Can an existing screened gallery be rescreened?

Usually, yes. If the frames are solid, the pro replaces the mesh panel by panel and leaves the structure alone. Wood frames with soft spots may need a section rebuilt first, which the pro will point out when quoting.

Do we need the syndicate's approval to screen in a condo balcony?

Check before you order anything. Screen panels change how the façade looks, and your declaration of co-ownership sets out who decides. Ask the syndicate in writing. The pro we match you with can supply photos and a description of the panels for the syndicate to review.

What affects the price of screening a gallery or porch?

The number and size of the panels come first, then whether existing frames can be rescreened or new ones built, what they're made of, and the mesh. Work on an upper gallery takes more setting up than a ground-floor porch, and a screen door adds hardware.

Is a balcony-door screen a porch job or a door job?

It depends on the screen. Fixed panels around the gallery are covered here. A hinged screen door onto the gallery belongs with screen doors, and the sliding screen on a porte-patio has its own page. If you're unsure, send a photo and we'll route it.

Can screens be made to measure for a gazebo?

Yes. The pro measures each opening in the gazebo's frame and builds panels to fit, with a screen door where you need one. Because every opening is measured on its own, uneven posts are not a problem.

Galleries & porches

Screened porches and balconies: rescreening and new panels

A screened gallery turns a plex balcony into a summer room, until the mesh sags, tears or blows loose. Usually the frames can stay and only the mesh is replaced, panel by panel. Where frames have rotted, new panels are made to the openings. We connect you with an independent local pro who rescreens galleries and porches and builds new screen panels to size.

Panel-by-panel rescreening
New panels made to your openings
Timed around balcony work

Get a free quote 514-312-6772

Large panels and one door: the panels facing the weather usually go first.

Plex galleries

Galleries and balconies on a plex

Montreal plexes are known for their outside staircases and back lanes, and many flats have a gallery behind and a balcony in front. Screened-in panels there are big, exposed on every side, and the ones by the stairs get knocked by everything carried up and down. Houses farther out have their own version: a screened porch like the one pictured, or a gazebo.

Rescreening

Rescreening existing panels

If the frames are sound, each panel gets new mesh and spline, in place or taken down, depending on how it was built. Wood frames are checked for soft spots where the mesh is stapled under trim; aluminum ones for bent sections. Only damaged panels need doing, though redoing a whole side keeps the mesh matched. Heavier mesh suits low panels a dog leans on.

New panels

New panels made to measure

Where frames have rotted or a gallery has never been screened, the pro measures each opening and builds panels to fit. Openings on older galleries are seldom identical, so every one is measured. Before enclosing a gallery for the first time, check with your borough, since each runs its own counter and rules; our guide to borough permits explains how those counters work for doors and windows.

Balcony work

Rebuilding the balcony? Coordinate the work

If the balcony or its guardrail is due to be rebuilt, wait for the new structure, then measure. Panels made for old posts won't fit new ones. For eligible small plexes on the island, the City's RénoPlex program can help pay for rebuilding a balcony or replacing a guardrail, if approval comes before the work. It funds the balcony, not the screens. See the amounts by type of work and our RénoPlex guide. Glass guards are a separate job: see glass railings.

What affects the quote

What changes the price of gallery and porch screens

How many panels, and how large
Rescreening existing frames or building new ones
Frame material and condition
Mesh type
Height and access, from a ground-floor porch to a third-floor gallery
Whether a screen door is part of the job

Photos of each side with opening sizes are the fastest way to a first soumission, the written quote.

Get a porch screen quote

Free quotes from independent local pros.

Condos

Condo balconies: common portions and the syndicate

In a condo, the balcony you use may not be yours alone to change. Whether it counts as a common portion, and who decides what goes on it, depends on your declaration of co-ownership, so read it and ask the syndicate before ordering panels. For window and door replacements, the City already asks co-ownership buildings for each co-owner's letter or a syndicate resolution (montreal.ca). Our page for condo syndicates and owners covers the wider process.

The way in

Gallery screen doors

The gallery's screen door works harder than any panel. It can be rescreened with the rest or replaced if twisted; closers and hinges are covered on the screen door page. For the door between the flat and the gallery, see plex balcony doors.

Questions

Porch and balcony screen questions

Explore your options

Independent pros rescreen galleries, balconies and porches around Montreal, including Villeray, Rosemont, Verdun, the West Island and Longueuil.

Send photos of the gallery or porch

One photo per side and each opening's size is plenty. We'll pass it to a local pro who screens galleries and porches, and they'll say whether new mesh will do.