To all of you who do some screen repair - is there common sizes of screen or spline that you use the most? I am looking into placing an order, and was wondering what the most common widths of screen and diameters of spline. Also any other tips or trick would be great. Thanks
I always stock 36" and 48" standard fiberglass screen and 36" Pet screen.
Common spline size i carry are .145 - .160 and .180. I use the foam core spline. It’s the easiest to work with.
Tips?
Purchase a professional quality roller tool. With nylon, ball bearing wheels. Less chance of ripping the screen.
If you plan on doing a lot of screens, get a jig set (and your own supplied peg board) to hold the frames square. (just google “screen jig set”)
Easy way to hold material square on frame when rolling it in is to place a few small scrap pc’s of spline (stuck in spline groove) at the four corners, then pull them out one by one as you go along.
When re-screening long narrow screens, measure the width at the corners then measure around the center area to make sure the frame isn’t bowing inward. (will make a lousy fit in the window if it bows)
I also have 36" and 48" fiberglass screen in stock always. 36" being the most common. Also, those two sizes are always on hand at the local hardware store. I buy 600’ rolls from C.R. Laurence Co…
I have 6-8 different sizes of spline on hand. All foam core, for the reason Mark described. Sizes ranging from .160-.275. The two most common sizes I use are .160 and .225, but that’s just me.
Mark makes a good point about the roller, but I actually prefer the cheapo steel combination roller you can buy at Home depot. I go through a few a year, but it seems to work the best for me.
If I were you I would buy and keep on hand a few different sizes of plunger latches. Maybe some various other types of latches that are common in your area, too.
Don’t rule out repairing and making new screens, too. There are so many different sizes of frames and corner pieces, so that’s a whole other thread.
There’s a small learning curve to re-screening and making new screens, but once you get the hang of it, it’s a great add on.
I would eventually like to get into new frames also, but for now screens will do.
I was thinking 36" and 48" would be a good combo, I don’t want to mess with anything other than fiberglass. I wonder if there is much market for the grey screen, all I ever see around here is black. Thanks for the info - much appreciated.
It’s a personnel preference. I steer people to re-screen with black. It is much easier to see through.
And I’m with you. I would only mess with fiberglass, too. It’s easier to work with and also less expensive than aluminum. Fiberglass has some stretch to it, unlike aluminum which will kink. Fiberglass also doesn’t break down the way aluminum does. Aluminum will break down and can leave an oxidation on the glass if the glass isn’t regularly cleaned. Of course it can take 10+ years for screen material to start breaking down, but these are my selling points to customers to use black fiberglass. I will only re-screen with gray fiberglass or aluminum screen if the customer insists.
It’s a good idea to show samples of the gray and black before the customer makes a decision. They will almost always pick black.
I bought a 100’ roll of grey when I re-screened 3 sides of an existing gazebo. I’ll probably be stuck with the remainder of that grey roll for a couple of years. Oh well, at least the job was more than triple the cost of the entire roll.
I do a lot of screening in my area. I would suggest going with 18" 24" 36" and 48" Charcoal Fiberglass mesh. This will get you through about 95% of all screen jobs with limited waste. You can get all these sizes through CR Laurence. As far as the foam spline goes, I find it harder to work with and it rots out much quicker than standard spline. I do carry it because it has a wider range of use in different applications. In my area spline lasts a long time so I re-use the spline they already have most of the time with no problems. I carry the following spline for re-screens 145 and 225 foam, 165, 180 and 210 standard spline. There is a company called Circle Glass that has a neat tool to keep the frame from bowing in on long and narow screens (http://circleglassco.com/tools.pdf)
That’s funny. I find foam core much easier to work with. How much faster does it rot than vinyl spline? I’ve only been using it for a few years.
