Window/door screening held shut by magnetic strips
Hi,
I have dozens of windows and doors which have recessed screens that roll away. When you wat to 'close' the screen you pull it closed (I'll attach a photo). My immediate problem is that over the years the magnets have lost their strength. I was trying to find a way to re-magnetize the magnets and read about "neodymium magnets". Do you think I can use something like that ? Thank you.
Here are a couple photos :
Are those just magnetic strips? Can they be peeled off? If so, you can buy strip as replacements.
But yes, you can jury rig several alternatives. If you can't take out the existing strips, you can buy small neodymium magnets (circular button magnets, sold at Hobby Lobby) and drill into the old magnets and glue the new ones in at various intervals. Should be just as strong. As long as you can insert any new magnet recessed into the frame to make the screen flush.
Can't really even tell where the magnet is in the pics. Is it the dark vertical strip in the center of the first photo?
My guess is that you would need to pull one out and give us a pic of the profile (on end, with measurements). It might be a replaceable part... or it might be proprietary (meaning you can only get it from the mfg of the doors/windows).
Most likely their embedded in the frame and are not replaceable. I'm surprised the magnetism weakened. Assuming you left them on all year round. If taken out for the season, then yes I can see where eventually they could loose their grip.
Have you contacted the manufacturer for their suggestions?
I don't think neodymium magnets are a good choice. They are not available in continuous strips. They are relatively expensive. And, are much stronger than what you need.
There is no easy way to re-magnetize a strip magnet. The first step would be to determine how the poles are oriented in your strips. There are several different types. Some I'd say there is no chance of re-magnetizing and with a couple others it could be done but would be a real PITA because of the many feet required for each window and screen edging.
I think replacing the strip in the window frame is the best option. I'd try to leave the screen magnets in place. The first step is to figure out how the poles are oriented in your existing magnets so you can order the correct magnetic strip. Then pick and dig the old strip out of the window frames. Then install the new strip, probably with double sided tape.
Yes - the windows and doors have an interesting story.
First off - they are not wood - they are PVC.
The manufacturer is a German company called KOMMERLING.
BUT they farmed out the add-ons (the screenings) to a Spanish company.
So the German company gave me a contact at the Spanish company but I'm waiting to hear back.
btw - I am an America living in Mexico - just to make this a truly global event.
So I see rolls of these magnetic strips on ebay and amazon. Is it that a strip itself has a series of rows which vary in polarity ? or do you think the entire strip's orientation needs to be flipped to accommodate the opposing strip ? I guess my question is - given a new roll of magnetic strippig it will work for both sides of the opening ? The house has many openings like I have pictured - but this door is by far the most important. It goes from the living room to the outside patio, so it is opened and closed a lot. Some of the other screens I just have secured in place with little clasps.
Most PVC accessory parts snap into a groove, and you hammer them in with a rubber mallet. So its surely a replaceable part assuming they are still in business and haven't discontinued it by now. The hard part with simulated wood pvc is not scratching through the coating when you try to pry the old pieces out. Hopefully the Spanish company will be able to help because it's looking more and more likely that they will be the only ones that can help with this part.
Without being able to see or pry on the magnetic strip it's impossible for us to say if it was just applied with 2 faced tape or similar. You would have to figure out that part to know if gluing a magnetic strip on would work. We can't answer that without being there.
The trouble with Amazon & Ebay is they probably don't say anything about how the poles are aligned. You'll have to get a magnet and a piece of strip magnet to hold against your strips to experiment and learn how your strips are polarized.
Wait a minute. If you can remove the old strip and if the screen frame is magnetic (steel, not aluminum) it makes no difference what the strip polarity is.
So my question is the screen frame iron base to accept a magnet or is it non ferrous metal?
edit...I see that earlier you said the frames and doors are PVC. Are the screen frames also PVC?
If you haven't guessed by now - this is the most thought I've ever given a magnet...
The frames for the screens are PVC.
If I take one of the magnets off the fridge (with picture of one of our cats) - the same magnet sticks to both sides of the openings. That must say something - no ??
It would appear that the existing magnetic strips are glued to the frames. But I think they would come off with a utility knife.
I feel a trip to home depot in my future.
Edit : Totally off topic - have you guys ever heard of the "coral castle" in South Miami ? Truly amazing place and all constructed by a single man. There are theories how he could have done it - but many are founded on magnetism...
A couple weeks have passed. I still have not resolved my problem with my magnetic strips. I did contact the manufacturer who gave me the name of a "repair" shop, who I did contact but have not heard back from.
BUT - tonight I have 3 more photos which more clearly show what I am dealing with. There is a plastic ridge which fits into a groove in the PVC frame. Do you think I will ever be able to find something like this _without_ the help of the manufacturer ? Thank you for your patience....
There is about a .001% chance you will find Kommerling window & door parts (made in Europe and India) in the US, or via Google, which scans mostly US sites. The manufacturer is always your best bet.
Hello,
I am trying to address this 1 1/4" gap that I have under both of my patio doors and figure out the best solution. I recently repainted the patio door and removed the door seal that I added many years ago and want to fix this properly.
If you look at my video, you can see that the threshold itself is approximately 6 1/4" wide and measures about 60" long - the gap from the bottom of the door to the wood threshold measures approximately 1 1/4":
- [url]https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BEJqbgXGr5wxmZHWDS80gOak_xwFX-sE/view?usp=sharing[/url]
If I recall, about 6 or 7 years ago (maybe even 10) there might have been a metal threshold that I removed at the time - I think since it looked old, I just removed it for some foolish reason and then installed this under door seal ([url]https://www.amazon.com/M-D-BUILDING-PRODUCTS-MfrPartNo-43336/dp/B00P4QHJNG?th=1[/url]). It didn't look that great and didn't look 'finished'.
I want to best figure out how to fix this gap - is it by installing some type of weather stripping, or by installing some kind of threshold which will also give the door more support in the middle of the door?
Thanks in advance!
Any thoughts on the quality of Wincore 5400 windows? About 10 years ago we had Okna 400 installed, but we now want to replace some of those with black windows (as we're redoing our exterior).
Contractor recommended Wincore as a good replacement option and comparable to the Okna.
Thank you.
04-13-22, 03:49 PM
