Sliding screen doors

[Tim]

Fresh off my successes with the programmable thermostat and the pavers I installed where we keep the garbage and recycling cans, I'm now attacking my next wish list item: Sliding screen doors for the double glass sliding door in our breakfast nook. This may seem like a no-brainer and super-easy, and I thought it would be as I went to Lowe's yesterday, but the problem seems to be that the screen door frames are generally made to be 3' wide by 7' tall. Problem: Our sliding glass doors are 3' x 8'. Do I have to special order the frame kits, or is there an easier way to get an 8' tall screen frame? The screen mesh itself isn't a problem as I can buy a 3' x 25' roll of the stuff, and I repaired one when I was young and still remember how to do it, it's just a question of finding the 8' frame. Any thoughts?

[Katy Lied]

Fresh off my successes with the programmable thermostat and the pavers I installed where we keep the garbage and recycling cans, I'm now attacking my next wish list item: Sliding screen doors for the double glass sliding door in our breakfast nook. This may seem like a no-brainer and super-easy, and I thought it would be as I went to Lowe's yesterday, but the problem seems to be that the screen door frames are generally made to be 3' wide by 7' tall. Problem: Our sliding glass doors are 3' x 8'. Do I have to special order the frame kits, or is there an easier way to get an 8' tall screen frame? The screen mesh itself isn't a problem as I can buy a 3' x 25' roll of the stuff, and I repaired one when I was young and still remember how to do it, it's just a question of finding the 8' frame. Any thoughts?

Frame kits are easy; just cut them at a 45 degree angle with a... a... (I genuinely do not know how to spell this...) saws-all. (Sazall?) There's a plastic fixture you slide in one length, then the other length to fasten them together. Much cheaper to make your own.

[creekster]

Frame kits are easy; just cut them at a 45 degree angle with a... a... (I genuinely do not know how to spell this...) saws-all. (Sazall?) There's a plastic fixture you slide in one length, then the other length to fasten them together. Much cheaper to make your own.

Sawzall?

I wouldn't, I would use a miter saw. A sawzall (aka reciprocating saw) would be a free hand cut. Good luck on the angle. A miter saw (and for something like this you could easily use an old fahioned miter box with a hack saw if you dont have a power miter saw or you lack a blade to use on metal) will give you a clean cut you can use for this. Miters need to be pretty precise to work properly. But it is very easy to do.

[pellegrino]

Sawzall?

I wouldn't, I would use a miter saw. A sawzall (aka reciprocating saw) would be a free hand cut. Good luck on the angle. A miter saw (and for something like this you could easily use an old fahioned miter box with a hack saw if you dont have a power miter saw or you lack a blade to use on metal) will give you a clean cut you can use for this. Miters need to be pretty precise to work properly. But it is very easy to do.

And we have a winner, folks!

I would use a miter saw as well.

[il Padrino Ute]

16 lb. sledge hammer will get the job done faster than a miter saw.

[Katy Lied]

or a miter. the corners are not going to actually join together-- the plastic fastener will take up a lot of the slack from impreciseness.

Or you can use a miter and it will be prettier.

I've even cut with tin snips. Shudder.

[creekster]

or a miter. the corners are not going to actually join together-- the plastic fastener will take up a lot of the slack from impreciseness.

Or you can use a miter and it will be prettier.

I've even cut with tin snips. Shudder.

Maybe we are talking about different things here. In my mind, a screen door has to be cut with a miter joint. The inside edge of a screen door has a channel into which the screen is placed and a rubber gasket is inserted to hold it into position. In order for that channel to be continuous all the way around the interior edge, the corner has to be cut in a miter. If you use a butt joint, the channel will not be continuous.