Screening in my back porch was a project that I had planned to finish in the early spring, but it became quite a sore subject as it was pushed back (due to roommate conflicts) through the summer of 2014. During my first summer living in my new home, back in 2013, I couldn’t enjoy my gorgeous back porch for the insects devouring me during the evenings. I would step outside and be covered in bites, in little to no time at all. I simply couldn’t let that stand.
I made the plan to screen around the porch using the Screen Tight plastic framing system. The benefit of using this system, is that each panel (as you will see below) has its own section of screen. If one panel is damaged, you will only need to peel back the top track of the plastic, and replace the screen for that section.
Step 1: Build The Frame
For this portion of the project, I had a contractor friend come and frame in the extra panels for me. He spent most of a Saturday morning putting it up, including the purchase of supplies.You will want to make sure that you frame the panels to fit the size of screen you plan to purchase.
Step 2: Paint the Top Coat
In order to make the newly framed portion match, I purchased the Rustoleum Deck and Concrete Restore 10x paint. It has this nice, sand grip mixed in with the paint to make the coat extra hard and slip proof. For some reason this is the only picture I took before we started placing the screen.
Step 3: Install the Base Track
Next step was to install the base track, by screwing it into the porch with a power drill. In the photo above you can see a black outline around the frame of the porch. That is the bottom base.
Step 4: Roll in the Aluminum Screen
I purchased large rolls of aluminum screen that fit the dimensions of my panels. I chose aluminum because it is more durable and part of the intent of screening the porch was so that my two cats could enjoy an evening of fresh air.
In order to splice the screen in, we had to push VERY hard into the base track. But delicately, or else the screen would tear from the tension. It was a painstaking process for myself, but my friend’s dad found it much easier. Then we would cut the excess with a razor blade, as you can see in the photo below.
Step 5: Place the Top Track
I selected the white frame, it was the only other option at my Lowe’s aside from a strange cream. Once the screen was spliced, placed and trimmed, we then applied the top white track to length and cut with tin snips.
Finished!
Aside from my utter lack of strength in trying to cut the plastic or splice the screen, this was really quite a simple, two person project. For the budget I was working on, I couldn’t be happier with my new oasis. It has all held up quite well during the first winter, and I can’t wait to kick back and enjoy it for the upcoming summer!
All By Myself... 