Further march toward suburbia

What’s a beautiful big patio, hanging plants and bird feeders, without a screen door?

I have a great patio in this new apartment. It’s very spacious. It faces the east, so in the mornings I get up early (yes, you read me right) and I read. I gaze out onto the horizon and marvel as the sun greets me with its rays.

And of course, what’s a patio without a screen door? Sounds like a project if I ever heard one!

First off, the door frame was too narrow at the bottom, so I had to widen it. To do that, I had to pry back the frame, snip the staples off, and screw it back in with an extra 1/4″ gap.

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I got this little kit especially for swinging screen doors which worked great. Here’s the finished product!

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The door’s spring loaded, so I put an extra eye hook on the adjacent wall to hold the door open.

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Ahh, suburbia. I feel like Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld in the episode “Serenity Now“. You know the one, where Kramer rips the old screen door off Frank’s house and mounts it to his apartment front door? He sets up some patio furniture and potted plants in anticipation of the fireworks display.

Of course we know how that episode ended too. The screen door was Kramer’s early steps toward insanity! Think I should be worried?

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36 Comments

  1. Ahh, Americana. Exploring your bob vila side hopefully yielded a new tool purchase? I don’t know if Kramer experienced the slam of the spring, but perhaps you can think of it as a resistor only RLC circuit. May I recommend a inductive damper?

    1. I was thinking more in lines of “whats-his-name” on Old Yankee Workshop. Ebb won’t be able to make another great escape now! At least without your permission 😛

  2. speaking of homes, i just made an offer on a house today! i’m so stinking excited & am slightly stressing cuz i want him to accept the offer… can’t let the house go!

    1. Oh wow! Very cool, Angela. That’s a big step, isn’t it? I was this close to buying a place in Dallas. It literally came within a week of the decision to move to Colorado instead.

      Hope the offer is accepted!

    2. thanks guys.. i’ll let you know what happens..

      and i know, Julie.. i have my heart set on this place already.. i’ll be heart-broken if it doesn’t work out!

          1. You got a bunch of burly guys to help move your stuff?
            i don’t know about “burly,” but i at least want to make sure someone has a truck..

            Let’s all head out to IN and help Angela move!
            now, i LOVE this idea, James! lol

            and thanks, Julie!.. i love it! my mother said it looks like a dollhouse!

  3. James just finished hanging some much needed, new blinds in our bedroom. I’m so excited!!

    Now if I could figure out how to keep him motivated to do more….

    The door looks great!

    I’m crossing my fingers for you Angela. I’ve been reduced to tears more than once over loosing a bid on a home. It’s so easy to get emotionally involved in a house before it’s even yours! Keep us informed!

  4. All this screen door posting makes me realize that I need one on the back of my house! On a scale of 1-10, how difficult do you think it is to install a screen door for a gal who likes to use a cordless drill?

    1. Well, Ang, let’s put it this way. Only 25% of the comments are Rob-centric. Another 60% are Angela-centric. The remaining 15% are my own comments which don’t count!

      Nah, I can take it. 😛

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