Retract your screen doors for better living

Planning on adding a new screen door for your home? Or replacing an old one? Before you spend anywhere from $75 to possibly hundreds of dollars for a traditional framed and hinged "fixed" screen door, you may want to consider the latest innovation: retractable door screens.

A retractable screen door is essentially a roller shade turned on end. Heavy duty vinyl-coated fiberglass mesh wraps around a spring-loaded roller mechanism, which is neatly concealed in a slim housing that is mounted on one side of the door opening. The other components consist of an upper and lower track in which the top and bottom edges of the screen travel and a rigid leading edge that pulls the screen taut and seals against the door jamb. The screen is held in the closed position by two or more magnets and catches placed on the leading edge and door frame respectively.

From the outside, when in the "open" position, you'll hardly know it's there. The full door-size screening simply rolls right up into a neat and compact side-mounted housing that blends right in with the existing doorframe.

In recent years, retractable screen doors have quickly gone from a one-time luxury item to being a serious consideration for any home. It's due much in part to people who live in fresh-air-starved, energy-efficient homes where natural ventilation is at a premium. Often, opening a few windows here or there simply isn't enough. And, in many homes, the entry door is frequently the only source of fresh air on a given side of a home. Thus, the only means of achieving good cross ventilation is to open the front door. Therein lays the problem.

A swinging screen door may be just fine on the back porch, but who wants to conceal a beautiful new entry door with a screen door? Granted, swinging screen doors, storm doors and security doors have come a long way -- both in terms of appearance and integrity -- in the last several years, but no screen door can compete with the beauty and curb appeal that a new entry door offers a home.

The retractable screen door offers both form and function. People who are increasingly sensitive about indoor air quality and the appearance of their homes now have an alternative in a retractable screen door. By the same token, don't expect a screen door (swinging or retractable) to keep out anything other than flying pests.

But there are other advantages. For one, it's not in the way when you don't need it. Ever try to hold the screen door open with your elbow while you unlock the front door -- with your arms full of packages or groceries? Ever dent or rip the screen in the process? You'll never have to prop it open either, to move bulky items (like furniture or appliances) in or out. With a retractable screen in the "put away" position, bumping (which could result in screen damage) or door "interference" is never a problem.