Replacing the screen in a wood storm window

I had a lot of running around to do today but really wanted to get a little something done on the house.  So I decided to replace the screen in the small storm window under the basement stairs.

Most of the wood window screens that I have seen are basically the same style.  A simple frame with narrow trim that covers the edge of the screen and nails that holds the trim in place.  I estimated that the whole procedure would take about 30-45 minutes TOPS!!!  Yeah...right.

First, I assembled all the tools that I thought I would need.  Small (tiny) Wonder Bar, hammer, stapler, camera, diet Coke, and cell phone.

Step 1  Gently pry up on the trim making sure not to break it.  Slow and steady.

Step 2  Remove all the nails in the frame and trim.

Step 3  Go get nail puller.

Step 4  Go look for the BRAND NEW roll of screen.  After 30 minutes of looking, drive to Ace Hardware and buy $1.00 worth of screen and a bag of BBQ potato chips.

Step 5  Lay out screen using the old witness mark in the paint as a guide to align the screen.  If you are painting your window screen frame, do it before you install the screen.  I am not painting so I moved right on to installing the screen.

Step 6  Use stapler to adhere screen to the frame.

Step  7  Go back into the house and get staples.  Staple gun had exactly 1 staple in it.

Step 8  Staple screen once on one side and pulling the screen taut, staple once on the opposite side. Do this in the other direction and then go back and work from the middle out to the sides pulling the screen tightly as you go.  This will keep your screen straight and wrinkle free.

Step 9  Remove any excess screen that will stick out past the small trim.  You can do this now or wait until you have installed the trim and then use a utility knife to cut away the excess.  This method works best if you are using nylon screen.  Since I am using black metal screen, I used aviation shears to cut the excess away before I installed the small trim.

Step 10  Go get aviation shears.

Step 11  After excess screen is cut off.  Re install the trim using small nails or small brads in a pneumatic nail gun.

Step 12  Go get air nailer and air hose.

Step 13  Go back in house and turn on the air compressor.

Step 14  Be proactive (why now?) and check to see if you have enough brads in the nailer.

Step 15  Admire your handy work and check your phone for the time.  Yup...total time..... 2 hrs and 15 minutes.

A few things to think about before you chose your screen material.

Screening comes in nylon, metal, aluminum, or copper.  Most screen comes in black or metal color (aluminum, copper).

Metal screening is more durable but is prone to rust.  Nylon screening doesn't rust but if you have animals or small children it is easily caved in or ripped.  But metal screening can also stab or cut you.  So do you want your kids and animals to stay inside or possibly bleeding.

Black screening cuts down on direct sunlight glare and is not as noticeable as the shiny metal screening. Black screening can also help with your cooling energy bill during the summer.

Metal screening can dent or crease and nylon screening does not dent or crease but is easily ripped.

There are drawbacks and advantages to each type and it is just a matter of using which type works best for you and your location.

We chose black metal screening.  We have cats and I prefer that they stay inside.....they beg to differ.  I, also like the looks of black screen over the shiny metal look.

For now we are done with the basement stairs project until the next rainy spell or until winter when we are forced indoors.

We are contemplating sandblasting the walls and floors to remove the many layers of paint.  The floor has more layers of paint than the walls but the walls have a lot of peeling.  The floor has had it's fair share of lively colors. Brown, dark green, aqua, red (yes RED), and finally grey.  Depending on how the walls and floor look after sand blasting will determine whether we repaint or not.