Installation
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For screens installed on aluminium frames, the material is cut slightly larger than the frame, then laid over it, and a flexible vinyl cord, called a spline, is pressed over the screen into a groove (spline channel) in the frame. The excess screen is then trimmed close to the spline with a sharp utility knife. Common spline sizes range from .140″ to .190″, in increments of .010″.
The spline is often manufactured with parallel ridges running along the length of the spline to provide a better grip and compliance when it is pressed into the channel. A spline roller — a special tool that consists of a metal (or plastic) wheel on a handle — is used to press the spline into the frame. The wheel edge is concave, to help it hold the spline and not slip off to the side. Some spline rollers are double-ended and have both convex and concave rollers; the convex roller can be used to seat the spline deeper into the channel without risk of cutting the screen. Driving the spline into the channel tends to tension the screen on the frame, so the installer must avoid pre-tensioning the screen excessively to prevent the frame from becoming warped.
When installed using wooden frames, the screen fabric is tacked or stapled onto the frame. A narrow wooden molding is then nailed over the ragged edge. The screening fabric needs to be stretched tightly before nailing, but not so tightly as to deform the fabric. Because it is difficult to avoid deforming the fabric and achieve the requisite tight fit using fiberglass or other synthetic mesh, these materials are almost always secured using the spline and channel method.
Because of corrosion problems with dissimilar metals, metal screening fabrics other than aluminium are not used in aluminium frames.
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