Screen Porch Project With "Screen Tight"

basswood

A screen porch project is on my schedule this week. This might be a good Spring project to have a thread about.

This is my first project using "Screen Tight"

http://www.screentight.com/prod-scre...allation.shtml

I built frames out of 1x2 and 1x4 White Oak and now I'm adding the track, applying screen to the track with splines and snapping the covers on. The track and covers are vinyl and cut with snips.

The system lets me build frames with wood, but have a low maintenance exterior. The covers are also like a second spline, helping to keep the screen tight. Also large screens can be double splined too.

Here are a few pics. I can take more process and progress pics this week.

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neolitic

I've used it several times
on pole framed screened porches.
Beats the hell out of 1X battens.

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Tom Struble

yea i used it too nice system looking forward to the pics

Tinstaafl

I've worked with it, but not used to make removable panels. Interesting idea...

naptown CR

White oak frames in the weather?

basswood

White Oak is in the same decay resistance class as redwood and western red cedar, according to the USDA Forest Products Lab in Madison, WI, but is much stronger.

woodtradesman

I wouldn't trust that USDA finding 100% but I wouldn't hesitate to use white oak my self. Red oak is another story though.

naptown CR

I learned something today I did not know that thank you. Of course maybe thats why many wooden boats are built with cedar over oak frames.

basswood

Always good to be skeptical. It helps reassure me that testing was in WI, in the same climate I am in (they also did testing in Mississippi). They assembled joints and exposed them on fences, so full-on weather.

The screens will be more sheltered on a porch than on a fence, and the Screen Tight will protect them from sun and rain to some degree too. The study is ongoing, but the White Oak has lasted 22 years so far.

The study did also give Red Oak good reviews... but on a fence the wood both gets wet and gets to dry out again. Hmmm.

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/pdf1995/highl95a.pdf

basswood

See post above to woodtradesman. I think the key is that the wood not stay wet. Might not want to try White Oak as a "water table" trim board.

I have White Oak Adirondack chairs that have been outside in the weather for 15 years. They do need to have 1" trimmed off the bottom to the legs (end-grain touching the ground). Should have resealed the ends and added "stand-off" chair leg glides.

I also think the bottom edge of the screen frame should have an air space below it.

neolitic

I've seen 100+ year old oak
door sills in amazing shape.

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basswood

Here is a set of pics of screen frame building. Still have a bunch of frames to screen and soffit panels to put on the ceiling, etc. before I install the screens.

Monday I wrap up a mini-mudroom project and set up for the porch.

Should have a few more pics of the porch by mid-week.

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basswood

There is no doubt that PT Pine or Heart Redwood are more resistant to decay... but if you need strength or hardness too (for a door sill), White Oak has a good combination of characteristics, IMO.

Tinstaafl

Are those pieces of non-slip fabric just to keep the assembly in one place while applying the vinyl, or do they have another purpose?

basswood

The non-slip pieces are jar lid grippers that I use to keep work from moving during sanding etc. I favor the lid grippers because they are the same size and shape as my sanding disks so they fit right into my sanding kit... mostly just handy for storage. I buy the 4-packs of lid grippers at the "Dollar Tree" for.... well, er... a dollar.

I plugged the pocket holes in the white oak frames with cedar plugs and sanded them flush. They don't make wood plugs for the Kreg pocket holes in white oak, so I opted for cedar (easy to sand down, and easy to drill out later if a frame needs to be disassembled).

Some of the cedar plugs were sapwood, so they may actually rot before the oak does. Time will tell.

After sanding the frames, the homeowner primed and painted them, now I'm screening them. The screen at the start of the thread was a practice run... I made a screen for a window in my shop. The short, wide screens, are for along the railing on the porch. The tall screens with transoms fill the space from rail to ceiling.

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Tinstaafl

Doh! I knew that. MOF, I now carry some of that fabric in my truck after seeing you mention that before.

Gotta love that! Painting is right down there at the bottom of my list.

Looking good.

nj handyman

basswood,

would love to see a photo of the screens installed. how will they be attached to porch framing?

wooddan

Instes of jar lid gripers have you tried some shelf and door liner it comes in 48x12 sheets and might be less expensive than the jar gripers. plus you can make them any size you want. And any color to match your workshop.

basswood

The screen frames will be held in place with white PVC stops... still working out the details. More later this week.

The shelf liner is about the same price, but I do use that stuff too (mostly at the shop). I like the lid grippers for portable use.

basswood

Here are some tips for cutting Screen Tight caps and bases. The manufacturer mentions using snips, but the cut quality is not great that way and the interlocking parts get mashed and distorted. Careful cutting on a miter saw is faster and cuts are crisp... but this is thin material and can chatter... tick, tick, tick, BANG!

Here are my ideas to make this go well:

1. Snap the cap on the base for cutting (the pieces together heavier and more stable). This also lets you cut both pieces in one cut.

2. Start with a square edge (factory ends are suspect).

3. After the first cut, push the base back and 1/8" from the end of the cap, so the cap is just longer than the base (makes for a cleaner look).

4. Use a zero clearance auxillary fence and table on the saw (prevents chatter and chipping--and helps with accuracy) and cut slowly with a sharp 80-100 tooth blade.

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