Old 6 foot sliding door needs new screen

by Norma
(CA)

What kind of Spline do I use?

Our problem is the inside of the groove (mortise) for the spline is large and odd-shaped and the opening is 5/16" wide. While viewing the Rt side of the door frame, the mortise has a slight RT side lip and the left side of the mortise the edge does not come out quite as far as the other Rt edge, sort of like the frame is tapered on all the inside facing edges, and the screen appears to get anchored at an inside angle that also has a kind of lip.


My question is what in the world can we do to anchor pet screen material into this odd shaped mortise. We are in So. CA and none of the usual shops service this kind of door. It's probably obsolete (at least 30 years old, but I'm hoping someone has a solution. The door does not have any old spline in it as the screen has been out for a long time, so I don't know what the old spline looked like. I'm wondering if you have the correct type of spline for this door and are there any tricks to installing the screen correctly?


Hi Norma;

Sorry I looked at your email first, now that I took the time to read the blog posting as well I understand better

This door looks like it uses glazing vinyl to hold the screen in. I have used this in similar doors with success.

Originally it would have had 4 strips, 2 long, 2 short.
Trick is getting a glazing vinyl the right size.

I would suggest cutting a thin strip of paper or bristol board until it clips into the "edges"

You could test a piece of petscreen to see if the bristol board test piece will hold it in.

The screen will have to be laid over top of the slot and the test piece clipped in over top. You could even cut a long strip of bristol board to see if it will hold the screen properly

Regular screening should be OK but Petscreen may be too thick. The slot in this door was made before Petscreen was ever available.

Once you have a test piece that holds the screen in you may be able to find a local glass shop that stocks PVC glazing vinyl the same width.

California is the center of the world for many glazing parts, glass shops there buy their supplies from a huge company called CR Laurence in L.A.

Surely one shop should have 20-30 feet of glazing vinyl that should fit. If you have no luck, I will try to source a 5/16" glazing vinyl or whatever width your test piece ends up being.

Good luck!