The usual lifespan of regular screen is 7 to 10 years. After that period of time screen becomes brittle and turns into a grey/silver color. Storms and gusty winds, critters (squirrels, raccoons, rats, etc.) and pets can damage and tear screens easily. Once your screens are damaged or torn, your enclosure won't be bug-proof anymore and leaves and debris are going to find their way into your deck and pool.
One option is fixing or replacing one panel at the time. It's a temporary fix and sooner or later more screens will need to be repaired. It might be cheaper now, but it's a more expensive option on the long run. Besides that your screen enclosure will have panels of different tones and levels of fading, affecting the looks of your cage.
A rescreen may be a more expensive option now, but is 20% to 50% less expensive than replacing the screens of the whole enclosure one or few panels at the time. Your cage will look much better and you won't have to worry about replacing screens for another 7 to 10 years.
You can try doing it yourself. You will need:
- Screen of different sizes (measure wall and roof openings)
- Spline (1 or 2 1000' rolls)
- Ladders (8', 10' or 12' tall depending on height of the cage)
- A walk board or walk plank (to screen across the pool or spa if you have one)
- A roller knife or other screening tool
- Needle-nose pliers (to remove old screen and spline)
- Good balance and some knowledge or experience screening
It's usually a day long process for a experience screener and can take twice or three times as long for someone without experience.
Juan Zorrilla Inc. Screen & Aluminum can help you with your pool cage or patio enclosure rescreen. Call 941-928-2296 for a free estimate (Bradenton/Sarasota/Venice, FL area).
