Hello,
I am hoping someone could give me advice on how to purchase new screens for old wood windows. We recently bought a house that is over 100 years old. The windows are wood, double hung, and operate on a pulley system. One of the previous owners put metal tracks on the outside for metal storm windows. Most of the storm windows fit in the tracks well. They also have an extra "lip" that hugs the edge of the track to help seal it even more. There are two storm windows and two screens per window and they stay in place via these little tabs. The issue I have is that none of the screens fit in the windows. They all have significant gaps that allow every bug in New Jersey to come crawling or flying in. So I began to search for new screens. I tried ordering a full length (62") screen with a center bar that would fit in the tracks but the screen was to thick to fit in the tracks and 5/16" was the thinnest they would do. Plus even if I could find one thin enough for the tracks the full length would be difficult to get in the tracks and I would have to do some bending of the screen. I was wondering if there are screens that just sit flush with the wood frame (I am not be using the correct terminology) of the window? My only concern with that would be that warping may have occurred over the years and there may be gaps. Nothing in this house is level or straight so I certainly do not expect old wood window frames to be straight. I also am a medical student and we are living off one small budget so we can't currently afford to rip out the tracks and buy wooden screens and storm windows, but I am still hoping that we may have another option. Any advice or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I will attempt to post pictures of our current windows and tracks. Thank you.