We bought our first house in Arizona and when we moved in, we didn't have any screens on the windows. I am going to share with you the awesome improvement we made by adding energy efficient window screens, and we saved money in the process by doing it ourselves! :)
We have seen a dramatic difference in our energy bill since installing these babies, I can't believe it took us this long to think of installing them!
I was worried they would block too much sun and make the inside of the house too dark, but it is really nice and still lets in plenty of light without all of the heat. You can still see out the windows from inside, even though you are not able to see into the house from the outside during the day - Adds some privacy as well, SO nice!!
Here's how to make your very own custom window screens for any size window you can think of...
You will need:
*Frames (we got ours in kits and made sure to measure first to ensure we had enough for all of the windows)
*Roll of screen (you can pick the percentage of blockage - ours is 90%)
*Roller
*Hand Saw
*Tape Measure
*Power Drill
*Self-Tapping Screws
Directions:
First, you need to measure all of your windows and measure the width of the frames to make sure it will fit perfectly. We cut any extra pieces off with a hand saw as shown in the picture below. This was the best method we found and it doesn't take too much effort.
My husband's advice: MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE.
Next, you will assemble the screen with the pieces cut to the correct size. It is very easy to put together as you are just plugging in the edge pieces that fit into the side pieces just like a puzzle. No need to glue or secure other than pushing these two pieces together.
After you have the screens put together, you will take the roll of screen and place on top and cut to size. Don't make it too small, as you will need some extra space on all sides to secure correctly.
There is a little rubber strip on the inside of the screen - pull on that and remove it carefully. You will place the screen over the frame, with the back side facing up and then you will use a little roller to insert that rubber piece back into place on TOP of the screen so it will hold it in place.
After you have done this on all 4 sides, go ahead and trim off any excess screen from edges (we left about an inch on each side, don't cut too close)
The frame is now done and should look like this!
Lastly, you will be securing the screen onto the outside of the window using Self-Tapping Screws as shown in these pictures below. We probably used more than we needed, but wanted them to be very secure - especially for the monsoon season!
Check out the insane difference between these two windows, you can still see out of the window with the screen and it lets in just the right amount of sunlight and prevents heat coming into the house. The window before we installed the energy efficient screen looks much different, way too much heat coming in through that window.
If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments section and I will answer them as soon as I can.
Have a great day!
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