Yachts! Diamonds! Jet-setting across the globe! You will find none of these things in the glamorous world of window screen installation. Seriously, ya’ll, window screen installation is labor intensive, requires a great deal of patience and much more muscle than I anticipated. It was, as you may have guessed, not glamorous at all. I was sweating like a pig waiting for slaughter.

But I want my glamorous readers to learn from my toil. So here’s my tips and tricks for installing window screens in an Airstream. (Note: Not all Airstreams will have the same type of windows as mine, but it will work for many models, including my ’79 Sovereign.)

Supplies:

• Screening
• Spline (rubber cord that holds the screening into a screen frame)
• Spline Roller
• Scissors
• Razor Blade or utility knife
• Optional, but recommended, Flat Head Screwdriver
• Optional: Heavy duty tape or your significant other.

Step 1: (If necessary) Take out old screen. You can neatly pop out and unpeel the old spline, or you can do as I did and punch right through that old screen!

Step 2: Measure the window and cut screen mesh approximately 2 inches larger than the window on all sides.

Step 3: Enlist your significant other or heavy duty tape to hold the screen taut and in place against the window.

Step 4: Using a flat head screwdriver or the spline roller, insert the end of the new spline into the groove of the window frame.

Step 5: Using the spline roller, roll the spline into the groove around the window frame. Take care around those curved edges. They will be the most difficult part of the process.

Step 6: When you get back to the beginning of the spline, cut it and wham, bam, thank you, ma’am, new window screen!

New screens make such a difference, huh?

love,
melanie