Screen & storm doors
Screen Door Repair
Torn mesh, doors that bang, closers that have given up, sliding screens off their track. The cheapest work we do and the one that turns up most often on an inspection list.
- Typical visit
- One to two hours
- Most common
- Mesh and closers
- Inspections
- A frequent finding
- Estimate
- Free, fixed in writing
First question
Whose screen is this, actually?
New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the country, with a very large share of renters, two and three-family houses and condominium units. Before anything else it is worth establishing whose repair this actually is.
If you rent
Tell your landlord or managing agent first
In almost every tenancy the fabric of the building — doors, windows, frames and the locks in them — is the owner's responsibility rather than yours. We are happy to take the call either way, but a tenant paying out of pocket for a landlord's repair is a thing we would rather flag than quietly bill for.
If you are the landlord
You own it, and the clock may be running
Doors that will not lock, windows that will not open and missing screens are among the most common findings on a municipal inspection at change of tenant. Getting them done between tenancies is both cheaper and considerably less stressful than getting them done against a deadline.
If you are in a condo or co-op
The association may own the opening
In most New Jersey condominium arrangements the exterior of a unit, including windows and entry doors, belongs to the association rather than to you — though interior doors, shower enclosures and interior hardware usually do not. Check your documents before you commission anything exterior.
If you own the house
Then it is simply yours
Which makes it the straightforward case. The only thing worth checking is whether you are in a historic district, because that can affect what you are permitted to change on a street-facing elevation.
Inspections
What an inspection looks for on screens
Screens are the single most common line on a New Jersey inspection list that nobody thinks about until the day, and the cheapest one to have dealt with in advance.
| Common finding | What it usually takes to clear it |
|---|---|
| Missing screens on openable windows | Required in many municipalities. Rescreening frames you already own is a fraction of the cost of new screens, and we build to size where frames are missing entirely. |
| Torn or holed mesh | Rescreened on site, usually under an hour each. If there are several, doing them together costs far less per screen. |
| A screen that will not stay in the opening | Clips and tabs worn, or a frame racked at a corner. A fit problem rather than a mesh problem, and rescreening alone will not clear it. |
| A storm door that will not latch or close | Closer failed or bracket pulled loose. Cheap, quick, and it also stops the door banging at three in the morning. |
| A sliding screen door off its track | Rollers and a cleaned track. Twenty minutes, and it is a finding on patio openings in rental inspections. |
Requirements differ from town to town and they change, so treat this as the pattern we see rather than as your municipality's list. Your local construction or housing office is the authority on your address.
Getting to you
How we actually reach your screens
The practical problem here is the opposite of a rural state's. Nothing is far away; a great deal of it is simply hard to get at. Telling us which of these you are saves a wasted visit.
Row and attached houses
Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken, Union City and the older parts of almost every town. No side yard, no rear access, and frequently nowhere to put a ladder. Upper-floor work is done from inside with the sash removed, and we plan that before we quote rather than discovering it on the day.
Two and three-family houses
Enormously common across north Jersey. Several tenancies behind one front door, shared entries that take four households' worth of traffic, and access that has to be arranged with people who are at work. Tell us who holds keys when you call.
Apartment and condo buildings
Loading restrictions, service lifts, certificates of insurance for the management company, and time windows when work is permitted. We deal with all of it regularly, but it is much easier arranged in advance than negotiated in a lobby.
Parking, honestly
In a lot of New Jersey there is nowhere to put a van. If you have a driveway, a permit or a spot we can use, that information is worth more to the visit than almost anything else you could tell us.
Permits
Will this need a permit?
Screens are the furthest thing from permit territory on this site. For completeness, here is our general position.
Repairs, generally not
Repairing what is already there — hardware, glass in an existing frame, a sash, a lock, a threshold — does not usually involve a permit anywhere in the state. It is one of the quieter advantages of fixing rather than replacing.
Replacements, often yes
Many New Jersey municipalities require a permit to replace a door or a window, and the requirements and fees differ from town to town. Rules also change. Your municipal construction office is the authority on your address, and it is worth a phone call before you commit to anything.
What we will not do
We will not tell you a job does not need a permit so that it looks cheaper, and we cannot sign off compliance on your behalf — that is the inspector's role. What we will do is tell you plainly when we think a permit is likely to be involved.
New Jersey conditions
What New Jersey does to screens
A long warm season, salt on the coast and a great deal of non-standard housing.
Mosquito season, and a long one
New Jersey's warm season runs well beyond summer, and near the wetlands, the rivers and the shore the insects are serious. A torn screen is noticed within a day of the first warm evening.
Salt air along the shore
From Sandy Hook to Cape May, salt-laden air corrodes hinges, strikes, rollers, balance springs and every small fixing holding them. Hardware that lasts fifteen years in Morris County can seize in five in a block behind the beach, and corrosion-resistant parts are worth specifying.
Openings that are not standard sizes
Enormous amounts of the state's housing predate standard sizing. Nothing off a shelf will fit, which is why we build to the opening you actually have rather than the one a chart assumes.
Storm doors taking wind off the water
On exposed shore and river-facing elevations, a storm door caught by a gust puts real force through the closer and the top hinge. A wind chain costs very little and prevents most of it.
Questions
Screen and storm door questions
Can you rescreen the frames I already have?
Yes, if the frame is square and the corners are sound. It is the cheapest option and most of what we do.
Our inspection says screens are missing.
Common, cheap, and the thing to deal with first because it is the quickest line to clear. Tell us the date when you call.
Nothing at the store fits our windows.
Normal in New Jersey's older housing. We build to the opening you actually have.
Our storm door bangs in the wind.
The closer has failed or its bracket has pulled loose, and a wind chain should be fitted afterwards to prevent a repeat.
Do you do sliding screen doors?
Yes. Rollers, latches and mesh, and usually in the same visit as the patio door it runs alongside.
Is one screen worth a call-out?
We will come, but count them all first. Most of the cost is the visit, so the second and third cost far less than the first.
Coverage
Screen door repair across New Jersey
A mobile service covering the whole state, from Bergen to Cape May. Pick your town below, or call and we will come to you.
Screen Door Repair Across New Jersey
Related
Our other services
Ten services, one trade. Whatever else needs doing can go on the same visit.
Next step
Get the screens sorted before the inspection
Free estimates across New Jersey, and we are glad to take the small jobs.