, Arizona and the surrounding cities.  We also ship screen and screen supplies all over the U.S.

These photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

After you have removed the screens from your home you will need to find a flat place to work.  We work on a carpeted table.  The carpet protects the finish on the frames and working on a table is easier on the back and allows for more pressure to be applied to the roller when installing the spline.  Remove the old screen and examine the spline.  If it is dry and cracked it is best to replace it. We use all new spline whenever possible to create a nicer finished look.  The solar screen we are going to install into this frame is SunTex 80, made by Phifer.  This heavy duty shading fabric comes in several colors.  We will be using brown.

At times we do a lot of screens, so having a roller for the screen and spline comes in real handy.  This is not a must if you are just doing a few, but for a few dozen it would be worth your time.

Start by laying the screen out over the frame and cut the screen leaving a couple inches overhang all the way around.  Pick one side to start on and line the screen up with the outer edge of the frame.  It is very important to roll this first side in very straight.

We use a rolling device like the one pictured to roll the screen into the frame without the spline.  This seats the screen and makes rolling in the spline easier.  Next you start at one end and roll the spline into the grove over the screen.  We only partially seat the spline the first time over.  We use the sharper side of the roller to firmly seat the spline the second time across.

With the first side rolled you go to the center of the opposite side and pull the screen tight.  Start at this point and work both ways seating the screen into the groove.  Next you roll in the spline a couple of times until it is well seated.

Rolling the spline into the screen groove requires a lot of pressure, it's the hardest part of the shade screen replacement. Be very careful not to come out of the groove and cut the screen.  The same goes when trimming the excess screen with a razor blade.  We use a flat blade screw driver to seat the spline into the corners.

Now we do the top and bottom of the screen in the same way.  Some adjustment is usually needed in the corners to keep the screen tight.

Now it's time to very carefully trim away the excess screen.  Use a very sharp blade and be very careful.  It's a bad feeling to get this close to the end and cut the screen.

To find shade and solar screen contractors in your area try Service Magic.  If you are in the Mesa Arizona area Contact me for the best shade screen contractor information.

We hope the information about shade screen replacement was helpful to you.