How to fix security door mesh?

Sergi

HI Team

The security which has an aluminum one way view screen has come out of the frame when the door had slammed shut where I tried to put it back in but don't want to blend it. The strip that goes around the frame is hard to pull away from the frame so I looked into removing the screws the hold corners of the frame but it isn't your standard screw to unscrew.

If the strip can be eastly can be removed and put back in like a fly screen? 

What is the tool I need to unscrew this type of screw?

Any other way I can easily put the aluminum mesh back in the frame?

Mesh screen frame stripScrew  

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Sergi. It's terrific to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about repairing a security screen.

Because it’s a security screen, everything about it is designed to be difficult to remove, including the mesh and the way the frame is fixed together. The aluminium one-way mesh itself is quite rigid and is normally clamped into a channel when the frame is assembled, rather than being held in with a flexible spline like a standard flyscreen. That’s why the strip around the edge is so hard to pull out and why you don’t want to force it, as bending the mesh will permanently damage it.

From what you’ve shown, and based on how these doors are commonly made, the fasteners in the corners are unlikely to be screws at all. They are almost certainly pop rivets. Pop rivets don’t unscrew. To remove them, you drill them out using a drill bit slightly larger than the hole in the centre of the rivet. Drilling through the rivet head will cause it to release from the frame.

Once the rivets are removed, you should be able to separate part of the frame, carefully reposition the mesh back into the channel, refit the frame sections, and then secure it again using new pop rivets. A basic pop rivet gun and suitable aluminium rivets are all you need to reassemble it.

Unfortunately, without opening the frame, there isn’t really an easy or safe way to push the mesh back in. Security mesh is stiff by design, and trying to lever it back into place from the outside usually results in bent mesh or a distorted frame. If you’re not comfortable drilling out rivets and re-riveting the frame, a tradesperson should be able to assist. You might like to check out our Services Marketplace.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell