Window Screen Rescreening in Jupiter

Two kinds of mesh, two different jobs

We stock two mesh types for this work: solar screen mesh and no-see-um screen mesh. Solar mesh is the heavier-weave option — it cuts glare and knocks down heat coming through south and west-facing openings, especially on frames that catch sun most of the day. No-see-um mesh is a much finer weave, built to stop the small biting insects that a standard screen weave lets straight through.

Which one goes in depends on the opening and what the homeowner is fighting. A porch or lanai screen that's mostly about keeping no-see-ums out gets the fine weave. A window that bakes all afternoon is often better served by the solar mesh. We'll ask before we cut anything, because once mesh is spliced into a frame, swapping weave types means doing the job twice.

Getting the new mesh to sit right

The actual rescreen comes down to tension and technique. We roll the new mesh and spline into the frame's retaining groove using a spline roller, working it in on all four sides. The fabric has to stay taut while we go — a loose rescreen sags and looks bad within a season, but overstretched mesh distorts the weave and can pull right out of the groove under normal handling.

Once all four sides are seated, we trim the excess mesh with a utility knife or scissors, cutting close to the spline without nicking it. Slice into the spline line and you've weakened the exact groove that's supposed to hold the new screen in place for years, not just a season.

What a rescreen runs and why

Rescreening an existing frame runs $25 to $75 per frame. The spread comes down to mesh choice and frame condition — a standard weave on a straightforward frame lands toward the lower end, while no-see-um or solar mesh, or a frame that needs extra prep before the new screen goes in, pushes it higher.

It's priced per frame because every opening in a house can be a little different — different dimensions, different spline groove wear, sometimes a different mesh depending on which room it's in. How often a given frame needs it varies too: screens that take the brunt of a wet, humid stretch sag and weaken faster than ones that mostly sit in the sun, and rainfall here swings enough from year to year that we don't put every frame on the same schedule. We'll look at the frame and tell you where it lands before we cut anything, not after.