It’s the little things in life, y’know?
We have some glass doors opening out onto a lovely deck with a beautiful view. As the weather warms up, we've been leaving the doors open to invite the spring inside.
But there are other things besides the spring weather that can come in through those open doors. Aside from mosquitoes and other pests (wasps!), we also have songbirds. ...
...and hummingbirds.
These critters do best outside, not ricocheting around indoors and smashing into impenetrable windows.
What we needed was a screen door of some sort, but those aren't readily available for double-door setups. So we ended up purchasing one of those hanging magnetized screen panels. Frankly we didn't hold out much hope it would perform well, but decided it was worth a shot.
Despite measuring, the screens were a touch small for our double doors. Don solved this by building a frame to place over the doorway.
The screening came with a roll of sticky-backed "hooked" Velcro that glued to the frame.
It took no time to get the "hooked" side of the Velcro up.
It took even less time to get the screen up, pressing the pre-Velcro'd "looped" sides to the corresponding "hooked" Velcro on the frame.
The center seams are magnetized, and gently snap together when the panels fall closed
There was just one glitch in this set-up. "Let me in!"
These panels are a game-changer. They fit perfectly (thanks to Don's frame) and work beautifully.
Now the spring can come into the house.
Yep, it's the little things in life. Or in this case, keeping out the little things.
Patrice, one thing to watch is if you move things in and out of the door with the screen down. We have one at the animal shelter I volunteer at and due to the somewhat reduced range of motion, they can tear more easily if you are trying to move something larger out (less ability to expand).
ReplyDeleteI always wondered how those worked in real life as opposed to commercials.
ReplyDeleteMy neighbor has one of this on her single back door. Works well. It was funny when her pets first saw them. One dog and one cat are okay if a little slow sometimes. They actually prefer that you open it but will go through if not. The other cat crawls under the screen. Funny to watch.
ReplyDeletekathy in MS
My Sis in Georgia put these on her cabin doors a couple of years ago, and they are fabulous! These screens allow the best fresh air in, and yes...keep the critters out! Great job, Patrice!
ReplyDeleteBut what about snakes? I've already had 2 snakes come inside this year! Don't forget the slithering things! And my cats and dog hate a snakes so I was taking it for granted they wouldn't come in. Be careful!
ReplyDelete