For those of you with patio enclosures, porch enclosures, or pool enclosures, you may have wondered what to do when one or more of your screens gets damaged. Grabbing a sewing kit isn’t the answer, so what do you do?
How Does the Need for Screen Repair Occur?
Screened patios, porches, and pools are great to have here in Florida. They provide outdoor living space with protection from bugs and weather. But screens can get damaged in a variety of ways.
Pets
We love our furry family members, but they can definitely wreak havoc and cause damage, much like an unsupervised toddler! Often, the damage they cause is purely accidental. For instance, check out this incident shared by a local Indialantic resident:
“Our son and daughter-in-law were visiting from out of state. They brought their dog. While she was raised in our home as a puppy and has come back to visit many times, she is not used to the screened door as we usually don’t have it closed. In her excitement to run out to the backyard, she crashed right through it, tearing the bottom corner from the frame. She had no idea it was there!”
Pets can also damage screens by scratching them. They don’t understand that their paws and claws are destructive! Sometimes trying to get to that lizard on the other side of the screen is just too tempting!
Severe weather
With a hurricane season that lasts literally six full months of the year, Floridians are used to severe weather. Such weather can take its toll on screens. Thunderstorms, tropical storms, and hurricanes bring high winds. With high winds comes flying debris. Screens are no match for flying debris such as tree branches! These can easily cause tears or holes, large or small, in your screens.
Florida sun
Florida isn’t called the “Sunshine State” for nothing! With an average of 237 days of sun per year compared to the U.S. average of 205, Florida has one whole month of sun more than the other states! While we get the benefit of lots of natural Vitamin D, tanned skin, and naturally highlighted hair, our screens don’t fare quite as well. The sun eventually takes its toll causing the screening to become brittle.
How Can I Prevent Screen Damage?
While no screening will last forever, there are some things you can do to help prolong the life of your screens.
1. Provide a doggie door
Did you know that you can have a doggie door installed in your pool enclosure to allow them access to/from the enclosure and the backyard? This will prevent them from scratching on the screened door to go out to the yard. This may also prevent them from accidentally running through the screening. And, when they see a lizard or squirrel that they just have to chase, they can do it without pawing the screens.
2. Batten down the hatches
In other words, when bad weather is coming, remove anything from your patio or pool area that could cause damage to your enclosure. Obviously, you can’t prevent things like flying branches from damaging your screens, but you can remove objects from your enclosure and yard that could become airborne. You can store items in the house, a shed, or the garage. Items such as patio chairs and tables, pool toys, and sports equipment can all become dangerous projectiles when high winds are involved. Any of these can cause major damage to your screens.
You can’t do much about the eventual effects of the sun, but your screens, if cared for and repaired when necessary, should last you a very long time.
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I NEED A POOL SCREEN REPAIR?
Tripod Aluminum has been serving the areas of Melbourne, Merritt Island, and Palm Bay, along with surrounding communities for over twenty-five years! Not only do we build beautiful patio enclosures, screened-in porches, and pool enclosures, but we also repair their screens! If you do not yet have a pool enclosure, we invite you to stop by our showroom and talk to one of our helpful associates. If you are in need of a pool screen repair, then please call us today to schedule your appointment! We look forward to serving you!
