Installing screen on screen porch

Small tacks or staples are used to attach the screening to the porch posts and railings. Then, narrow wood battens are nailed up to conceal all of the seams and fasteners. It's a labor-intensive method, and screens installed this way typically develop noticeable sags after just a few months.

Plus, when it's necessary to replace a damaged screen or fix a sagging one, you must remove several battens and yank out about a million fasteners. But there is a much better and easier way to install screens, and it doesn't require a lot of experience. This project will show you how to rescreen an existing porch using the Screen Tight installation system. You can use the same techniques detailed here for new and remodeled porches, deck enclosures, breezeways and gazebos. Pry the vertical 1x4 battens from the porch posts.

Pull down all the old screening and pound the staples flat. Fasten the vertical base strips to the outside of the porch posts. Use pruning shears or tin snips to trim the base strips to length. Pull the screen fabric tight with one hand as you roll the spline into the groove in the base strip.

Remove excess screening by drawing a utility knife along the edge of the raised spline groove. On this porch, we installed tough, tear-resistant PetScreen to the lower portion of the walls and to the door.

Cover up the base strips and screen splines on the 4x4 porch posts with long pieces of wide cap trim. Use a non marring mallet to tap the narrow cap trim onto the base strips that are screwed to the 2x4 railing.

Cut the narrow, horizontal cap trim to length with pruning shears after tapping it onto the base strip. To complement the new screening system, we installed a matching solid-vinyl screen door. It never needs painting. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.

By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. You may even want to hire a contractor to build the porch, then complete the project yourself by constructing and installing the screens.

Building a screened-in porch from scratch is an advanced project. Even if you consider yourself an advanced DIYer, read through the steps here and make sure you're comfortable and capable of completing each before beginning this project. Pouring concrete footers for an elevated porch entails digging holes that extend below your area's frost line. During winter months when the ground is frozen, it can be difficult or even impossible to break through the frozen soil.

If this is not a factor in your area, you can build a screened-in porch at any time of year. Most communities will require you to obtain a building permit before building the porch. You'll also need to be aware of zoning restrictions. It's best to speak to your local permitting department before starting the build.

It is not likely that a building permit will be required for adding screens. However, if your home is historically accurate and falls within a local preservation zone, in all likelihood you will need to obtain clearance before adding screens. Call your local utility location service ahead of digging footers for the porch.

A technician will visit your property and mark the ground for critical electrical, gas, and water lines. Dig three footer holes 6 feet away from the house, with the two end footer holes 12 feet apart. Position one hole directly in the middle. Dig below the frost line. Disperse about a half bag of landscape gravel per hole, or about 6 inches deep. The frost line varies by region: Check with your local building department for the frost line depth in your area.

Place the form tubes in the holes, checking that the tubes are plumb before and after the concrete is poured and packing dirt in around the tube to hold it in place. Mix the concrete and pour it into the form tube, embedding the metal column bases at the top in the wet concrete. After cutting into sections, the six-by-six lumber will rest on the footers. Calculate the cuts based on the eventual height of the porch flooring:. Cut and then attach the three posts vertically to the footer bases.

Attach the ledger board to the side of the house by first removing the siding from that section. Use the laser level to determine the level of the ledger board. Use a multi-tool to cut out the siding. Drill pilot holes, then attach the ledger board to the house studs with the ratchet wrenches.

Caulk around the ledger board to form a weatherproof seal between the ledger and the siding. A ledger board or ledger is a horizontal board that attaches to the side of the house to provide partial support for porches and decks.

At each end of the ledger board, attach a double joist hanger. Attach the two foot two-by-tens doubled up to the metal footer bases at the rim joist. Attach two more double joist hangers to the rim joist, facing toward the house. Cut the remaining two-by-tens into four 6-foot boards. Double up two by nailing them together.

Add the double-side joist at each side of the porch. Each porch joist will be a single two-by-ten, 6-foot-long. Attach joist hangers on the ledger board at every 16 inches on-center. Repeat on the inner side of the rim joist. Insert the two-by-ten joists into the joist hangers and fasten by nailing them in. Your local building code may require special nails or screws for attaching the joists and joist hangers. Check the requirements in your area before building, and look for these nails in the same section of your local hardware store where you found the joist hangers.

Full-length foot-long two-by-eights will form the porch flooring. Because the porch is 12 feet wide, you should not need to cut the boards. Stain and coat the porch flooring with a clear protective coating. Or paint the porch flooring with solid color exterior-grade latex paint. If your porch is 30 inches or less above ground level, you may not be required to build hand railings.

Requirements vary by community, so check on this first. Even if the porch is lower than 30 inches, you may still decide to add railings for appearance. Note that, if you decide to build railings, the screen panels will be stepped back from the edge of the porch by about 4 inches. Cut away siding from the side of the house 9 feet above the level of the porch floor. Attach a two-by-six to the side of the board with lag screws. Caulk all seams. Screw rafter hangers to the ledger board every 16 inches.

Set two foot six-by-six posts 12 feet apart and 6 feet from the house. Set the posts plumb in concrete using footing tubes, just as you did for the footer bases. Use the Speed Square to measure your desired pitch of the porch roof, measuring down from the roof ledger board. A standard is , or dropping 4 inches for every 24 inches of horizontal run. Screw the header beam in place with lag screws. Cut the ends of the two-by-sixes to the correct angle, so that they seat in the rafter hangers and then angle down to and extend past the header beam to create a slight overhang.

Nail the rafters into place in the hangers. Toenail the rafters to the beam. Starting at the front edge of the porch roof, install the shingle. Install an entire row, then work upward to the next one until you reach the house. Make sure to use shingles appropriate for the rise and run of the roof less than 2 inches of drop per 12 inches of run. Nail drip flashing between the porch roof and the side of the house, with the bottom of the flashing over the shingles.

Install siding over the ledger, with the bottom of the siding overlapping the drip flashing. Once the porch has been constructed, it is time to add the screens. Screen panels attach to cleats built into the porch floor and ceiling. Each screen panel is 4 feet wide by 8 feet tall or the height of the porch ceiling.

So, each screen panel will cover 4 linear feet of porch. Thus, a foot porch requires eight panels.