How to Make a Wood Screen Door
A wooden screen door not only lets in the warm evening breezes on summer nights but also keeps unwelcome guests (mosquitoes, flies and other critters) from entering your home. However, lumberyards carry only a limited number of designs of screen doors, and having one custom-made is relatively expensive. Your best bet is to make your own, which will surely save you lots of money and enable you to enjoy the kind of screen door that you have in mind. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 2 wooden boards, 1-by-3-by-83 inches (stiles)
- 2 wooden boards, 1-by-3-by-31 inches (rails)
- 2 pieces of screen molding, 77-inch
- 2 pieces of screen molding, 25-inch
- 78-by-26-inch aluminum screening mesh
- Polyurethane glue
- Staple gun with staples
- Hammer
- 4 nails, 2-inch
- 4 nails, 3-inch
- Chisel
- Disposable glue brush
- 4 C clamps
- Wood paint or varnish
- Hinges with screw
- Screwdriver
- Scissors
- Measuring tape
- Wood marker
- Door handle
- Saw
Instructions
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1
Place all four wooden boards flat on the floor. Put the stiles parallel to each other, allowing the rails to fit in the top and bottom spaces. These boards should form a door frame.
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2
Use your saw to cut a 45-degree angle on the edges of each board. These edges will serve as the joints, where all the boards will eventually meet. Make sure that they are properly chiseled, so as to smooth and make the joints equal. Check the alignment. Once they are properly measured and chiseled, they will fit each other perfectly.
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3
Secure the joints with a polyurethane glue. Do this for all the parts. Apply the glue using a disposable glue brush. Clamp the four joints together using a C clamp in each location. Once you have put the clamps in place, ensure that the diagonals are equal. Allow the glue to dry for three hours before moving on.
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4
Reinforce the polyurethane glue by driving a 2-inch nail on each of all four joints using your hammer. This will ensure a sturdy door frame.
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5
Use your hammer to drive a 3-inch nail on all four joints as an added support to your polyurethane glue and 2-inch nails. This will strengthen your door frame even more.
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6
Paint or varnish the wood frame and let it dry for three hours before attaching the screen.
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7
Spread out the screening mesh and pin it to the door at the top and bottom. Stretch the screen taut and make sure that there are no wrinkles. Staple the screen to the internal frames and trim the edges with a pair of sharp scissors to give the screen a smooth finish.
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8
Apply polyurethane glue to the rabbet with the screen. (A rabbet is a groove cut on the edge of the molding.) Place the screen molding all around the screen edges to hide the staples. This will give your screen door a clean and tidy look. Allow to air dry for two hours.
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9
Use your screw and screwdriver to attach the hinges. With your measuring tape, measure 40 inches from the bottom rail. Mark that area and attach the door handle with a screwdriver and the screws that came with the door handle. Your wooden screen door is now ready for use.
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