Patio door screens
Patio door screens: repair, replace or go retractable
The screen on a porte-patio, the sliding patio door, is the one that grinds, jumps its track or ends up folded against the railing after a gusty afternoon. Usually the rollers or the mesh are worn and the frame is fine. When a sliding screen keeps failing, a retractable is worth a look. We connect you with an independent local pro who repairs patio door screens, makes new ones and fits retractables.
- Rollers and track checked first
- Rescreening or a new frame
- Retractable options for busy doors
Off the rails
A sliding screen that derails
Most have a simple cause. If the glass door itself drags or won't lock, see sliding door repair instead.
It grinds or drags
Worn or dirty rollers, or grit in the bottom rail. Rollers adjust on many screens and can be replaced on nearly all.
It pops out of the track
The top springs have lost tension, or the frame has bowed so the rollers no longer sit in the rail.
It leaves a gap at the side
An adjustment or a worn latch. A gap lets insects in even when the mesh is perfect.
Mesh or frame
Rescreen it or change the frame
Torn mesh in a straight frame is rescreened like any window screen, often with new rollers at the same visit. A frame that's kinked or twisted won't run true again, so a new one is made to the door's track. To tell which you have, lay the screen flat on the floor: if a corner lifts or it rocks, the frame is out of true.
Retractables
Retractable screens: which doors suit them
A retractable screen rolls into a slim housing beside the door and pulls across when wanted. There's no panel to knock off a track, and nothing in the way when the door stands open for a move.
They suit busy doors and doors whose sliding screen keeps getting knocked out. The mesh is lighter, so they're less suited to a big dog, and they need a straight, solid frame to mount on, which the pro checks.
Upper floors
Upper balconies: wind and constant use
On an upper plex balcony, or a condo terrace higher still, a patio screen takes wind a ground-floor one never feels. The prevailing wind here is from the west, with strong gusts on a number of days each year, and a screen left half open can bow and fold, as in the photo. Where a door is exposed, ask about a sturdier frame, or a retractable that stays wound up when not in use.
Measuring
Measuring a patio door for a new screen
For a sliding screen, measure from bottom track to top track at both ends, plus the width of the opening panel, and note which side the screen runs on. A retractable needs the full opening size. Add a photo of the door and close-ups of both tracks; profiles vary with the door's age, and the pro confirms before ordering. A lost screen can be made to measure.
What affects the quote
What drives the cost of a patio door screen
- New rollers and a latch, rescreening, or a new frame
- Door height and width
- Mesh type
- For a retractable: the opening size and how the housing mounts
- Access to an upper balcony
A photo and the opening's height are enough for a first soumission, the written quote.
Questions
Patio door screen questions
Explore your options
Other patio door and screen jobs
Independent pros repair and fit patio door screens across the region, including Brossard, Saint-Laurent, Longueuil, the West Island and Laval.
Send a photo of the patio door
Include the opening's height and say whether you'd like a repair or a retractable. We'll pass it to a local pro, and if new rollers will do, that's what they'll quote.