Easier Than It Looks!

The winds of inspiration blew across South Florida this week! Actually it was a cold front that dropped our temperatures (for Friday at least) from the 80s to the 60s in a flash. Our house came with a screen door, and I'm not sure if I should blame a hurricane or a furry dog, but somehow it fell off the rollers and onto the grill and it had a big hole right in the middle.

A couple of weeks ago we were cleaning out the garage and I found a roll of replacement screen and that started me thinking that maybe I could fix that old door. Just maybe.

Well I want to enjoy every glorious second of our cold fronts and we're supposed to get another one tomorrow, so I searched online how to repair screen doors and found this helpful link from Popular Mechanics. I got the parts and tools I needed and less than an hour later I had a newly re-screened door! It is really easier than it looks as the website proclaims.

I also decided to replace the rusty wheels. I think this was the hardest part.

After laying the screen over the door, you have to put a plastic rope called "spline" over it to hold it in place. You have to get a special (and fortunately cheap) tool called a spline applicator to install it. It is kind of like using a pizza cutter. I am pretty sure this is the only thing it does.

After the spline is in place you have to trim off the excess. I used an exacto knife. It was a breeze.

Success!

Since there are much fewer bugs here in the winter, you can actually just open the door to let fresh air in, so I had tried putting a babygate in the door, but Caleb LOVES to throw toys over the babygate into the yard. I was so excited that I could get fresh air without losing Little People in the yard, but when Caleb came downstairs this morning, he quickly showed me that a screen door is no match for a curious toddler. He can open the door.