Patching a Hole in Window Screening

A Fact Of Life: Screens Develop Holes
A classic problem with screens is that they develop holes. If you have 10 square feet of screen and one ¼ inch hole in it, somehow every insect in North America does a beeline (pun very intended) right through it. One option is to replace the screen, of course, but screens are somewhat ugly to begin with and not exactly a glamour purchase, and few people want to spend money on new ones, since they’ll only get tears and holes in them eventually anyway. Provided the tear or hole your screen is hosting is fairly small (4 inches or less), you can opt instead to repair it at only a tiny fraction of the cost.

1.	For tears: You can actually sew closed a torn screen with heavy-duty thread and a needle, being careful not to pull tightly as you make the repair or the screen will buckle. If your screen is fiberglass, you can opt to glue the tear closed with epoxy. Tape one side of the torn screen and layer glue across the other side. Allow the glue to firm and gently remove the tape.
2.	For small holes: Use vinyl or fiberglass thread and a needle to sew closed the hole, creating a matching weave with the thread. Use care not to pull the hole closed, but rather reproduce the screen’s weave as much as possible. Another option is to create a patch of the same screen material that is slightly larger than the hole and to sew or glue it in place.
3.	For a larger hole: Cut a patch of the same material that is slightly larger than the hole and carefully fray the ends. Push the frayed ends into the surrounding screen until they grab and bend the frayed ends through the screening to secure the patch. For greater resilience, glue the border with an adhesive rated for your screening material.

Share your DIY tips with others on our Doors and Windows forum!