We are considering getting a screen door that retracts when not in use. Does anyone have experience with them?
Chuck
We are considering getting a screen door that retracts when not in use. Does anyone have experience with them?
Chuck
In older homes like these, the main remodeling goal is often a more welcoming, more social, and more functional kitchen.
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Replies
a friend had one and really liked it.
I just bought a bunch of Pella windows that have a pull down screen. its a nice feature but the screens are noticeably not as tight as I am used to
dont know if the door models are similar
Once for a few months, hated it.
Can't tell you the brand & I'm sure they aren't all the same but never again.
Joe H
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Hi Chuck L
We had two Phantom brand disappearing screen doors installed at our double front entry doors. It has been marveous for ventilation on hot days. The entry doors are the only effective opening for ventilation on that side of our house. As far as I know, Phantom is the patented original. Their patent has now expired and other makers have entered the market. We bought ours maybe ten years ago. Phantom was the only provider then and they franchised their installers. In my case, the installer convinced me to install the unit inside the casing trim rather than on the outside surface of the casing trim. Inside has two drawbacks. It impinges on the net opening width, which with double entry doors is not really a problem. The other problem is that its close enough to the doors that the screen hangs up on the exterior door handle of the closed door when only one of the doors is opened. If I did it again, I would surface mount them.
The screens roll sideways into cases mounted to the jamb trim on each side (we have two rolling screens which meet in the middle of the opening). Magnetic catches hold the opposing screens together and there are mechanical slide bolts that engage the top and bottom tracks if needed.
If your dog or your child or your klutzy cousin walk into a closed screen, it releases and rolls sideways into the case with a noisy snap. Your dog probably won't do it again but I don't know about the other two. This can happen many times with no apparent damage. I will say that I have noticed a little tearing at the upper edge of one of our screens. We first saw them at a local home show and I recall that the screen material is replaceable when it becomes worn.
Your local door and window companies probably carry one or more brands and you can install them yourself if you are so inclined. Be sure your supplier helps you understand exactly how to measure your opening and select the right pieces for the threshold. Good luck.
I installed one once and the people loved it. Never been called back to tweak it. I remember having to follow the instructions step by awful step and it seemed to take forever to install.
POS