· 6 min read
Window Screen Repair or Replacement: How to Tell, and What Each Costs
How to tell whether a torn screen needs re-screening or a new frame, what each costs in Colorado Springs, and which mesh belongs on which elevation.
A torn screen is either a twenty-five dollar problem or a hundred dollar one, and the difference has nothing to do with how bad the tear looks. It depends entirely on the frame. This is worth understanding before you call anyone, because the more expensive answer is also the easier one to sell you.
Screens fail in two different ways
The mesh tears. That is the cheap failure. A branch, a dog, a ladder, or simply fifteen years of UV making the fiberglass brittle until it splits along a fold. If the frame around it is straight and the channel that holds the mesh is intact, the screen gets re-screened and it is as good as it was.
The frame goes. That is the expensive one. Aluminum frames bend when they are leaned on, dropped, or pried out of a tight opening. The corners separate. The spline groove — the narrow channel around the perimeter that the rubber cord presses the mesh into — gets stretched or crushed, and once it will not grip the spline, it will not hold tension. You can re-screen that frame and it will look right on the workbench, then bow in the opening and pop out within a season.
So the honest first question on any screen is not "how torn is it" but "is the frame straight and is the groove intact".
What each one costs
- Re-screening an existing frame: roughly $25 to $45 per screen, depending on size and mesh type
- A new frame built to your opening: roughly $65 to $120
- Sliding patio door screens: higher, because they are large and use heavier frames
- Solar or pet-resistant mesh: adds to either figure, since the material itself costs more
Almost every company has a minimum for a visit, which means one screen on its own is poor value. If you have a torn one, walk the house before you call — most people find three or four others they had stopped noticing, and doing them together is substantially cheaper per screen than calling someone back.
The frames most likely to need replacing here
Aluminum screen frames from the 1970s and 1980s are the common replacement in this market, and Security-Widefield and the older parts of Fountain have a lot of them. They corrode at the corner keys and the metal goes brittle, so they crack rather than bend when you handle them. If yours are original to a house of that era, expect some of them to be past re-screening — and expect an honest contractor to tell you that some of the others are still fine.
Which mesh belongs where
Standard fiberglass
The default, and correct for most openings. Inexpensive, easy to replace, and it does not obstruct the view much. It is also the one that goes brittle with UV exposure, which is why south and west elevations tend to be the screens that tear first.
Solar mesh
A denser weave that stops a meaningful share of solar heat before it reaches the glass. At 6,000 feet the UV load is roughly a quarter higher than at sea level, and west-facing rooms in the Springs get genuinely uncomfortable in the afternoon. The trade-off is honest: it is visibly darker looking out, and it costs more.
The arrangement most people end up happiest with is solar mesh on the south and west elevations only, standard fiberglass everywhere else. You get the heat reduction where it actually matters and keep the clear view on the sides that were never the problem.
Pet-resistant
Heavy vinyl-coated polyester, several times the tear strength of standard mesh. It is thicker and more visible, and it is only worth the money on the openings where an animal has already made the case — usually a patio door and one or two low windows, not the whole house.
No-see-um
A finer weave for very small insects. Genuinely useful near water; largely unnecessary in most of El Paso County, and it reduces airflow noticeably. Worth knowing it exists, rarely worth specifying here.
Things worth asking before you book
- Do you re-screen on site, or do the screens leave? On-site work means you are not without screens for a week.
- What is the minimum charge, and does it change if I have several done at once?
- Which of mine actually need new frames, and can you show me why?
- Can you match my existing frame color and mesh, and if not, which elevations should be done together so it does not look patched?
That third question is the one that matters. A contractor who can point at a crushed spline groove or a separated corner and explain it is telling you something checkable. One who quotes new frames for everything without looking closely is quoting the larger ticket by default.
One thing that is not a repair problem
Screens that will not sit properly after cleaning or after being taken out are frequently not damaged at all — they are in the wrong opening. Screens are not interchangeable even when they look identical, because window openings are rarely square after a couple of decades of settling. If a screen suddenly will not seat, try the one from the window next to it before you conclude anything is bent.
If you want this done
Window Screen Repair & Replacement in Colorado Springs
Torn mesh re-screened into your existing frames, new frames when the old ones are past saving, and an honest answer about which one you have.
Window Screen Cleaning
Screens removed, washed, dried, and reinstalled. Included in our full service instead of charged per screen.
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How Often Should You Clean Your Windows in Colorado?
Front Range conditions that drive window soiling, realistic frequencies by situation, and why the timing of your cleaning matters more than the count.