The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California

First Aid For The Ailing Houses

When applied with a brush, any finish is likely to fill the meshes, although the mesh can be cleared by following with a dry brush. A better method of application is with a piece of carpeting tacked around a block of wood with the nap side exposed. A little varnish is brushed on the carpeting, to be transferred to the screening.

Iron-wire screening, even when galvanized, is not proof against rusting and should also be protected with varnish or screen enamel.

At the end of a season, insect screens should be cleaned and varnished, the frame painted if necessary, and stored in a dry place free from dust.

A successful shortcut in coating screens is to stack four or five of them leaning against a tree or a sawhorse and spray with clear plastic, which is available is aerosol form. The spray penetrates all the screens at once. Turn the screens around and do the other side, just to make sure all mesh is covered.

At a 5-and-10 or hardware store, large-headed tacks marked with numbers can be had in pairs, one for driving into a window frame and the other having the same number for the corresponding screen. With this identification there is no question as to which screen belongs to which window.
louver Screens These are gaining popular acceptance, although their price is higher than ordinary galvanized or even copper screening. Louvered screens consist of hundreds of tiny louvers which are punched from a sheet of metal. This permits light and air to get through, but keeps out insects and the sunlight. Each tiny louver forms a shade that shields the room against the sun at its highest and hottest positions during the day, and can thus lower room temperature.

AWNINGS

Awning cloth in common use is dyed, the stripes or other pattern being woven. When the dyes fade, they cannot be renewed, although the awning can be refreshed by redyeing in a single color. The stripes will show, although not too clearly, and as a general rule the result is a success.

Awning cloth can be painted with house paint thinned with one-fourth as much turpentine. Paint should be applied in a thin coat and brushed into the fibers; a thick coat on the surface will cause sticking. The paint should be thoroughly dry before the awning is folded. Special paints are on the market that give excellent results on faded awning cloth. One of these is called Setfast.