Retractable screen wont meet in the middle

by Diana
(Golden, Texas)

I have a retractable screen door that closes by meeting in the middle The right half of the door has the (male) portion and no longer catches and holds at the top. I purchased it at Lowes about 8 years ago. They found
my original purchase order which did not list the brand. I have looked all over the door and cannot find a brand/trademark. I am sending photos in hopes you can advise me on what parts I need to replace to make it work properly again.

Hi Diana

Not many retractable doors show a brand name on them and I am not aware of replacement parts. I cant really tell from the picture how the latching mechanism works on that door but I think the first thing I would try is to adapt one of those magnetic catches that are made for kitchen cabinet doors.

The magnetic latches usually come with a small flat steel plate which would need to be bent into a 90 degree angle bracket to fit on one side of the door. You would probably need to drill some new mounting holes in the bracket.

These brackets are very cheap, just $3.00 or less. MIght not be the most elegant solution but should work. Even if you could find a new vertical rail for the door, the whole door would have to be removed to repair it. Then the door would have to be re-installed again.