Planning on adding a new screen door for your home? Or replacing an old one? Before you spend anywhere from $75 to possibly hundreds of dollars for a traditional framed and hinged “fixed” screen door, you may want to consider the latest innovation: retractable door screens.
A retractable screen door is essentially a roller shade turned on end. Heavy-duty vinyl-coated fiberglass mesh wraps around a spring-loaded roller mechanism, which is neatly concealed in a slim housing mounted on one side of the door opening. The other components consist of an upper and lower track in which the top and bottom edges of the screen travel and a rigid leading edge that pulls the screen taut and seals against the doorjamb. The screen is held in the closed position by two or more magnets and catches placed on the leading edge and the doorframe, respectively.
When the screen is the “open” position, from the outside, you’ll hardly know it’s there. The full-door-size screening simply rolls right up into a neat and compact side-mounted housing that blends right in with the existing doorframe.
In recent years, retractable screen doors have quickly gone from a one-time luxury item to being a serious consideration for any home. It’s due much to people who live in fresh-air-starved, energy-efficient homes where natural ventilation is at a premium. Often, opening a few windows here or there simply isn’t enough. And in many homes, the entry door is frequently the only source of fresh air on a given side of a home. Thus, the only means of achieving good cross ventilation is to open the front door. Therein lies the problem.
A swinging screen door may be just fine on the back porch, but who wants to conceal a beautiful new entry door with a screen door? Granted, swinging screen doors, storm doors and security doors have come a long way – both in terms of appearance and integrity – in the last several years, but no screen door can compete with the beauty and curb appeal that a new entry door offers a home.
The retractable screen door offers both form and function. People who are increasingly sensitive about indoor air quality and the appearance of their homes now have an alternative in a retractable screen door. By the same token, don’t expect a screen door (swinging or retractable) to keep out anything other than flying pests. Neither of these products is a reasonable alternative for a storm door or a bona fide security door (complete with keylock and deadbolt).
But there are other advantages. For one, it’s not in the way when you don’t need it. Ever try to hold the screen door open with your elbow while you unlock the front door – with your arms full of packages or groceries? Ever dent or rip the screen in the process? You’ll also never have to prop it open to move bulky items (such as furniture or appliances) in or out. With a retractable screen in the “put away” position, bumping (which could result in screen damage) and door “interference” are never a problem.
And while in the “stored” position, the screening also is protected from destructive ultraviolet rays and needless year-round weathering. However, when you do need fresh air ventilation and a barrier between flying pests and your living area, all you do is pull the screening across the door opening – for a screened doorway with a panoramic, unobstructed view.
As the popularity of retractable door screens grows, so does the number of companies offering this technology. Basically, retractable door screens fall into two major categories: dealer-installed products and “do-it-yourself” models. Considerations include quality materials, smart engineering, competitive pricing and, if you’re a do-it-yourselfer, ease of installation.
Some manufacturers are producing retractable screens that can be installed on most windows. And you can now have a screened-in porch, Florida room or lanai as simply and easily as flicking a switch with a power-driven retractable screen system. For those not suited for “electric living,” these oversized models can be operated with an old-fashioned turn crank.
There’s more. Like to work or play in your garage during warm weather but can’t deal with nagging flying insects? There’s a retractable screen that is large enough to cover the average two-car garage door opening. Now that’s what we call living!
For more home improvement tips and information, visit James and Morris Carey’s Web site at www.onthehouse.com or call 800-737-2474 from 6 to 10 a.m. Saturdays. Catch the Careys on KRKO (1380 AM) from 6 to 8 a.m. Saturdays.
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