Can a window screen be repaired or does it need replacing?

If the frame is straight and the corners are tight, it only needs new mesh, which pros call rescreening. If the frame is bent or cracked at a corner, a new frame is cut to size and screened. Small holes can be patched, but a patch on a big tear rarely lasts a season.

How do I clean a window screen without damaging it?

Take it out and lay it flat on a towel or the lawn. Brush off the dust, then wash gently with mild soapy water and a sponge. Rinse with a low-pressure hose, not a pressure washer, which can stretch the mesh or pop the spline. Let it dry before it goes back in.

Can you make a screen for an old wood window?

Yes. Wood screen frames can be rebuilt or made new, and old ones rescreened. Older openings are rarely square, so each is measured on its own. If the window itself needs work, wood sash repair covers the restoration, and the screens can be done at the same time.

Can hail damage window screens?

Yes, and screens are often the first damage you notice. Hail punches holes in the mesh, bends frames, and can knock a screen out of the window. Photograph them before you take them down if you plan to claim. Our hail and storm damage page covers the glass and capping.

Screens · Winnipeg

Window and porch screens, repaired or rebuilt

Screens have a hard life here. They go in late in spring, come out early in fall, and get bumped and torn in between. Summer hail punches through them too. Most are worth fixing: new mesh in the old frame, or a new frame made to size. We connect you with an independent local pro who rescreens windows and porches, because a small job still deserves doing properly.

New mesh in your old frame
Screens made to size for any window
Porches and sunrooms too

Get a free quote 204-200-8407

Screen day in the garage: one torn, the rest fine. The usual count.

Mesh or frame

Rescreen or replace the frame?

Start with the frame. If it's straight and the corners are tight, the mesh is the only worn part.

Rescreen

Torn or sagging mesh in a straight frame. Old spline and mesh come out, new mesh is rolled in, and the screen goes back up.

New frame

Bent sides, cracked corners, or a frame that no longer sits snug. A new one is cut and assembled to size, then screened.

Missing screens

Lost in a move, or never there. A pro measures the opening and builds one, clips and all.

Mesh

Mesh choices: fibreglass, aluminum, pet-resistant, solar

Mesh is the one real choice you make, and you can mix types around the house. Which is best depends on the window.

Fibreglass

The common choice. Flexible, won't dent, easy to rescreen. It can tear under a paw or a hailstone.

Aluminum

Stiffer and tougher against snags, but it dents and creases. Often matched to older screens.

Pet-resistant

A heavier coated mesh that takes claws and noses. Yes, it's made for windows. Worth it on low windows and porch walls.

Solar

A denser mesh that cuts glare and heat. It darkens the view, so it's usually kept to a few sunny windows.

Porches

Porches, sunrooms and three-season rooms

Porch and three-season room panels are much bigger, and the mesh is often stapled or splined into wood frames. Large panels can be rescreened in place or taken to the shop. Older houses with enclosed front porches often have wood screens that trade places with storm panels each season, and those frames can be repaired too. For the door into the porch, see screen door repair.

Window types

Screens for casements, sliders and older wood windows

Casements and awnings

The screen sits on the room side. Worn clips and tabs let it fall in. If the crank's acting up too, see window hardware repair.

Sliders and hung windows

The screen sits outside. Bent frames stick in the track; new sides or spring plungers fix it.

Older wood windows

Wood screens and combination storm-and-screen units are still made. For the storms themselves, see storm windows.

After hail

Hail-shredded screens: a summer job of their own

After a hail storm, screens are often the first damage you see: holes through the mesh, bent frames, a screen knocked right out. Photograph them first, since they're part of the storm record for your insurer. Screens are simpler to make than glass, so they're usually fixed separately and sooner.

What affects the quote

What shapes the quote for screens

Screens are priced mostly by how many and how big. Pros will ask about:

How many screens, and whether several share a size
Rescreening only, or new frames
Mesh type: fibreglass, aluminum, pet-resistant or solar
Porch panels and other large screens
Whether screens are dropped off or done on site

Count the screens, measure each frame's width and height, and note any that are missing.

Get a screen quote

Free quotes from independent local pros.

Timing

Timing: beat the late-May rush

Winnipeg's frost-free season is short, and the last spring frost usually comes in late May. That's when most people put screens in, find the tears, and call at once. Check screens when they come down in fall, or on the first mild spring day, and send them in before the rush. Plenty of rescreening happens off-site, so you can hand over a stack and collect it later.

Questions

Window screen questions

Explore your options

Local pros rescreen and build window screens across the city and in nearby towns, including Fort Garry, St. Vital, North Kildonan and Steinbach.

Count the screens and send the sizes

A rough count, the sizes and a photo of the worst one is plenty. We'll pass it to a local pro who rescreens and builds screens, and they'll quote the batch.