Hello. I live in Northern Thailand. After 7 years my dog has just started opening the flyscreen door at the back of the house. We get some nasty mosquitoes here. I found your episode here. I looked at a lot and yours is the most informative. Today I put the pulleys in place and everything is working smoothly. Thank you for posting this invaluable idea.
Thank you for the inspiration! I cut a groove in 2 white nylon replacement rollers as pulleys (the big pulleys are overkill) Used 30lb fishing line, tied to a length of rebar with a hole drilled thru it, & the rebar rides up & down inside a piece of 1/2" pvc pipe glued to the wall. Love it!
Thanks very much, Joel! (And sorry for my delayed reply.) We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Perhaps you will too. Appreciate your feedback, and also your great suggestions to improve the final result. All the very best with your DIY projects!
I like this modification. Curious how long of a piece of rebar you needed. Also instead of pvc I saw a piece of vinyl fence U-channel which might look a little nicer than round PVC. Also, I'm thinking that the pulley doesn't need to be at the closing end of the door, it can be in the middle and the hook be on the far end of the door.
Wow. This is EXACTLY what I was trying to figure out how to do and you've made it a breeze. I taught my dog how to "nose" in and out of the house but now I have to get up off the couch every time he changes his mind (which is a lot). Lol. This should fix that! Thank you!!
I like your idea of the dyi automatic screen door closer. I have a pocket screen door from my basement to the garage and I am constantly have to check it when I go through to make sure its closed. We have a indoor cat that is always looking for an opportunity to escape to the great outdoors. Now I know how to rig it up to close tightly without me worrying about him getting out. Thanks for the video!
Thanks very much, Anthony! (And sorry for my delayed reply.) We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Perhaps you will too. Appreciate your feedback, and all the great suggestions to improve the final result. All the very best with your DIY projects!
Hi @BagheeraRaceGamer. Sorry for missing your comment, and for my very late response. Great idea! I actually ran with this concept and installed an L-bracket (low) on the outside of my screen door so our dog could enter freely from the outside... It works wonderfully! Thanks. All the very best with your DIY projects! Cheers!
Thanks, Billy! We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Perhaps you will too. Appreciate your feedback. And if you can, please post a link to show your own automatic screen door closer. Cheers!
Wow :) I was sick of opening and closing flyscreen door for a long time and today made almost the same design with exactly the same pulley(i think..). With one difference thou; I used a single pulley with a different approach while trying to tinker a design with old lawn mower pull start cord. Simple Machines for the win.
Thanks for your encouragement and feedback, Designedin Australia! (And sorry for my delayed response.) This simple system has worked very well indeed for us as well, and continues to generate interest and turn heads whenever we have visitors. I'm sure yours does too! Hope your DIY projects continue to be a great success. All the very best to you!
Thanks, Grace! We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Appreciate your feedback. Cheers!
Ingenius.....but a question or two....I need this because my dog knows how to 'nose' the screen door open from the outside, but, of course, doesn't have the courtesy to 'nose' it shut once inside. I tried a simple spring on top of the door, but this immediately wrenched the door up diagonally and stopped it from moving. I'm wondering if your cool contraption will work better because the applied 'pull' is coming from the top of the door but from the weight on the side? I also set the screw at the top right-hand corner instead of the center top....before I start drilling holes for pullies in the door, any suggestions? I think part of the challenge here is that my screen door is old, and the spring-wheel guide tensioners on top and bottom have to be set loosely or else the door won't slide open/closed properly, which gives it a lot of 'play' on the track....thanks.
Hi flummox69, thanks for your comments and questions - and we also understand what it is to have a family dog that noses the screen door open! Setting the pull-screw towards the middle of your doorframe (top) should help. That seems to work well for this particular concept and design! Also, making sure the wheels on both the top and bottom of your screen door work well and are lubricated is important - particularly the ones on the bottom of the frame. I actually replaced my wheels with metal wheels vs. the cheaper plastic ones that the screen door came with. The metal wheels seem to operate much smoother and better in the long run. Hope this helps, and all the very best with your project! We have visitors to our home that constantly remark about this simple contraption... and how great it is! Thanks again for connecting.
Hi @Prash1c. So sorry to have missed your comment - and for my extremely delayed response, however I did want to say "thanks very much" for your feedback. All the very best with your DIY projects!
Thanks very much, ToppCat! (And sorry for my delayed reply.) We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Perhaps you will too. Appreciate your feedback, and all the very best with your own DIY projects!
Thanks very much, Donovan! (And sorry for my delayed reply.) We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Perhaps you will too. Appreciate your feedback, and all the very best with your own DIY projects!
Thanks for your encouragement and feedback, ben! (And sorry for my delayed response.) This simple system has worked very well indeed for us, and continues to generate interest and turn heads whenever we have visitors. Hope your DIY projects are also a great success! All the very best to you!
Appreciate the feedback and encouragement, everyone. Visitors to our home are often amazed by the effectiveness and ingenuity of this very simple SCREEN DOOR CLOSER - which is extremely quick and easy to install... So, you can do it too!
Why dont they commercialized this making it in a tubular with shaped weights to make it neat. Been searching for auto close for sliding door without motor. All i see is those neumatic door closer that has a lot of negative comments because they dont last long. This could be such a great idea.
Nothing is worse than people leaving the screen door open to let the bugs invade your house, leaving me to having to chase and capture them. As your guest go home to their big free home. Thank you for your genius.
Thanks very much, Jason! (And sorry for my delayed reply.) We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Perhaps you will too. Appreciate your feedback, and also your great suggestion to improve the final result. How did yours turn out? All the very best with your DIY projects!
Thanks very much, mused101! (And sorry for my delayed reply.) We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Perhaps you will too. Appreciate your feedback, and all the very best with your own DIY projects!
Thanks very much, Insightful! (And sorry for my delayed reply.) We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Perhaps you will too. Appreciate your feedback, and all the very best with your own DIY projects!
Thanks for your encouragement and feedback, Adam! (And sorry for my delayed response.) Hope your DIY projects are also a great success. All the very best to you.
Hi Muhammad Faizzul, thanks for your question. The bearing is called a 1-1/2 inch Zinc-Plated Wall/Ceiling Mount Pulley - or something similar. Hope that helps - and all the very best with your DIY projects! www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-1-2-in-Zinc-Plated-Wall-Ceiling-Mount-Pulley-43364/205883050
Excellent, Zlatko Pancic! I'm glad your similar system is working out well too! We have received a lot of compliments for creating this simple system, and so there's no reason it can't be more widely used! All the very best with your DIY projects!
Hi George, thanks for reaching out! Actually, I don't know of any company that has such a kit, but if you don't mind sending me a couple of photos of your screen door frame (*top right and left corners), perhaps I can mail you the parts - or e-mail you a list of the parts if you would prefer - that you will need to complete the job? The installation is straightforward. Glad to help.
@@andrewbrit71 Thanks buddy. Believe it or not i have the same exact sliding door and screen door set up as yours :) I went out to Lowe's yesterday and bought the same pulleys as the ones you used I just need to get some fishing line.
Thanks for the much simpler suggestion, Karen! (And sorry for my delayed reply.) We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Perhaps you will too. Appreciate your feedback, and all the very best with your own DIY projects! (I can certainly have a tendency to overthink things.)
Thanks for your encouragement and feedback, Changdev! (And sorry for my delayed response.) This simple system has worked very well indeed for us, and continues to generate interest and turn heads whenever we have visitors! Hope your DIY projects are also a great success! All the very best to you!
Sir, I tried this and when I am trying to close the door other side of the door gets lifted slightly and eventually it becomes harder for me to open the door after adding weights. Any idea/solution for this problem?
Hi Harsha, if your door is lifting slightly, you may want to adjust your rollers (top and bottom) to stabilize the door and stop it tilting. Also, you could move the hook on the door further towards the middle... Quick question: How close is the hook to the edge of the door?
Hi @@harshavardhan7080, in addition to adjusting (extending ) the top and/or bottom rollers out from the door - probably by turning the screws on the top and bottom outer edges of the door clockwise - so that the screen door fits more snuggly or tightly into the door frame (*this should help stabilize the door and help stop it rocking), also try moving the hook from the middle position towards the closing edge of the door. I have our hook positioned 12 inches from the closing edge - and it seems to work well. If those 2 things don't help, you are welcome to send me a video clip of what is happening and I will be glad to take a look. All the very best!
Thanks! We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Appreciate your feedback. Cheers!
Thank-you Asad Armagedon, appreciate the encouragement. (And sorry for my delayed response.) Visitors to our home are often amazed by the effectiveness and ingenuity of this very simple SCREEN DOOR CLOSER - which is extremely quick and easy to install... so you can do it too. All the very best!
Thanks for your comment, Greg M. And you're definitely right about "aesthetics", of course! (We were going for practicality - as also evidenced by the duct tape on the mesh!) :-)
You're absolutely right, Lotso! (And sorry for my delayed reply.) We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Perhaps you will too. Appreciate your feedback, and all the very best with your own DIY projects!
Sorry Francisco Diaz, nowhere near as handsome and talented as Nick! Visitors to our home are often amazed by the effectiveness and ingenuity of this very simple SCREEN DOOR CLOSER - which is extremely quick and easy to install... so you can do it too. All the very best!
Hello. I live in Northern Thailand. After 7 years my dog has just started opening the flyscreen door at the back of the house. We get some nasty mosquitoes here. I found your episode here. I looked at a lot and yours is the most informative. Today I put the pulleys in place and everything is working smoothly. Thank you for posting this invaluable idea.
Thank you for the inspiration! I cut a groove in 2 white nylon replacement rollers as pulleys (the big pulleys are overkill) Used 30lb fishing line, tied to a length of rebar with a hole drilled thru it, & the rebar rides up & down inside a piece of 1/2" pvc pipe glued to the wall. Love it!
Thanks very much, Joel! (And sorry for my delayed reply.) We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Perhaps you will too.
Appreciate your feedback, and also your great suggestions to improve the final result. All the very best with your DIY projects!
I like this modification. Curious how long of a piece of rebar you needed. Also instead of pvc I saw a piece of vinyl fence U-channel which might look a little nicer than round PVC. Also, I'm thinking that the pulley doesn't need to be at the closing end of the door, it can be in the middle and the hook be on the far end of the door.
Wow. This is EXACTLY what I was trying to figure out how to do and you've made it a breeze. I taught my dog how to "nose" in and out of the house but now I have to get up off the couch every time he changes his mind (which is a lot). Lol. This should fix that! Thank you!!
I like your idea of the dyi automatic screen door closer. I have a pocket screen door from my basement to the garage and I am constantly have to check it when I go through to make sure its closed. We have a indoor cat that is always looking for an opportunity to escape to the great outdoors. Now I know how to rig it up to close tightly without me worrying about him getting out. Thanks for the video!
You're welcome, Tommy Z. All the best with your project!
I like the mechanism and improving the looks of the counterweight as some viewers
have pointed out makes it a winner, the rollers are a nice touch.
Thanks very much, Anthony! (And sorry for my delayed reply.) We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Perhaps you will too.
Appreciate your feedback, and all the great suggestions to improve the final result. All the very best with your DIY projects!
Genius. An extra low paddle on each side of the screendoor, and my dogs can exit and enter freely while we keep moskitoes out ^_^
Hi @BagheeraRaceGamer. Sorry for missing your comment, and for my very late response.
Great idea! I actually ran with this concept and installed an L-bracket (low) on the outside of my screen door so our dog could enter freely from the outside... It works wonderfully! Thanks.
All the very best with your DIY projects!
Cheers!
Would likely use this DIY tip of yours once i get my own house with a sliding door. Thanks! Great job!
Thanks, Billy! We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Perhaps you will too.
Appreciate your feedback. And if you can, please post a link to show your own automatic screen door closer. Cheers!
Wow :) I was sick of opening and closing flyscreen door for a long time and today made almost the same design with exactly the same pulley(i think..). With one difference thou; I used a single pulley with a different approach while trying to tinker a design with old lawn mower pull start cord. Simple Machines for the win.
Thanks for your encouragement and feedback, Designedin Australia! (And sorry for my delayed response.) This simple system has worked very well indeed for us as well, and continues to generate interest and turn heads whenever we have visitors. I'm sure yours does too! Hope your DIY projects continue to be a great success. All the very best to you!
very clever and economical. Bravo
Thanks, Grace! We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every
week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion'
of flies and mosquitoes.
Appreciate your feedback. Cheers!
Ingenius.....but a question or two....I need this because my dog knows how to 'nose' the screen door open from the outside, but, of course, doesn't have the courtesy to 'nose' it shut once inside. I tried a simple spring on top of the door, but this immediately wrenched the door up diagonally and stopped it from moving. I'm wondering if your cool contraption will work better because the applied 'pull' is coming from the top of the door but from the weight on the side? I also set the screw at the top right-hand corner instead of the center top....before I start drilling holes for pullies in the door, any suggestions? I think part of the challenge here is that my screen door is old, and the spring-wheel guide tensioners on top and bottom have to be set loosely or else the door won't slide open/closed properly, which gives it a lot of 'play' on the track....thanks.
Hi flummox69, thanks for your comments and questions - and we also understand what it is to have a family dog that noses the screen door open! Setting the pull-screw towards the middle of your doorframe (top) should help. That seems to work well for this particular concept and design! Also, making sure the wheels on both the top and bottom of your screen door work well and are lubricated is important - particularly the ones on the bottom of the frame. I actually replaced my wheels with metal wheels vs. the cheaper plastic ones that the screen door came with. The metal wheels seem to operate much smoother and better in the long run.
Hope this helps, and all the very best with your project! We have visitors to our home that constantly remark about this simple contraption... and how great it is! Thanks again for connecting.
Excellent! Great video, great explanation, great idea, great work! Thank you :)
Hi @Prash1c. So sorry to have missed your comment - and for my extremely delayed response, however I did want to say "thanks very much" for your feedback.
All the very best with your DIY projects!
Excellent job . Thanks for sharing your video.
Thanks very much for your comment, Tye Kin Philip Phua! I wish you all the very best with your DIY projects!
Great idea ! Thanks for sharing
Thanks very much, ToppCat! (And sorry for my delayed reply.) We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Perhaps you will too.
Appreciate your feedback, and all the very best with your own DIY projects!
Thanks for the good idea, I'm going to do a similar project with an annoying door that won't stay open.
Thanks very much, Donovan! (And sorry for my delayed reply.) We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Perhaps you will too.
Appreciate your feedback, and all the very best with your own DIY projects!
awesome..i needed something like this, great invention.
Thanks for your encouragement and feedback, ben! (And sorry for my delayed response.) This simple system has worked very well indeed for us, and continues to generate interest and turn heads whenever we have visitors. Hope your DIY projects are also a great success! All the very best to you!
Appreciate the feedback and encouragement, everyone.
Visitors to our home are often amazed by the effectiveness and ingenuity of this very simple SCREEN DOOR CLOSER - which is extremely quick and easy to install... So, you can do it too!
Why dont they commercialized this making it in a tubular with shaped weights to make it neat. Been searching for auto close for sliding door without motor. All i see is those neumatic door closer that has a lot of negative comments because they dont last long. This could be such a great idea.
Nothing is worse than people leaving the screen door open to let the bugs invade your house, leaving me to having to chase and capture them. As your guest go home to their big free home. Thank you for your genius.
Thank-you, JS Speaks. This is a fairly easy solution - and not very difficult to install.
All the very best with your own DIY projects!
im going to try this too, only instead of an unsightly bottle, I'll use a solid metal cylinder inside a pvc pipe. let you know how it goes.
Thanks very much, Jason! (And sorry for my delayed reply.) We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Perhaps you will too.
Appreciate your feedback, and also your great suggestion to improve the final result. How did yours turn out?
All the very best with your DIY projects!
terrific. Thanks for posting.
Thanks very much, mused101! (And sorry for my delayed reply.) We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Perhaps you will too.
Appreciate your feedback, and all the very best with your own DIY projects!
Very nice!!!
Thanks very much, Insightful! (And sorry for my delayed reply.) We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Perhaps you will too.
Appreciate your feedback, and all the very best with your own DIY projects!
it works better with two weights .first weight hits floor then the second a foot later
Great suggestion, john. Thanks! (And sorry for my delayed response.) Hope your DIY projects are also a great success. All the very best to you.
Good idea... 👏👏👏👏👏👏
Thanks for your encouragement and feedback, Adam! (And sorry for my delayed response.) Hope your DIY projects are also a great success. All the very best to you.
What name is your bearing? What it call? I'm from malaysia.. need to do it for my kaizen
Where can i find it?
Pully?
Hi Muhammad Faizzul, thanks for your question. The bearing is called a 1-1/2 inch Zinc-Plated Wall/Ceiling Mount Pulley - or something similar. Hope that helps - and all the very best with your DIY projects!
www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-1-2-in-Zinc-Plated-Wall-Ceiling-Mount-Pulley-43364/205883050
I made very similar sistem in my old house. Pully and weight, cheap and efficient
Excellent, Zlatko Pancic! I'm glad your similar system is working out well too! We have received a lot of compliments for creating this simple system, and so there's no reason it can't be more widely used! All the very best with your DIY projects!
Do any companies make kits like this?
Hi George, thanks for reaching out! Actually, I don't know of any company that has such a kit, but if you don't mind sending me a couple of photos of your screen door frame (*top right and left corners), perhaps I can mail you the parts - or e-mail you a list of the parts if you would prefer - that you will need to complete the job? The installation is straightforward. Glad to help.
@@andrewbrit71 Thanks buddy. Believe it or not i have the same exact sliding door and screen door set up as yours :) I went out to Lowe's yesterday and bought the same pulleys as the ones you used I just need to get some fishing line.
@@andrewbrit71 Awesome video by the way and thank you for replying.
@@91342George You're welcome, George. Glad everything worked out well!
Over thought it. 2 eye screws can replace the pulleys.
Thanks for the much simpler suggestion, Karen! (And sorry for my delayed reply.) We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Perhaps you will too.
Appreciate your feedback, and all the very best with your own DIY projects! (I can certainly have a tendency to overthink things.)
Great man
Thanks, Changdev. Appreciate that!
Thanks for your encouragement and feedback, Changdev! (And sorry for my delayed response.) This simple system has worked very well indeed for us, and continues to generate interest and turn heads whenever we have visitors! Hope your DIY projects are also a great success! All the very best to you!
Sir, I tried this and when I am trying to close the door other side of the door gets lifted slightly and eventually it becomes harder for me to open the door after adding weights.
Any idea/solution for this problem?
Hi Harsha, if your door is lifting slightly, you may want to adjust your rollers (top and bottom) to stabilize the door and stop it tilting. Also, you could move the hook on the door further towards the middle... Quick question: How close is the hook to the edge of the door?
@@andrewbrit71Thankyou for your reply sir,
I have kept the hook exactly at the centre.
Hi @@harshavardhan7080, in addition to adjusting (extending ) the top and/or bottom rollers out from the door - probably by turning the screws on the top and bottom outer edges of the door clockwise - so that the screen door fits more snuggly or tightly into the door frame (*this should help stabilize the door and help stop it rocking), also try moving the hook from the middle position towards the closing edge of the door. I have our hook positioned 12 inches from the closing edge - and it seems to work well. If those 2 things don't help, you are welcome to send me a video clip of what is happening and I will be glad to take a look. All the very best!
nice
Thanks! We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every
week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion'
of flies and mosquitoes.
Appreciate your feedback. Cheers!
u r great thanks alot
Thank-you Asad Armagedon, appreciate the encouragement. (And
sorry for my delayed response.) Visitors to our home are often amazed by the
effectiveness and ingenuity of this very simple SCREEN DOOR CLOSER - which is extremely quick and easy to install... so you can do it too. All the very best!
Functionality 10/10; affordability 10/10; aesthetics 0/10. :) Great idea though, could possibly box it up or build it into the wall.
Thanks for your comment, Greg M. And you're definitely right about "aesthetics", of course! (We were going for practicality - as also evidenced by the duct tape on the mesh!) :-)
Nobody wants to close the damn screen door! 🤣🤣🤣
You're absolutely right, Lotso! (And sorry for my delayed reply.) We open and close our screen door hundreds of times every week, so we have found this a great way to prevent a literal 'invasion' of flies and mosquitoes. Perhaps you will too.
Appreciate your feedback, and all the very best with your own DIY projects!
Nicolas Cage?
Sorry Francisco Diaz, nowhere near as handsome and talented as Nick!
Visitors to our home are often amazed by the effectiveness and ingenuity of this very simple SCREEN DOOR CLOSER - which is extremely quick and easy to install... so you can do it too. All the very best!
Uh...uh...uh....F!
Go vegan.
?