Building Hardware Resource

The best way of ventilation is opening the window. The natural wind is more comfortable than any kind of the manual work, whatever the aircondition and electric fan. But if you open the window without screens, windows in most regions are an open invitation to flies, mosquitoes, and other pests.

Screening has come a long way from the bug barriers woven from horse hair a century ago. Following modification of textile looms in the 1920s, galvanized steel screening became common in homes. It protected doors and windows for decades, but, because steel wire has a tendency to rust over time, it eventually gave way to a non-rusting alternative—aluminum.

Window screens have a frame made of aluminum or wood. The screen fabric—typically aluminum or fiberglass—is stretched across the frame. Although window screens that are in good shape may be barely noticeable, screens that are dingy, bowed, or torn can be real eyesores.

Today, aluminum—and newer vinyl-coated fiberglass—are by far the most common screening materials used. Of the two, vinyl-coated fiberglass outsells aluminum 3 to 1 because it’s about half the price. Other than price, there isn’t much difference between the two.