Sliding Door Fly Screens in Dubai

A sliding screen takes the same idea as your sliding glass door and applies it to mesh. You get a slim aluminium frame holding fine mesh, built as a single panel, which runs in its own track set just in front of the glass. To use it you slide it sideways across the opening, and to clear the door you slide it back, just as you would the glass itself. Wheels at the top and bottom take the weight, so the panel travels lightly along its track.

Because the screen runs on a separate track, it and the glass door slide past one another freely, and either can be open or closed on its own. That suits the way a patio or balcony door gets used here, thrown open for the cooler evening air while the screen keeps the doorway covered. A door left open is a clear route in for mosquitoes, which can spread disease, as the World Health Organization's guidance on dengue sets out, so a screen across that opening pays for itself through the warm months.

How the screen is fitted depends on the door you already have. Many sliding doors are made with a spare outer channel meant for a screen, and where that's the case we simply run the panel in it. Where there isn't one, we add a slim track of our own to the face of the existing door frame. On most aluminium doors that track goes on with strong tape rather than screws, so there's no drilling at all and the frame keeps a clean, unmarked face.

The track is set so the panel sits square and slides level across the whole opening. We check it against the glass door so the two clear each other and neither fouls the other's run. The whole job is usually quick once the panel is made, and you're left with a screen on its own runner that you can slide across or park to one side whenever you like, without it ever getting in the way of the door.

For a patio or balcony door there are three sensible choices, and they suit different tastes. A sliding panel is the rigid, framed option that echoes the way the glass door moves and feels solid and straightforward, which is why it's the most common pick for an everyday slider. It sits ready on its track to push across, with nothing to wind or fold.

If you'd rather the doorway looked completely clear when the screen's open, a retractable screen rolls the mesh away into a slim cassette at the side. For a very wide opening that you open fully and often, a pleated screen folds away compactly like a concertina. All three do the same job of keeping insects out, so it comes down to the look you want and how the door is used. We'll talk you through it honestly at the measurement.

The feel of a sliding screen comes down to its rollers. The panel sits on small wheels at the top and bottom that run inside the track, carrying the weight so you're not dragging the frame along. On fitting we adjust them so the panel hangs level and rolls with a light touch, which is what lets even a tall, full-height patio screen slide across with one finger rather than a shove.

Good rollers also keep that feel over time. We use hard-wearing ones and set them carefully, and they can be adjusted again later if the panel ever starts to sit low or drag. The other half of a smooth glide is a clean track, since dust and grit are what slow a screen down, so a quick clear-out of the bottom channel now and then keeps it moving as easily as the day it went in.

A screen only works if it closes off every way in, and on a sliding panel the edges are where that's won or lost. We run soft brush strips down the edge where the panel meets the door frame, and along the top and bottom where it sits in the track. Those brushes fill the small gaps a frame would otherwise leave, so there's no line for a mosquito to creep through while the panel is across.

The bigger part is simply making the panel the right size. Because it's built to the full height and width of your opening, the mesh covers the whole doorway with nothing left open at the sides or along the floor. A sliding screen that's measured to the door and sealed at the edges keeps flies and mosquitoes out completely, which is the whole point of having it there while the glass door stands open.

The mesh is a fine fibreglass or polyester weave, fine enough to stop mosquitoes and small flies while still letting the air and light through. A darker shade in grey or charcoal reads clearest when you're looking out to the garden and tends to vanish against the glass, which is why most people choose it over a paler mesh that catches the eye.

The frame is slim aluminium, and it comes in any colour you like, including custom shades, so it can be matched to the sliding door it runs beside or picked out to stand apart. Keeping the frame narrow means the screen takes up little room against the glass and doesn't crowd the view. Between the mesh and the frame colour, the finished screen sits quietly alongside the door rather than drawing attention to itself.

Sliding screens handle the big openings that are so common in villas and newer apartments here. A floor-to-ceiling patio door is covered by a full-height panel built to the exact drop, so there's no short screen leaving a gap above or below. The made-to-measure approach is what makes a tall screen possible while keeping it sliding straight and true.

For openings too wide for a single panel, we run more than one screen on parallel tracks, each sliding on its own runner, so a whole wall of sliding glass can be screened end to end. Very large or unusual openings are worth a look in person, which is exactly what the free measurement is for. Whatever the size, the panel or panels are built to fit, rather than forcing a standard screen onto a door it doesn't suit.

A sliding screen asks for very little, and the main thing is the track. Every so often, slide the panel aside and run a soft brush or the vacuum nozzle along the bottom channel to clear out dust and grit, since that build-up is what makes a screen start to drag. Wipe the mesh over with a little mild soapy water when it needs it, let it dry, and the screen stays clear and easy to see through. A clean track is what keeps the glide light.

Now and then, check the rollers still carry the panel level and the brush seals are sitting against the frame. If a roller wears, the mesh tears, or the brushes flatten over the years, give us a call and we'll repair or re-mesh it on the warranty instead of you buying a whole new screen. Given that bit of care, a sliding screen keeps gliding and sealing for many summers.