A screen door is a great way to not only let some fresh air and sunshine into your home, but also to keep insects and other pests out at the same time. By using a screen door, you have the ability to keep your home enclosed, while still allowing a breeze, either when the weather is hot or anytime you just want to let a little bit of fresh air in. Although you can purchase screen doors for your home, they are actually fairly simple to make, requiring only a few tools and supplies, using simple building techniques. Screen doors can be either very simple in design, or can be more elaborate, depending on your needs and building skills.

Supplies You Will Need

You will need some thin wood stock to use for the screen door construction, a hardware frame for the door itself, and screen meshing, along with a 1/4 inch by 3/4 inch screen molding. You will also need paint brushes, glue brushes, varnish and one inch nails. Some basic tools such as a tape measure, hamper, knife, chisel, staple gun and clamps will be needed.

Designing and Cutting the Door

Thinner wood stock is generally used when building a screen door, generally in a five-eighths thickness. Choose a well-dried wood to avoid future wood shrinkage, warping or swelling. Measure the dimensions of the door you need to construct, and cut the horizontal and vertical pieces to fit. While constructing the door, it can help to clamp the door pieces to a work table. To make the corner joins, as well as when adding the center horizontal support piece, you will need to take off half the thickness of one piece of wood where they will intersect with a saw, so that the overall finished thickness of the joint will be equal to that of a single piece of wood. Use a polyurethane glue and a brush to attach the wood support pieces together, and then clamp and allow to dry completely. Once the glue joints are completely dry, you can sand the door, and apply a stain and clear finish, or paint the door if desired.

Adding the Screen to the Door

Laying the door flat on the work table, measure the overall opening and cut a piece of screen material to the proper size, leaving several inches around the edges to make installation easier, which will be trimmed later. Lay the screen over the top of the door frame, and staple it to the top of the frame, pulling it tightly towards the bottom of the door. Make sure to pull the screen tightly in the horizontal directions as well, keeping in mind that screen tends to stretch over time. The screen can be stapled directly to the door, as the staples will be covered by molding that will be placed around the edge of the screen. After the screen has been stapled securely into place, trim the screen and cover the edges with the screen molding.

Finishing the Job

Once the door itself has been built, you can install the door frame itself, and attach the new screen door to the frame. Attach a door handle and fasten the door to the frame using spring hinges so that the door will shut automatically.

Author Bio: Jessica Ackerman writes for WallDecorandHomeAccents.com where she provides detailed instructions for decorating with tropical wall hangings and wine decor.

Category: Home Management
Keywords: home, decor, wall art, color, room, design