Building the screens for our screen porch was one of the early projects I did once we moved into our house back in 2006 or 2007. The screens frames themselves are quite nicely built and sturdy but I took a shortcut with the screening. I just stapled it on rather than doing it right. They held up for 6 years but it finally became apparent last summer that they needed to be re-done.
The first step was to unmount all 12 and pull all the staples out. These had multiplied over the years as the screens aged and the cat climbed on them. There were a LOT of staples.
Next came routing a dado around the tops, sides, and bottoms which is what I should have done originally. I used a home-made guide that made a really big difference. One-handed quick-clamps helped a lot, too.
Here you can see the grooves. I went through two 3/16" router bits. The dado ended up about 3/8" deep or so. I then used .175" spline which I bought in bulk from Home Depot to get the screens in place.
It took a couple tries, but I figured out how to get the screens in nice and tight and now they're all done. I just hope the cat doesn't decide to climb on them again this year. I think I'll keep a super-soaker out on the porch just in case (and for a little amusement, too).
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