Without a doubt, there are more questions asked about spline than any other subject when it comes to tackling a screening project. Since screening projects are not as common as other DIY or maintenance jobs around the house, it is not surprising that limited information is available on spline. In this blog post, we will try to fill that gap with some helpful tips and tricks to guide you to the right spline for your project!
There are two primary factors that determine what type and size of spline you need:
TYPE OF FRAME
Screen Framing is available in a wide range of sizes, thickness and configurations. It can be confusing but the good news is ALL of them have a dedicated groove in which the screen material is held in place with spline. The vast majority of screen frame types are designed to accept a round spline. In select frames (or extrusions) used primarily in the Florida pool enclosure industry, flat spline is the most common type specified.
TYPE OF SPLINE
Phifer offers many different types of screening woven from several types of wires or yarns. The thickness of these products range from 0.009” for UltraVue2 to 0.12” for Standard screening to 0.034” for PetScreen®. If your project is simply replacing the exact same screening product that was in the same frame, the decision is easy. You will need to use the exact same size spline. If you are using a “thicker”
screen such as Phifer PetScreen or TuffScreen, the best advice is to use the next smallest diameter spline vs. the existing spline that was being used for standard screening.
Tips and Tricks
• If the existing spline in your screen frame is not too old and can be removed easily, it is very possible that it can be re-used in your re-screening project.
• Measure the diameter of your spline and the width of your frame’s spline channel. In most cases, they should be the same measurement.
• Most spline is flexible and can be “pulled/stretched” during the spline rolling process. This makes it smaller (like stretching a rubber band) if the spline you bought is slightly too large, but still allows for you to complete the job.
• When working with flat spline, the flat side of the “D-shaped” spline always goes down into the groove channel first.
• For standard screening material, 0.140” and 0.160” spline are the most commonly used sizes. For thicker screening products, 0.125” is the most common.
• Download our Screen Selection Guide or take our Screening Quiz to help you decide which screening product is best for your specific project.
Phifer is here to help!
Still need assistance with your spline questions? Don’t hesitate to contact Phifer. We take pride in our customer service via answering all phone calls, attentive live chat sessions and prompt responses to website inquiries.
