It can get pretty frustrating if your sliding screen door isn't working right. Common problems include sticking, falling off the track, and dragging. Many people are tempted to replace their sliding door, or to go without one entirely. However, there's a better way. A few simple problems are the cause of most people's frustrating screen door experiences. Since fixing them is easy, try these solutions first before you give up.
One of the most common problems is bad rollers. Usually, sliding screen doors have inexpensive plastic. That makes your door cheaper, but it also means that this part isn't terribly durable. If you live in an area where the temperature has a large variance, or items sometimes get stuck in the track, your roller could be cracked, jammed, or broken. If the roller isn't working properly, chances are that you're dragging the door instead of sliding it, leading to stuck doors and other problems.
It's easy and cheap to replace a roller. Just remove the sliding screen and take out the rollers – most styles can be removed with a screwdriver. Then, bring them to the home improvement or hardware store to match new ones. Since most rollers are specific to the door's maker, you can't just buy generic ones. Install your new rollers the same way you took the old ones out and reinstall the door. Operation should be smooth and easy.
Some doors will chronically fall out because they're actually the wrong size. A door that fits very loosely in the tracks can easily become unseated. This is actually easier to fix than you'd think, however. Most sliding screen doors are adjustable. The door's top and bottom rails are probably affixed by a pair of screws in slots about an inch long. If you loosen these screws without removing them, you'll be able to extend the door length be sliding the slots along the length of the screw. Once you've gotten the length to where you want it, just retighten the screw. This won't fix all short doors, but it will give you as much as an inch and a half of height.
Damaged screens give many people problems. Pets and children are one of the chief sources of torn or stretched screens. Fortunately, there's not much to putting a new screen in or reseating the old one. If the screen itself is in good shape, you can reuse it. Start by removing the black rubber that's holding it into the door frame. This material is called spline. If your spline is cracked or dry, you may need to replace it. Then restretch the screen and reapply the spline with a special roller. You can find spline rolling tools in most hardware stores. They're pretty inexpensive, and the best way to put this material back without damaging your screen. If the screen itself is torn or otherwise damaged, you'll have to buy a new piece. Screen usually comes in rolls close to your door size. Remove the old spline and screen, cut the new screen to about the right size, and install the screen, just as if you were restretching it. Then, if there's any excess screen sticking out, use a utility knife to cut the extra off.
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