Magnetic fly screen for French doors
Magnetic fly screen for French doors
Both doors wide open. Not a single mosquito.
A magnetic fly screen made to the full width of your French doors, with the magnetic centre opening lined up on the join between the two leaves. Fitted to the frame without drilling, it snaps shut behind you.
In short: a magnetic fly screen for French doors is made to measure from 120 to 200 cm wide with the door screen, beyond that with the large opening screen, in 6 to 9 working days. It fits with hook-and-loop tape on the frame, no drilling.
★★★★★ Rated 4.85/5 from 515 reviews for the door screen.
A pair of French doors is not just a door twice as wide
Through a single door you walk wherever you like. Through French doors you always walk through the same spot: where the two leaves meet. That is the centre join, with its handle, and often a second leaf you only unbolt in spring to get the sofa out onto the patio.
Our screen hangs in one piece in front of both doors, fixed to the frame, not to the leaves. Its magnetic centre opening sits right on the join: you push the doors open, walk through, and the magnets close behind your back. Nothing rubs against a leaf, nothing is left ajar.
Then there is the handle. On French doors it sticks out 5 to 8 cm on the inside, and it is the one detail that ruins a fit in three when nobody thought about it beforehand. More on that below, because three customers wrote almost exactly that in their order notes.
How it goes onto two doors
Everything is decided before you order, while you measure. After that it is ten minutes of hook-and-loop tape.
Measure the frame, not the doors
Full width of the fixed frame, outer edge to outer edge, then the height. For a fit on the frame, add 4 cm to the width and 2 cm to the height for the fixing tape. The size guide shows you exactly where to hold the tape measure.
Put the centre opening on the join
By default it sits in the middle, like the join of two leaves of the same width. If one door is wider, or you only ever open the right-hand one, tell us: we move the opening so it follows where you actually walk.
Pick the side according to the handle
Doors that open inwards: the screen goes on the outside of the frame, or in the reveal like a tunnel. Doors that open outwards: the screen goes on the inside, and the handle stays outside. Either way, nothing catches.
The handle that sticks out
"French doors opening outwards", "two doors, one handle": those are our customers' words, not ours. A screen stuck to the inside of the frame, right in front of a handle pointing at you, gets pushed by that handle all day long. It will hold, but badly, and the mesh ends up with a dent.
The fix is one question before you order: which way do your doors open? It decides which face of the frame the screen goes on, and so which measurements you type in.
- Fit on the outer frame: the screen is outside, the doors open towards you, the handle touches nothing.
- Tunnel fit in the reveal: between the walls. Measure the inside width and add 4 cm.
- Self-adhesive hook-and-loop tape that holds on uPVC, aluminium and painted timber, and peels off without a trace.
From 120 cm to over 200 cm, we switch range on the way
The French doors we are asked about are usually 140, 160 or 180 cm wide, roughly 4½ to 6 feet. Here is how we steer them.
| Full frame width | Recommended model | What you get | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 120 cm (47 in) | Door screen, standard size | Six widths from 70 to 120 cm, dispatched within 24 to 48 hours. Rare on French doors, common on a single door. | from NZ$59.99 |
| 120 to 200 cm (47 to 79 in) | Door screen, made to measure | The typical French door case. Made to the centimetre, centre opening placed where you walk through. | from NZ$59.99 |
| Over 200 cm (79 in), or a wall that catches the wind | Large opening screen | Weighted bars in the hem, magnets 3.7 times longer, centre splits to suit. Up to 600 cm. | from NZ$199.99 |
Torn between two rows? Take the lower one. Mesh stretched across 190 cm with two 4 cm magnets in the middle does close, but it closes slower than with weighted bars.
Two models, one configurator
Buy more, pay less: 10% off from 2 items, 20% off from 4. Made to measure in 6 to 9 working days.
Door screen
For French doors up to 200 cm wide. Magnetic centre opening, closes on its own.
Large opening screen
Beyond 200 cm, or when the wall takes the wind. Weighted bars and centre splits.
Made to measure, guided
Opening, fitting type, measurements, colour: the configurator asks the right questions and shows the price straight away.
From 515 reviews
Rating of the door screen, the one on most French doors.
To fit
Frame wiped, tape stuck, screen pressed on. No tools.
Holes in the frame
The tape peels off without residue. Renting or owning, same job.
Fibreglass mesh
Fire-resistant E-glass, nylon-reinforced edges. It lasts season after season.
Your questions about French doors
My doors open outwards. Does that work?
Yes, and it is actually the easiest case. The screen goes on the inside of the frame, the doors open out into the garden, the handle is outside and never touches the mesh. You measure the frame from inside and add 4 cm to the width and 2 cm to the height.
I only ever open one door. Does the centre opening have to stay in the middle?
No. If you always go through the right-hand door because the left one stays bolted, we move the magnetic opening to the right. Say so in the order comment box, with the width of the door you use. We put the opening where you actually walk.
My French doors are 160 cm wide. Which model?
The door screen, made to measure. At 160 cm the mesh stays light and the magnetic centre closure is enough, unless the doors sit in a wall that really catches the wind. In that case the large opening screen and its weighted bars close more decisively.
There is a roller shutter above the doors. Where does the screen go?
On the uprights of the frame, below the shutter box, or in the reveal as a tunnel fit. What to avoid: trapping it between the shutter and the glass if you lower the shutter every night. In that case fit it on the inside, and the shutter runs past without touching it.
My handle sticks out on the inside. Will the screen still hold?
Yes, as long as you fit it on the face opposite the handle: on the outer frame if your doors open inwards, or in the reveal as a tunnel fit. A handle that pushes the mesh all day ends up leaving a dent.
Does the tape hold on white uPVC, aluminium or painted timber?
Yes on all three, as long as you clean the frame before sticking and let it dry. On bare timber or flaking paint, sand lightly and dust off. The adhesive tape can be repositioned in the first few minutes and peels off later without a trace.
What if the dog or the cat goes through ten times a day?
They learn fast: the magnets part under the nose and close behind. The fibreglass mesh takes repeated passes. For a pet that scratches the bottom of the mesh, ask for the reinforcement strip when you order.
How long does a made-to-measure screen take?
Allow 6 to 9 working days to make it, then delivery. Standard sizes of the door screen, up to 120 cm, leave within 24 to 48 hours.
Before you order
Size guide →
Which measurement to enter for your fitting, in three animated steps.
Fitting without drilling →
Every no-hole fixing, honestly compared.
Sliding patio doors →
What works on a wide sliding opening, and what does not.
Caravans and static caravans →
Tape on an aluminium frame, the sliding door of a van: our tips.
Tonight, both doors open until midnight
Give us the frame width and which way the doors open. We make the rest.
Build my screen