Cheap Beckson Porlight Screen Fix

[arf145]

Our 20-year-old Beckson portlight screens have lost the battle with UV light and are so tattered that they don't even inconvenience mosquitoes. I wanted a cheap fix.

Here's what worked for me: plastic screen from Home Despot melted onto the frame by pressing it with a soldering iron with a flat blade tip. This may not be as strong as the original setup in which the plastic screen was apparently cast right into the plastic, but it ends up nice and flush like the original with a decent bond.

Now where can I spend that money saved?

[Perithead]

Sounds like a cost effective fix. Do you have any pictures of the repair?

I guess you melted the screens onto the original frame also?

[T37Chef]

did similar but used glue...3 years now and still going...about $10.00 of screen, a tube of glue, and 9 screens repaired...vs. $18.00 per beckson replacement

[arf145]

Originally Posted by Perithead

Sounds like a cost effective fix. Do you have any pictures of the repair?

I guess you melted the screens onto the original frame also?

Yeah, I used the original screen frame. The frame with screen then presses back into the portlight, behind the sealing gasket. I haven't put the screen back in place, so only have a pic of what the bond looks like--this is the back side, not the "good" side:

[WinterRiver]

Thanks for the tip. Much more elegant than the duct tape I was planning to use when the screens made it close enough to the top of the list.

[Brosiferous]

Hi All, I just used the soldering iron technique and it works! I chose charcoal colored fiberglass screen from Depot. I may put a bit of crazy glue or something else over the melted area to give it more strength. Thanks for the DIY!

[arf145]

Glad that worked for you Brosiferous. Mine are still hanging in there.