wood for storm/screens

[Ireland House]

Need advice. What species wood do you folks use for storms and screens? The few we have already made are oak. Husband read that cypress is good, but it is unavailable in our area. These will be primed and painted on all surfaces. Don't want to spend an arm and a leg, but Mike also only wants to do this once. What have you used and had good results?

[nhguy]

Have you ever tried using screen stock? I make all my screens from this. First I cut all the 45 degree cuts and use four 45 degree clamps on the four corners, then counter sink two screws in each corner. You could pre-treat them with a wood preservative then prime and assemble. I've made a dozen or so over the years. I even used the same wood stock to make a storm window using a plexiglass panel. I'm sure there will be other ideas, but that's my way.

[heartwood]

red cedar is a light weight weather resistant wood...not especially cheap but will last a good long time...
....jade

[Manalto]

Doug White Lumber in Marissa, IL has oak as well as cypress. I see the cedar that Jade has already mentioned and redwood as options. All are pricey compared to yellow pine.

Can you translate "an arm and a leg" into cost per board foot?

I'm also interested in wood options for building screens because that project is not far down the road for me too. What about pressure treated? Too prone to warping?

Do others who have experience with this have a preferred method constructing wooden window screens? How about this one?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhK0QwzCn0Q

[heartwood]

scott has a good set up for his screen making process...what I would do differently is:
prime all the wood prior to assembly...the weakest point of the wood for water penetration
is at the cut end joints...the joints will expand and contract over time and water will most
certainly migrate into the cut ends causing swelling and rot down the road...

the other thing I would suggest is to route out the interior surface of the wood (use
5/4" stock which, when dressed, is a full one inch thickness) for an interchangeable aluminum screen
panel and a glass panel (can be made at most glass stores)...that means you can leave the storm in place
and change the panels seasonally...

pressure treated wood is a poor quality pine dipped in chemicals...not dimensionally sound...

...jade

[Manalto]

Thanks for the feedback, Jade.

...what I would do differently is prime all the wood prior to assembly...

I wondered about those raw cut ends. Would you prime before you cut the pocket holes? I just wondered about glue's ability to adhere to primer vs. wood.

Wouldn't they be nice in bronze?

The ability to switch between screen and glass is a good idea for the cold-winter climates.

[Gothichome]

Manalto, Gothichomes storms are ash I believe and most definitely not light weight. We don’t have any screens except for the triple tracks. The screen doors have screens and a glass panels. Just change them out as Jade mentioned.

[Manalto]

Good to know.

I don't need to change "out" screens in Alabama. It's February and the temperature is near 80°F. That's why I said that the interchangeable glass/screen idea was good for cold-winter areas. You don't need storm windows on the Gulf Coast of the US. The truth is, once in a great while you wish you had them, when the Polar Vortex hits the southern US and temperatures plunge, but it's too rare to worry about.

[Manalto]

Good to know.

I don't need to change "out" screens in Alabama. It's February and the temperature is near 80°F. That's why I said that the interchangeable glass/screen idea was good for cold-winter areas. You don't need storm (glass) windows on the Gulf Coast of the US. The truth is, once in a great while you wish you had them, when the Polar Vortex hits the southern US and temperatures plunge, but it's too rare to worry about.

[Gothichome]

The polar vortex, James. When it gets all th way down to maybe 50F.