Our house has window screens now, you know, like a normal HOUSE! Replacing all our window screens

Our house has window screens now, you know, like a normal HOUSE! Replacing all our window screens

• 7.27.2017

As you may remember from the before pictures at the #Stanley90sreno, this place was a complete mess inside and out, from carpet to drywall to doorknobs, and it won't surprise you that almost all of the window screens were missing, broken, or torn.

We've been knee deep in reno projects since we moved in in October, so replacing the screens has not been on the priority list for most of that time. But, when I got a tour of the Orchard Supply Hardware that opened up in Portland's Central Eastside, I learned that they can re-screen old window screen frames of any kind, and can make new custom screens for our windows! It actually gave me a moment of anxiety for a second because it reminded me I had no idea where to get replacement screens for old windows, like as if I was forgetting I had just learned I could get them at OSH... so I quickly calmed down and made a note to measure all our windows and come back to order new screens!

We were missing ALL of the screens on the ground floor of our house plus one upstairs, and two were broken upstairs. Now that it's summer, we open up the windows and doors wide when it cools off in the evenings, so we had plenty of bugs flying around inside without screens. (So silly that it took me this long, but... I've had a little too much going on.)

Not to mention, we lived with old, dirty aluminum windows and a terrible paint job on the outside of the house for months and months plus no screens, and having dirty, nonfunctional, fixer upper-ness all around you really messes with your mood, and feng shui of the house! Replacing the screens has made the rooms and windows look so much more complete and civilized!

OSH provided replacement screens for me to try and share with you. It was a HUGE relief to me that I could get screens made nearby, custom, and at a good price--let me share my experience with you!

Ordering custom replacement window screens at Orchard Supply Hardware

The new OSH store is right by my work in close-in Southeast Portland and it was a super quick trip over there to order the screens. I think it was 30 minutes round trip including placing the order the first time I went.

I brought measurements for the windows that had never had screens, and I brought in the few old, broken ones I had to the Workbench.

They filled out the screen order form based on sizes of each. Pricing is based on screen material and size. They do have materials there for you to buy yourself and DIY rescreen or even build new, but it can be cheaper to have them do it for you because of waste/efficiency. And, I am all about DIY-ing, but I am not really in the market for learning new skills right now. (Sarcasm.) Some of our screens were less than $30 for a brand new, custom fit screen!

I picked them up a few days later. (Ignore the mess in the office/sewing room, which we have not yet unpacked.)

We have HUGE windows on the main floor of our house, which is great for lighting but means the would easily jump out when we opened them, so if we were about to go somewhere we had to keep the house closed up even if it was cool outside! No more. (And I was terrified he would jump out of the upstairs window with no screen!)

Same in the dining room. I love the big windows, but they needed screens to keep bugs out and the cat in!

We also JUST had the house painted. So, you are about to see the FIRST EVER exterior photos of the house on my blog (except one listing photo) cause it was just too embarrassing. We still need to do some minor landscaping but at least it is no longer puke/paper bag colored with 90's burgundy trim with fuchsia paint poking out under the thin paint job. Seriously.

And look how normal it looks with screens!!

Again, we do still have some cleanup to do in the back yard, so ignore those unused plant pots and the thistles growing up by the house. Just look at the pretty SCREENS on the family room, kitchen, and dining room!

If you need new screens or just new mesh, I don't know where the heck you can get them at a good price and custom sizes other than Orchard Supply Hardware. But I can recommend them. You can find a store near you here.


Thank you so much to OSH for providing these perfect screens!