Window screen repair
Screen Repair
Torn mesh, frames bowed by wind, screens that drop out when you touch them, and mesh the sun has made brittle enough to split at a fingertip.
Service
Rescreening and screen repair
Usually
Finished during the visit
Custom sizes
Built to your opening
Small jobs
Welcome
Work out what you have
Three questions before you buy new screens
Most people assume a torn screen means a new screen. Usually it means new mesh, and sometimes the frame was the fault all along.
01
Does the frame flex at the corners?
02
Is the spline hard or proud of its channel?
03
How many screens have the same problem?
The mechanics
A frame, a spline and the mesh
A screen is three parts: an aluminium frame held square by corner keys, a rubber spline pressed into a channel to grip the mesh, and the mesh itself. All three are consumable and all three are replaceable, which is why this is the cheapest repair in the building.
The spline usually fails before the mesh does. It hardens with age and exposure, lifts out of its channel and lets the mesh go slack, which then bows and tears. And if a corner key has corroded or pulled out, the frame racks and no amount of new mesh will hold tension — it will sag again within a season.
The fourth variable is which mesh. Standard fibreglass handles ordinary insects. Pet-resistant mesh is several times stronger and the only sensible choice where a dog or cat leans on it. Solar mesh is denser again and blocks a substantial share of solar heat before it reaches the glass, which on a west-facing Iowa room in July is the cheapest cooling improvement available.
On arrival
What we check before we quote
Screens take two minutes each to assess properly, and that assessment decides whether rescreening will actually hold.
- Frame squareChecked by hand for diagonal flex at the corners
- Corner keysCorroded, cracked or pulled out of the channel
- Spline conditionHardness, seating and whether it has lifted anywhere
- Mesh typeStandard, pet-resistant or solar, and whether it suits the elevation
- Mesh conditionBrittleness tested at a corner rather than in the middle
- TensionWhether the existing mesh was fitted tight or slack
- Fit in the openingClips, tabs and channel depth, since this is why screens fall out
- Opening measurementsTaken directly, because older Iowa housing is rarely standard
- Sun exposureWhich elevation it faces, which decides whether solar mesh is worth it
- Storm panel interactionWhere a combination unit is fitted
If you leave it
What happens if you leave it
Screens are cheap to fix and the escalation is modest — but it is real, and it ends with buying frames you did not need to buy.
Right now
Mesh and spline
New mesh, new spline, tensioned properly in the frame you already own. Under an hour, and the frame is good for years.
Next season
Corners
A slack or missing screen lets the frame flex in wind. Corner keys work loose, and the frame starts to rack. Now the corners need rebuilding as well.
A year on
The frame
A racked frame no longer sits in its channel, so it falls out, gets stood against a wall and gets stepped on. At that point you are buying a new frame.
Meanwhile
The window underneath
A missing screen means the window stays shut through the few genuinely pleasant months Iowa gets, which is a small loss that adds up over several summers.
This is the least dramatic page on the site, and that is rather the point. Screens are the one thing where the cheap fix stays cheap if you do it when you notice it.
Iowa conditions
What Iowa does to screens
Wind, hail, field dust and a long insect season.
01
Wind, constantly
Iowa's open country and persistent wind push against screen mesh every day of the season. Mesh fitted slack bows and works itself out of the spline, and frames that are already tired rack at the corners. It is the main reason screens here fail earlier than people expect.
02
Hail punching through
Iowa's severe weather season puts holes through screen mesh most years, usually across a whole elevation at once. Screens are the first thing on a house to show storm damage and by far the cheapest thing to put right.
03
Field dust loading the mesh
Spring tillage and autumn harvest both fill the air with fine soil across most of the state. It clogs mesh, cuts airflow noticeably and holds moisture against the sill underneath.
04
A long insect season near water
The river corridors, creeks and drainage across Iowa farmland make screens genuinely necessary through a long warm season. A torn screen gets noticed on the first still June evening.
On the van
What we carry for screens
Mesh and spline ride on the van, so most rescreening is finished while we are there.
Custom frames are cut to your actual opening, which in older Iowa housing is almost never a standard size. Those follow on a short return visit once they are made.
Coverage
Window screen repair across Iowa
A mobile service covering the whole state, town and country alike. Pick your town below, or call and we will come to you.
Window Screen Repair Across Iowa
Questions
Screen questions
Can you rescreen the frames I already have?
Yes, provided the frame is square and the corners are sound. It is the cheapest option and most of what we do.
Nothing at the store fits my windows.
Normal in older Iowa housing. We build screens to the opening you actually have rather than the size it was supposed to be.
What is solar mesh?
A denser screening that blocks a significant share of solar heat and glare before it reaches the glass. On a west-facing room in July it makes a real difference.
Do you have pet-resistant mesh?
Yes, and it is worth fitting anywhere an animal pushes against the screen. It is several times stronger than standard fibreglass.
Will you come out for one screen?
Yes. But ask about the rest while we are there, because the second and third cost far less than the first.
Should I take screens down for winter?
It extends their life noticeably if you have somewhere to store them. If not, we will tell you which frames are getting tired before they fail.
Everything else
Other repairs we handle
Windows and doors are the whole business, so whatever has failed, it is on this list.
Get the screens sorted before summer
Free estimates across Iowa, and we are glad to take the small jobs.