Disappearing Window Screens
Now that the leaden skies of winter are receding a bit allowing us to enjoy the beauty of spring, I’m enjoying looking out my windows more than I have in the past few months.
There are two things impeding my otherwise perfect view of my empire. One: I can’t see out the bottom third of my full-lite French doors. Eddy, our dog, while passively window-shopping the bird feeders from the comfort of the living room, she manages to fairly effectively apply an obfuscatory coating on the entire surface of the glass…. and then… after actively shopping the bird feeders, while waiting for her door person, she completes the job by resurfacing the exterior of the glass as well. Two: My window screens are black fiberglass. As if it’s not dark enough already.
But, lo and behold, yesterday while reading a November 2009 copy of Journal of Light Construction, I came across a product that could address the second of the two impediments. The maker of Inlighten Screens claims the fluoropolymer strands that make up their screens are half the diameter of the strands used in standard fiberglass or metal screens and that the product will allow more light and air to pass through. They also claim that the material is very strong and has a ‘memory’ which will allow it to bounce back after being dented.
The product comes as custom-made or you can purchase it by the roll, up to 64″. It looks like prices start around $80 per screen and $5 per square foot for the rolls. So, for many, it’s not going to be an impulse purchase, but for the view windows, it could be completely worth it.
The screens and material can be purchased via their website only. You can order a free sample, which I did. Once I’m done with it, I’ll leave it at our Design Center in case you’re curious to see what it is.
As for the other impediment I mentioned, it seems to be a perpetual condition. Though challenging at times for a neat freak like myself, the entertainment value is so high that… in the end, I figure it’s easier to train myself to enjoy looking out the top two/thirds of my French doors.
The dog always wins.
Posted on February 27, 2010
