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After years of neglecting the issue, I can no longer ignore the fact that the patio screen door is stuck and no longer slides properly. The rollers have broken, and the door slides off the track. It’s time to deal with this problem.

Initially, I considered hiring someone to replace the screen door, but unfortunately, I didn’t have the money to do so. Instead, I worked on this myself. First, I measured the existing screen and browsed various online stores like Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walmart, and Amazon.

After comparing the options, I narrowed down my choices to a screen door from Home Depot and Amazon. Although tempted to go to Home Depot and pick up the door, I didn’t have a vehicle to transport it, so I ordered it from Amazon and had it delivered.

To my surprise, the door arrived unassembled, and I had to put it together myself. The kit arrived with almost everything I needed to assemble the door. A roll of fiberglass screen, spline, spline roller, and some instructions. The instructions lacked details, only comprising a drawing of how to assemble the frame. The spline roller had a plastic handle and two plastic rollers, one convex and one concave.

Here is a list of the tools I used

Improvise as needed.

• Tools included with the screen door kit.
• A pair of scissors.
• Long-nose pliers.
• Painter’s tape.

Assembly steps (Pictures not included)

• Assemble the frame.
• Unroll the screen and lay it on the frame, ensuring that there is an adequate screen extending beyond all sides.
• Tape one side of the screen to the frame using painter’s tape.
• Leave the other side loose so that you don’t make the screen too tight when inserting the spline.
• Starting at one corner, push the spline into the groves using your fingers.
• Use the convex side of the roller to push the spline into the groove.
• Continue the process around the frame until you reach the corner where you started. Use scissors to trim the excess spline.
• Finally, use scissors to trim the excess screen, cutting it right up to the spline.

Although the instructions suggested using the concave side to apply the spline and the convex side to push it into the groove, I found it easier to apply the spline with my hands and fingers and then push it into the groove with the convex roller.

Replacing the patio screen door turned out to be a two-person job, as one person needed to hold the screen in place while the other person worked with the spline and roller. I completed the job with the help of my daughter, and I learned some valuable lessons. I realized that having instructions is helpful, but it’s essential to do some additional research and preparation before starting a new project. YouTube is my friend and provided me with some helpful tips and tricks, after the fact.

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