I'm going to tell you how you can construct an inexpensive screen door with looks equal to a 0 screen door. This article is based on experience and it will guide you through each step.
The Background:
EXTERIOR DOORS
My wife recently asked me to go buy a screen door to fit on the door leading into our back yard. We have four dogs that love to be outdoors but we found that they were constantly going in and out of the back yard, treading dirt through our living room! Also we were getting lots of flies, moths etc coming in if we left the door open.
The Requirement:
I knew I needed a timber framed screen door to match the feel of our house exterior, I also needed it to look good and have a strong mesh to withstand the battering our dogs would impose upon it.
The Materials:
1/ I found a 32" wide natural wood screen door with black mesh and a reinforced lower half (perfect for dogs) I got mine from Home Depot and it was less than .
2/ I then bought two stylish black metal door handles and a set of three 1/2" wide hinges.
3/ To finish the door I bought a satin finish red exterior paint and grey primer.
4/ I bought an inexpensive screen door spring closer with two hook screws to ensure the door automatically closes after opening. Approx
The materials total came to approx , all that was left to do now was assemble and hang the screen door.
I noticed that the vinyl finished aluminum screen doors cost anything up to 0 and did not look aesthetically good at all.
The Assembly:
1/ First step was to unscrew the border holding the mesh screens in place and paint the bare wooden frame. I gave the door a single coat of the grey primer and two coats of the red exterior paint. It was already looking great!
2/ Before refitting the mesh screens I measured out three equidistant points along the spine of the door and chiseled out the sections where the hinges would be placed. This was easily achieved with a 1/2" wide sharp chisel. I cut the hinge holes about 1/8" deep which was just enough to allow the door to sit flush with the timber frame currently surrounding the back door to our house.
3/ I fitted the hinges (making sure they hinged the correct way!) and replaced the two sections of mesh before screwing down the mesh frames.
4/ The two black handles were fitted front and back ensuring that they were slight staggered vertically to avoid screwing into the opposite side handles fix points.
5/ I hung the door in place and tested that the door opened and closed freely. It is a good idea to mark out with a pencil where the hinge holes meet the existing door frame and then pre-drill these with a drill bit just smaller than the hinge screw diameter. Then simply line up the hinges with the holes and screw them into place.
6/ I fitted the screen door spring closer with one hook screw in the door frame and the other in the surrounding timber frame.
The Results:
FINISHED - The whole project cost about and took me about 4 hours to finish. We now have a beautiful screen door which lets our dogs out, but not back in, and keeps all the nasty bugs in the yard where they belong! The door looks great and our neighbors have all asked where to get one!
Screen Door Project
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Article written by Martin Holland, website administrator for The Day Lily Cottage - Texas Arts, Crafts & Gifts Store.
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EXTERIOR DOORS
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