Window screen: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:17, 14 October 2006

Latest revision as of 15:33, 5 August 2025

(268 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)

Line 1:

{{Short description|Cover for the opening of a window}}

A “window screen,” “insect screen,” or “fly screen” is a [[metal wire]], [[fiberglass]], [[or other synthetic fiber]] mesh, stretched in a [[frame]] of wood or metal, designed to cover the opening of an open [[window]]. Its primary purpose is to keep insects, leaves, birds, and animals from entering a building or a screened structure such as a porch, while permitting fresh air-flow. Most houses in [[North America]] have screens on all operable windows, which are most useful in areas that have large [[mosquito]] populations. Screens in North America were traditionally replaced with glass "storm windows" in cold climates to insulate the window during the winter, but frames combining both storm and screen panels have become the most common type of screen currently used in cold climates.

{{Refimprove |date=July 2010}}

{{Redir|Flywire (screen)|other uses|Fly wire (disambiguation)}}

[[File:Window with insect screen.JPG|thumb|Window with insect screen]]

A '''window screen''' (also known as '''insect screen''', '''bug screen''', '''fly screen''', '''flywire''', '''wire mesh''', or '''window net''') is designed to cover the opening of a [[window]]. It is usually a [[mesh]] made of metal, [[fiberglass|fibreglass]], plastic wire, or other pieces of plastic and stretched in a [[Frame and panel|frame]] of wood or metal. It serves to keep leaves, debris, bugs, birds, and other animals from entering a building or a [[screened porch|screened structure]] such as a [[porch]], without blocking fresh air-flow.

==Installation==

==History==

For screens installed using aluminum frames, the window screen is typically cut larger then the frame, laid over it and a rubber cord (called a [[spline]]) is pressed over the screen into a special groove (called a [[spline channel]]) in the frame, the screen is then trimmed. A special tool that looks like a wheel on a handle (called a [[spline roller]]) is used to press the cord into the frame. The wheel has an indentation in its edge to help it catch the cord and not slip off. If the wheel is not available a good substitute is a medium thickness wire [[clothes hanger]]. Try to find a hanger with a wire thickness just a bit smaller then the cord, and use a rounded corner to press the rubber back into its groove. When installed using wooden frames, the screen fabric is tacked or stapled onto the frame. A small 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 of corrosion problems, metal screening fabrics other than aluminum should not be used in aluminum frames.

"Wove wire for window screens" are referenced in the American Farmer in 1822.<ref name="AmericanFarmer">{{cite news |last =Grafflin |first=J |date=1822-12-13 |title=The Subscriber |work=American Farmer |page=304 | url=https://archive.org/details/sim_american-farmer-devoted-to-agriculture-horticulture_1822-03-29_4_1/page/298/mode/2up?q=%22wove+wire+for+window+screens%22 |access-date=2024-08-12}} </ref>

In 1861 Gilbert, Bennett and Company was manufacturing [[wire mesh]] [[sieves]] for food processing. An employee realized that the wire cloth could be painted gray and sold as window screens and the product became an immediate success. On July 7, 1868, Bayley and McCluskey filed a [[U.S. Patent]], number 79541 for screened roof-top rail-car windows, allowing ventilation, while preventing "sparks, cinders, dust, etc." from entering the passenger compartment. By 1874, E.T. Barnum Company of [[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]], Michigan advertised screens that were sold by the square foot.<ref name="Busy">{{cite web| title = The Busy Brush Decorative Art - The History of Screen Painting| year = 2005| url = http://www.busybrushart.com/historyofscreenpainting.htm| access-date =2008-08-12}}</ref>

==Types of Screening Fabric==

Window screens designed specifically to prevent insect entry were not patented in the United States, although by 1900 several patents were awarded for particular innovations related to window screen design. By the 1950s, [[malaria]] was largely eradicated in the United States due to the widespread use of window screens.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Meador, MD |first=Clifton K. |title=From Med School: Shoes, Window Screens, and Meat |journal=Med School |publisher=Medscape from WebMD |date=22 April 2004 |pmc=1395801 |volume=6 |issue=2|page=59 }}</ref>

The most common materials used for insect screening material are aluminum and fiberglass. Aluminum is generally available in natural aluminum or in an applied charcoal color. The charcoal is much less visible and should be preferred where the view through the screens as well as the external appearance of the windows are important considerations. Fiberglass is available in light gray as well as charcoal colors, the charcoal again offering better viewing and appearance. Fiberglass is less expensive, and has the advantage of not "denting" when hit or pushed. However, the fiberglass mesh is somewhat more opaque than aluminum mesh, which darkens the external appearance of the window and reduces the amount of light transmitted from outside. For applications requiring greater strength, such as screened doors, nylon, and polyester screening is also available.

==Uses==

A new screening material that claims to be virtually transparent is currently manufactured by W. L. Gore & Associates, marketed by Pella Windows under the name “Vivid View”®.

===Collecting water===

Screen mesh may collect condensation. This effect has been used to collect water from fog.<ref>"Screen Collecting water in Nepal" [http://www.wateraid.org/international/what_we_do/where_we_work/nepal/2602.asp wateraid.org]; "Screen collecting water system design" [http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/9269/imke-hoehler-dropnet.html designboom.com]</ref>

===Decoration===

The premier material for insect screening is bronze. Bronze will give much longer service than either aluminum or fiberglass. When first installed, it has an unattractive gold color which weathers to an unobtrusive dark charcoal within a year or less. Bronze is somewhat more resistant to denting than aluminum. The very high cost of bronze screening explains why it is not more commonly used. Less common screen fabrics include copper, brass, stainless steel and galvanized steel.

{{Main|Screen painting}}

[[Screen painting]] is a [[folk art]] consisting of paintings on window screens.

==Gallery==

In addition to insect screening, denser screen types that also reduce sunlight and heat gain are available. These offer significant potential energy savings in hot climates.

<gallery>

File:Pierced Window Screen at Manikesvara Temple at Lakkundi.JPG|A pierced window screen brings light into the [[mandapa]] at Manikesvara Temple in Lakkundi, [[Lakkundi]]

File:Window with insect screen.JPG|A window with an insect screen

File:US Navy 091026-N-6692A-050 Sailors assigned to the dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) replace a protective window screen at Kalalake Elementary School during a community service project.jpg|Sailors assigned to the dock landing ship [[USS Tortuga (LSD 46)]] replace a protective window screen at Kalalake Elementary School during a community service project

</gallery>

==See also==

Several manufacturers offer screens that roll into a pocket when not in use. These are available for casement windows as well as other types of window and door openings.

* [[Mosquito net]]

* [[Screen door]]

== External links ==

[[category:architectural elements]]

== References ==

[[Category:Windows|Screen]]

{{reflist}}

<!-- same as with Mosquito net -->

[[de:Fliegengitter]]

[[nl:Hor]]

[[Category:Windows|Screen]]

[[nds-nl:Vliegenhorre]]

[[Category:Window coverings|Screen]]

[[ja:網戸]]

[[Category:Insect repellents]]

[[Category:Mechanical pest control]]