Screen doors can take a beating. Between pets or moving furniture in and out, screens can get torn or pushed out. Learning how to fix a screen door is possible for an avid DIYer. The tools are affordable, and you may already have some of them. Even if you don’t have pets, you may still want to pay extra for a tough, pet-resistant screen. You’d be surprised how much damage a curious bird or mouse can do to a screen.

Step by Step How to Fix a Screen Door

1. Prepare a flat area where you can work on the door, like a floor or large folding table.
2. Remove the screen door.
   1. For a sliding screen door, you’ll need to lift it out of its tracks.
   2. A screen door that swings open will require you to take it off of its hinges.
3. Use an appropriately sized screwdriver to take off the door handle.
4. Set aside the handle and its screws.
5. Pry out the old spline that is holding the old screen into the grooves. A flat head screwdriver works for this step.
6. Now pull off the old screen.
7. Roll the new screen over the door.
8. Leave a few inches around all edges of the door.
9. Cut the screen to the necessary size. Depending on the screen material, you’ll cut it with either scissors or a utility knife.
10. Insert the roller tool over the screen into the groove on the right side of the door.
11. Press the roller tool so that it forces the screen into the groove.
12. Roll the screen into the groove down the length of the door.
13. Repeat the same rolling process on the left side of the door.
14. Make sure that the screen is tight across the door space while you roll the second side. You don’t want it to hang loosely.
15. Roll the screen into the grooves on the top and bottom of the door.
16. Open a package of spline and press the end of the spline into a corner on a long side of the door.
17. Push the spline with the roller down the length of the screen door so that it firmly enters the groove.
18. Cut the spline when you reach a corner and press the end tip into the corner.
19. Roll the spline into the opposite side of the door.
20. Roll spline into the grooves across the top and bottom of the screen door.
21. Trim the spline ends neatly so that they press completely into the corners.
22. Using a utility knife or scissors, trim the outer edges of the screen close to the spline.
23. Put the door handle back on.
24. Re-hang the screen door in its original location.