DIY Flat Screen Spline Installation

Flat screen splines can help keep your home insect free.

Window screens are perfect for keeping the bugs out while still allowing fresh air into your house. These screens are made by stretching the screen material, usually nylon or aluminum, across a frame. The screen is inserted into a channel that runs around the entire frame and held in place by a piece of plastic called a spline. New window screens use a round spline, but in some older models, a flat screen spline is used. With a few simple tools, it possible for even the beginning DIYer to complete a flat screen spline installation.

Things You'll Need

• Screen window frame
• Window screen
• Flat screen spline
• Round spline
• Spline roller
• Utility knife
• Silicone lubricant

Instructions

1. Lay the window screen frame on a flat surface, such as a patio or garage floor.

2. Stretch the window screen out to fit the frame. Cut roughly to size. It doesn't have to fit perfectly.

3. Cut off eight pieces of standard round spline, roughly 3 inches long. Insert these into the spline channels to hold the screen in place as you lay the flat screen. Stretch the screen tight and flatten any wrinkles.

4. Start in one corner of the screen. Press the flat spline into place in the channel on the back of the screen. Smooth over the spline in the channel with the spline roller. Remove the round pieces of spline you cut earlier as you work around the perimeter of the frame.

5. Trim off the end of the flat screen spline when you have completed laying it in the channel. Trim off any excess screen with the utility knife.

Tips & Warnings

• To help fit the screen and flat spline in the channel, spray the perimeter of the screen with silicone lubricant before you lay the flat screen spline.

References

• All About Screen Doors: Screen Spline Information