Screen door
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A screen door can refer to a hinged storm door (cold climates) or hinged screen door (warm climates) covering an exterior door; or a screened sliding door used with sliding glass doors. In any case, the screen door incorporates screen mesh to block flying insects from entering and pets and small children from exiting interior spaces, while allowing for air, light, and views. For the purposes of this article, a screen door will be considered to be the latter type used with a sliding glass door.
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[edit] History
The screen door was invented in 1887 by Hannah Harger. [1]
[edit] Construction
[edit] Aluminium framed
Aluminium sliding screen doors are generally constructed by two methods: rollformed or extruded. In both cases the rectangular rollformed or extruded shapes are joined together into a door frame using metal corners or screws.
[edit] Rollformed
The first are Rollformed from thin aluminium sheets into a rectangular shaped door frame which incorporates a screen channel to hold the window screen material.
Rollformed aluminum sliding screen doors are the least expensive to produce because they can be manufactured from thin aluminum sheet formed into a relatively strong rectangular shape.
Rollformed screen doors have mitered corners into which a steel or aluminum alloy corner is forced using a friction fit. If a steel corner is used, the rollformed sections are often pierced or staked into the corners, to help secure the corners together. If aluminum alloy corners are used, the corner relies on its friction fit alone to hold the door frame together.
The weakest point of a rollformed sliding screen door is the corner. After repeated opening and closing, stresses will cause the rollformed shape to loosen in the area of the corner. The door will then stick and jam and typically will require replacement rather than repair
[edit] Extruded
The second are extruded aluminum shapes, with aluminum frames made from thicker aluminum than rollformed doors. This makes an extruded aluminum door much stronger but also more expensive. Extruded aluminum screen door frames can be mitered and joined with aluminum alloy corners or can be notched out and joined together with screws that fit in screw holes made as part of the extrusion process.
Extruded aluminum screen doors are generally longer lasting than rollformed screen doors. They are also more easily repaired since, if the corners break, new corners can be inserted without losing the friction fit necessary to hold the door together.
[edit] Wood framed
Wood framed screen doors, hinged and sliding, are also available from limited production and custom carpentry sources, used for aesthetic style and sustainable building applications.
[edit] Retractable screen doors
An alternative to sliding screen doors are a version of pocket doors, retractable screen doors which 'disappear' into side or overhead pockets when not in use. They provide an open wall 'indoor-outdoor' experience with sliding, french door, or pocket glass doors. They are used in Mid-century modern and modernist architecture situations, among many others.
[edit] See also
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Look up screen door in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Great Inventions (By Women!). University of Central Florida. http://womens.research.ucf.edu/Engineering/PDF/Engineering%20History/inventors/great%20women%20inventors.pdf.
