Screen Doors

When I was growing up we always had a screen door on our front door.  Granted we didn't have central air. We instead cooled our home with a swamp cooler, burt that my faithful friends is a whole different blog.  :)

Anyway, in the evenings or in the morning hours it was more efficient to cool the house simply by opening a few windows and the front door and allowing the air circulation to work its magic.  The magic wasn't all that impressive in the desert where 100+ degrees was the norm in summer months, and where the wind blew and dirt hovered in the air, but it was sometimes preferable to the humidity created and by the swamp cooler.

Screens were also a problem with six children running in and out and somehow creating snags in the screen which tore and looked terrible.  The lifespan of a typical screen door might have been 2-3 years and then a new one was needed. I'm not certain on the cost or lifespan since I was a kid and I just didn't pay attention to the maintenance details so much, but I do remember the irritation in my mothers voice when we would let the screen door slam or a tear would appear, and I remember my father setting the tension on the spring of new screen door at many times which would indicate frequent replacement.

These days, it's not as common to see screen doors as it was then.  Most homes that have two doors are actually storm doors which may be more attributed to the region. People in general have this idea that the Northwest means colder wetter winter months than you might find in say the high deserts of California.  I disagree, but that's another blog. :)  My point is, that screen doors, like that of my childhood, whose primary purpose is to enhance air flow and as an added  bonus "screen" out bugs of the flying nature like flies and bees and June-bugs, have become scarce and quite uncommon.

22 months ago I moved from a home with air conditioning into a smaller home closer to downtown, which, though completely sufficient in every way, simply does not have central air or any form of air conditioning.  Now, for 98% of the year, this is fine.  We usually only get a few weeks a year that are unbearably hot and the rest of the year, even in the summer months, temperatures are mild enough that a few open windows and a well placed oscillating fan suffice.  I never afforded much thought to alternate scenarios until this past spring. One evening we were sitting down having dinner and we started talking about our childhoods and the screen door worked it's way into the conversation and I never let it go. 

After doing enough research to present a value add solution to my landlord, I requested his approval to have a screen door installed and he agreed.  I don't believe in complaining about things just to complain.  I think its very important to not only identify issues but to present solutions and then act on them, and it usually pays off. 

It was an economical solution, and it made a difference as we began the summer months.  However, it wasn't until the past two weeks, as the weather begins to cool and the season changes that I really appreciate everything the screen door means.  I love that it allowed for airflow through the weeks of heat. That I could leave my door open and listen to the crickets and frogs on the summer nights.  I appreciate that I could open the door in the morning and bask in the cool summer light of the early morning hours.  But, what I really love about my screen door now, is the ability to open my door and listen to the sound of the autumn rain and the rustling of the leaves as the trees begin to transition to their bare winter branches.  I love the smells of autumn as they float through my door, and I love the crisp clean air of the autumn morning.

Its not cold enough yet to demand closed doors and locked windows, no need yet to "batten down the hatches"  We don't have the wind of the California high deserts so we don't have to worry about dust blowing in and creating a layer across our furniture and floors. I can leave my front door open and not feel exposed.

I love my screen door, now more than in the summer.  I don't have to worry about damage from my children because they are old enough and responsible enough to care for it.  We put a child's gate across the entryway when the dogs are in the house so that they can't damage it or charge through the screen when they see a cat or a mailman. I am pleased with our solution to our lack of central air, and I think its going to have a value add not just in the summer months but throughout the year.