I am putting up a link to a spreadsheet I created for anybody who wants to venture into making their own DIY aluminum screen enclosures. Whatever size enclosure you want to create, put in the dimensions and it will give you all the pieces of the frame you need to cut. I created this mainly because it took me SO long to make my first enclosure having to calculate everything from scratch. So I am sharing this with anyone to save you time. Here is the link to the Excel spreadsheet:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7gx4szzj7jgp8q3/enclosure calculations.xlsx?dl=0
I built my enclosure based on the design of this JDog's 4 part videos on Youtube:
Please note I did not use a hacksaw to cut. I used a miter saw and then quick scrap on the edges with a file to remove the sharp cuts
.
What got me started with this project was when I found these hydroponic 23.5 x 23.5 trays on Craigslist and bought them to use as the bottom trays of my screen enclosures. I needed to DIY because I wanted the frame to sit inside the top lip of the tray.
I will warn anybody wanting to make their own enclosure: if you don't have time on your hands, go buy pre-made commercial one. The first one I built took me a good 6-8 hours to build which includes all the measuring and rolling the aluminum screen into the frame. The second one I built took me about 2.5 - 3 hours. In hindsight, I should have gone to work an overtime shift and used that money to buy all the enclosures I needed. But I've started down this road and there is no turning back after I have bought all the screen frame materials.
Anyhow here are the pics of the final product. The close-up pictures are to show you the build to understand how the calculations are made based on this design.
As you can see, I've inserted spreader bars at 16" intervals to use as support for branches and to hang pots from. Similar to Dragon Strand's Dragon Ledges idea although my spreader bars are not as rigid and strong. However, it will be strong enough to hold a pot with some wires attached to the bars.
Few things I learned along the way:
1) buy more screen material than you need. you will mess up the first couple tries until you get the hang of it.
2) after laying out your aluminum screen over the frame, start on the long side and start LIGHTLY rolling along the grove and the screen will SLOWLY start being pushed into the grove. It should take you at least 15-20 passes along the grove to get it in. You will see the screen material along the outside edge start slowly rising as the material gets pushed into the grove more and more with each pass and you will know the material is fully into the grove when the outside edge is pointing straight up. LIGHTLY LIGHTLY LIGHTLY. Then put in the spline into the first long edge.
3) Most websites and various manufacturers recommended 0.135" spline for aluminum. I bought 500 feet roll and I feel this is much too thick to use. I recommend 0.125" spline. I have to pull on the 0.135" spline to make it thinner in order for me to get it into the grove easier.
4) after the first long edge, do the opposite long edge then the short sides
5) practice on the smaller piece first (top or bottom) before trying the big side pieces
6) When rolling in the spline, short back and forth motion and inching forward to get the spline in without slipping out of the grove and ripping your aluminum screen with the rolling wheel. Trying to roll in the spling in one LONG quick roll will always inevitably cause your roller to slip out and damaging the screen.
To give a little background about myself, I consider myself a fairly handy DIY person. I've drafted my own building plans for a single residential house and had it approved by the county, I've framed that 1200 sq ft house, installed the engineered trusses, installed roof and roof materials, did my own electrical, plumbing and finished it completely to final building inspection. With all my building knowledge, I still believe I should have gone out and bought myself the pre-fabricated ones. If you don't have time on your hands, spend $120-140 and buy one available at retail stores. It will save you time..... a lot of time...
Good luck.
Ask me questions if you need help.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7gx4szzj7jgp8q3/enclosure calculations.xlsx?dl=0
I built my enclosure based on the design of this JDog's 4 part videos on Youtube:
Please note I did not use a hacksaw to cut. I used a miter saw and then quick scrap on the edges with a file to remove the sharp cuts
.
What got me started with this project was when I found these hydroponic 23.5 x 23.5 trays on Craigslist and bought them to use as the bottom trays of my screen enclosures. I needed to DIY because I wanted the frame to sit inside the top lip of the tray.
I will warn anybody wanting to make their own enclosure: if you don't have time on your hands, go buy pre-made commercial one. The first one I built took me a good 6-8 hours to build which includes all the measuring and rolling the aluminum screen into the frame. The second one I built took me about 2.5 - 3 hours. In hindsight, I should have gone to work an overtime shift and used that money to buy all the enclosures I needed. But I've started down this road and there is no turning back after I have bought all the screen frame materials.
Anyhow here are the pics of the final product. The close-up pictures are to show you the build to understand how the calculations are made based on this design.
As you can see, I've inserted spreader bars at 16" intervals to use as support for branches and to hang pots from. Similar to Dragon Strand's Dragon Ledges idea although my spreader bars are not as rigid and strong. However, it will be strong enough to hold a pot with some wires attached to the bars.
Few things I learned along the way:
1) buy more screen material than you need. you will mess up the first couple tries until you get the hang of it.
2) after laying out your aluminum screen over the frame, start on the long side and start LIGHTLY rolling along the grove and the screen will SLOWLY start being pushed into the grove. It should take you at least 15-20 passes along the grove to get it in. You will see the screen material along the outside edge start slowly rising as the material gets pushed into the grove more and more with each pass and you will know the material is fully into the grove when the outside edge is pointing straight up. LIGHTLY LIGHTLY LIGHTLY. Then put in the spline into the first long edge.
3) Most websites and various manufacturers recommended 0.135" spline for aluminum. I bought 500 feet roll and I feel this is much too thick to use. I recommend 0.125" spline. I have to pull on the 0.135" spline to make it thinner in order for me to get it into the grove easier.
4) after the first long edge, do the opposite long edge then the short sides
5) practice on the smaller piece first (top or bottom) before trying the big side pieces
6) When rolling in the spline, short back and forth motion and inching forward to get the spline in without slipping out of the grove and ripping your aluminum screen with the rolling wheel. Trying to roll in the spling in one LONG quick roll will always inevitably cause your roller to slip out and damaging the screen.
To give a little background about myself, I consider myself a fairly handy DIY person. I've drafted my own building plans for a single residential house and had it approved by the county, I've framed that 1200 sq ft house, installed the engineered trusses, installed roof and roof materials, did my own electrical, plumbing and finished it completely to final building inspection. With all my building knowledge, I still believe I should have gone out and bought myself the pre-fabricated ones. If you don't have time on your hands, spend $120-140 and buy one available at retail stores. It will save you time..... a lot of time...
Good luck.
Ask me questions if you need help.
