I may have mentioned to some of you that I was installing retractable screen doors on my French doors. I don’t have any other windows on the back side of the house that can be opened to enjoy the nice weather, and I’d really like to be able to open the doors without worrying about the cats.

The instructions estimate 1 hr per door, and I had two units to make a double door (the instructions include how to hang for a double door), so I figured 3-4 hours for me to get it done. Of course, it’s not that simple. I don’t think the instructions take into account the time you need to spend sawing through the tracks to shorten them. I spent more time sawing through the tracks than hanging the doors.

The other difficulty I had was a unique sill. It was angled up, so when I initially hung the doors, the screen was too low, and I had to rehang them, but the screws are extremely close to the edge of the frame, and in some cases off the frame on the top track. (I need to talk to my Uncle – a carpenter – about what to do with that.) I still need to put caulking between my door frame and the screen housing to keep the little bugs out, but other than that (and the screws out of the frame), it’s done. The doors are useable, but I’m not sure about their stability in the long run.

Sorry for the bad images, it was dark when I finally got the magnetic latch put together