Fix your screen door in an hour for $20

Step-by-step repair

If your doggy pushed through your screen door and turned it into his own doggy door, this is for you: Replace your screen with some elbow grease and $20 worth of supplies.

We purchased:

Screen 36″ x 84″

Spline tool

Spline

We brought with us:

Flat-head screwdriver

We recommend:

A flat surface like a garage floor

Step 1

Remove your screen door. Lift it up and pull it out. Lay it down flat on a solid surface, ideally a garage floor.

Step 2

Pull out the old spline and screen. Spline - the rubber strip pressed into the track that goes around the perimeter of your screen door - is what keeps your screen in place. Pull out the spline (you may need to use a flat-blade screwdriver) and pull out the screen. #Househack - use the flat blade to clean out the track to make sure there is no leftover debris.

Step 3

Lay out the screen. Pull the end of the screen over the track on one corner of the door by about 1 inch. Pick a side to start.

Step 4

Press in the spline. Hold the end of the spline tight and use the spline rolling tool to roll in the new spline. You may need to use your flat blade to press in the end of the spline into the groove to get you started. #Househack - pull the spline tight so it shrinks and is smaller and easier to push into the groove.

Step 5

Go to the opposite side. After you finish pressing in the spline on one side, go to the other side and pull the screen tight and begin working the spline into the groove on that side. Then pick another end (top or bottom) and finish by doing the opposite end.

That’s it! Put your screen door back into place and you just got results at home!


About the Author

Erik von Ancken anchors and reports for News 6 and is a two-time Emmy award-winning journalist in the prestigious and coveted "On-Camera Talent" categories for both anchoring and reporting.

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