I think many people are familiar with the situation with annoying insects that very stubbornly try to get into a country house: flies and wasps during the day, mosquitoes and butterflies at night. The simplest solution is to install a mosquito door, especially since making it yourself is not so difficult. On the one hand, it allows air to pass through well and it is not hot in the house; on the other hand, it blocks the path of midges.
Door or mosquito net with magnets?
There are two ways to control insects: a mosquito net with magnets and a door. This article will describe how to make a door, but first I want to share the unpleasant experience of using a widespread anti-mosquito curtain, as a result of which the decision was made.
The main disadvantages of a magnetic mosquito net, in my opinion, are the imperfection of its design (perhaps I just came across a bad one), which gives rise to the following problems with its use.
- Firstly, it turned out to be very difficult to hang it straight.
- Secondly, the curtain has to be adjusted all the time, otherwise a crack will form through which insects can penetrate. If this is not a problem for adults, then a child cannot cope with it and neither can a dog.
- Thirdly, under the influence of a strong gust of wind it opens.
Taking into account the above problems, it was decided to use the traditional method, namely to make a frame from wooden blocks, cover it with mosquito netting and make a hole for the dog.
Requirements for mosquito protection
In addition to serving as a barrier to insects from the street into the home, these protective devices must trap debris and, in part, dust. To effectively cope with these tasks, mechanical means of protection against mosquitoes, commonly called mosquito nets, must have the following characteristics:
- the functionality of the mesh canvas is to provide a barrier for insects and debris while maintaining sufficient light and air permeability, partial dust collection (especially important for lower floors);
- environmental friendliness – absence of harmful emissions into the environment;
- sufficient strength and resistance to weather conditions - wind, humidity, high temperature, ultraviolet rays;
- operational safety;
- ease of daily care;
- aesthetics.
In some cases, this list may be supplemented with other properties, such as compactness, increased strength (“anti-catching”, anti-penetration), etc.
Mosquito door design
Before we begin to describe the manufacture, we should talk about its features. The main purpose of such a door is not a barrier for insects, but the ability to ventilate the room without the presence of insects. Therefore, the design of the door should minimally block the opening. Those. the frame should be as thin and light as possible. Otherwise there will be no sense from it.
Taking into account the features described above, a block 40mm wide, 18mm thick and 2m long was chosen for construction. The main thing you should pay attention to when buying wood is moisture content. The ideal option is dry planed boards.
Why is this so important? With “curves” everything is clear: if the bars are uneven, then the frame will be uneven. If you use wood with high residual moisture, then there is a high probability that after drying, the structure may lose its original geometry.
How to choose?
The choice of a protective device determines the mechanism of use and the goals of the home owner.
- In order not to spoil the color of the interior, the choice should be on a colored design; the colors can be determined at the point of purchase.
- To protect your home as much as possible from outside “guests,” you need to choose a mesh with the smallest cells of 1x1 mm or 1.5x1.5 mm. A cell measuring 3x3 mm is considered standard.
- You can not be afraid of the mesh breaking through the claws of animals by installing the structure strictly according to the size of the door with fairly large cells of 2.5x3.5 mm.
- To make it convenient for small children to enter and exit the door, it is better to hang protection in the form of a magnetic curtain.
Making a wooden frame
Taking into account the size of my door 70x190, 4 bars are needed. The same amount will be required for a maximum canvas size of 100x200 cm. The diagram is as follows.
Fig.1.
Wooden frame.
The first compartment in the photo is the future hole for the dog. Its height is about 40 cm (the dog is not big). The second crossbar is needed to install the handle. It is located at a distance of about 100 cm from the bottom bar.
Before describing the construction process, it should be said about the method of attaching the bars to each other. In my opinion, the most reliable is an adhesive connection with a groove. Those. A quarter is made on the pieces to be joined and glued together.
Fig.2.
Connecting frame parts.
You can also fasten the bars to each other using metal corners or self-tapping screws. However, as the practice of operating a similar structure previously shows, over time this type of connection becomes loose.
I have described the main fundamental points, now the process itself. First, we cut the bars to the required length and mark the locations of the grooves.
Fig.3.
Preparation for making grooves.
Next, we begin cutting out the quarters. In order for everything to turn out smoothly, without the use of industrial equipment, I cut out the grooves simultaneously on all identical parts, having previously tightened them using clamps.
Fig.4.
Marking of blanks.
You can cut out a quarter using a hacksaw and chisel. But because I have a router, I made them with it, it turns out smoother and more accurate.
Fig.5.
Preparation for milling grooves.
Fig.6.
Milled quarters.
After all the grooves have been cut, it is necessary to assemble the structure. To do this, lay out all the parts on a flat surface and glue them together. To do this, use moisture-resistant PVA glue. As practice has shown, joints of wooden parts using modern PVA glue survive the winter outdoors perfectly.
In order to obtain a high-quality adhesive joint, it must be loaded, for example, tightened with clamps.
Fig.7.
Gluing the frame.
During the assembly of the frame, it is necessary to monitor its geometry using a square. You should also promptly remove excess glue. After which we leave the assembled structure for a day.
DIY insect curtain
It is possible to make a mosquito curtain on the door yourself in normal home conditions. To do this, you need to choose the most suitable textiles. It could even be old tulle in your favorite colors and patterns. Then you should purchase a special magnetic tape, which is sold in any construction supermarket.
A versatile type of insect curtain is a simple mesh curtain that can be easily attached to a curtain rod or line at the top of standard entry doors.
Making a frame structure is also not difficult. It can easily be made at home. To do this, you need to prepare a frame from ordinary slats made of aluminum or wood, stretching the necessary mesh textiles and attaching door hinges to it. For comfort, you can add neat handles to them, making them easier to remove.
Installing a mosquito door
After the adhesive joints have dried, you can continue working. Naturally, regardless of my efforts, various flaws come to light. With manual production, without well-established technology, this is inevitable. All blemishes are removed using an orbital sander. Corners are also rounded and burrs are removed. This can be done without the use of power tools by hand using sandpaper and a file.
After this, it is necessary to adjust the door to the installation location, because the opening itself has geometry errors. Therefore, we install the hinges and begin fitting. This work involves ensuring that the frame fits tightly into the opening. It's not difficult to do this.
It is important to pay attention to the installation of hinges, because... The thickness of the block is only 18 mm, so it is impossible to simply secure it with a self-tapping screw, because there is a high probability of splitting the wood. Therefore, firstly, it is necessary to drill holes, and secondly, use thin long fasteners.
Fig.8.
Installing hinges on the frame.
Product appearance
With the onset of the warm season, windows and doors almost never close. But, as everyone well knows, not only poplar fluff ends up in houses in the Indian summer. Many different insects never cease to terrorize our bedrooms and kitchens, preventing us from sleeping peacefully at night and making it difficult to simply relax and enjoy the sun during the day.
Due to the fact that it is tightly attached to the door frame, insects have no chance of getting into the house. And if you install such a special mesh on the windows, you can completely forget about the sounds mosquitoes and flies make.
A mosquito curtain is made up of two halves of a mesh fabric, which is connected in the middle using double tapes with magnets.
A mosquito curtain is made up of two halves of a mesh fabric, which is connected in the middle using double tapes with magnets. They are inserted into the edges of the curtains. Some manufacturers use special magnets that are attached at regular intervals to the fabric in the central section of the curtain.
Purchasing magnetic curtains for home doors is not difficult. Many stores that specialize in selling various goods for the garden or garden tools also have in their assortment such a product as mosquito curtains. The door leaf sizes are suitable for most common types of doors. Such protection is capable of perfectly letting fresh air into the room, and the magnet does not allow the curtains to open from sharp and strong blows of wind.
To improve the situation and forget about annoying mosquitoes, flies and various beetles forever, you should install a special curtain on the door. An anti-mosquito curtain is an almost irreplaceable textile product that perfectly protects sleep and keeps all family members calm.
First you need to cut out two canvases of the same width, which corresponds to the width of the doorway plus allowances for hems and edges. The latter is attached with tape, buttons or adhesive tape to the doorway. The length of the fabric must also be taken into account along with the hem and installation allowance. Then you should bend and sew the edges on the sides in such a way that in the future you can stretch a special magnetic strip through them from one direction, and install the other on the opening.
