Stainless steel screens in cabinets
I have a client who wants me to install stainless steel screens in four cabinet doors (uppers). The doors are birch frames, 2 1/4″ x 3/4″ rails and stiles, mortised and tenoned, and rabbetted in the back to receive glass (that was never put in). She thinks that the screening that she wants is 10 mesh, 14 gauge. Each door is about 30″ high by about 16″ wide.
I feel that I’m going to have to put this screen under some tension to avoid sags, waves, or ripples, but I can’t see how I can tension this stout stainless steel fabric and then secure it into the small rabbet in the frame.
Anyone have any experience with this kind of problem?
Thanks.
Replies
Don't really know the "thickness" of your screen material. That said, real window screen gets tensioned when you roll in the vinyl spline. In newer cabs with glass doors, many manufacturers are making the doors with a clear vinyl "spline" type stop to secure the glass. If your doors don't have it I think you could make your own groove for a spline if the ga. of the screen would allow it. If the screen ga. is heavy, the vinyl spline type stop might work. The spline groove would be on the back face frame of the door. Cover it with a matching wood batten for looks. The stop spline would be in the edge of the glass mortise. The clear vinyl stop they supply doesn't look bad, almost a cove. Maybe.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Allen, I'm not a screen expert, but that sounds like pretty heavy stuff. Is it like miniature rat wire? Maybe it will stay flat without a lot of tension?
Millions of sources here http://vivisimo.com/search?query=stainless+steel+screen&v%3Asources=MSN%2CNetscape%2CLycos%2CLooksmart%2COverture maybe you could find some samples and find one that can be installed flat.
What kind of magazines/TV has she been smoking?
Joe H
Does your client have a sample of the stuff she wants to use? 14 gauge is indeed pretty heavy. I'm suspecting it's more of a perforated sheet metal rather than "screen" in the sense we usually think of it. If that's the case, it's really like a heavy gauge sheet metal with lots of holes in it. I'd think this would be farily rigid and stay flat for you.
Dennis in Bellevue WA
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I have used decorative brass screening (mini chicken wire) for similar setups. Got it from Rocklers. Maybe they have SS too. I would also look at Restoration Supply, and Outwater's for the stuff.
It is heavier than regular wire mesh so stretching it tioght should not be a problem. heavy is more self supporting.
Excellence is its own reward!
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500 pictures of screen. With prices too!
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Joe H
If it's a perforated metal, lay it into the door opening from the back and secure one short edge first, then the other. Then do the long sides.
If is is more of a cloth-like mesh, bulid a screen frame to set in the glass rabbet. Then treat that frame like a traditional screen.
10 mesh 14 gage. Sounds like an incorrect spec to me. The 14 gage part of it makes me think the rectangle of screen can be treated like a glass or wood panel, just fix it in with stops. Should be plenty stiff.