\n Wide view of my deck.<\/span> My wife and I live in an urban area where outdoor space is at a premium, so I consider our home’s second floor roof deck one of its standout features. It\u2019s sunny and relatively private\u2014and, crucially, it\u2019s outdoor space<\/em> in a city where a Juliet balcony is often the best you can do.<\/p>\n There are two downsides to the space, however. One is that it is plagued by bugs, especially since one of our neighbors began hosting the dreaded spotted lanternfly like they were protecting an endangered species. The other is that our cats love being on the deck, but also love launching themselves over the fence to explore the neighborhood. (Did I mention this deck is on the second floor? You haven\u2019t lived until you\u2019ve hunted down a lost cat across your neighbors’ roofs.)<\/p>\n The solution, for us, was to screen in the deck. First, I built a simple frame to extend the railings up a few feet, and created a pergola-like set of rafters going across to support a screen. Here\u2019s what it looked like at that point:<\/p>\n \n Framing on my deck.<\/span> But how to actually enclose it? I could have just stapled screen to the framing, but that would lead to a problem in the winter, when the “roof” would be laden with snow. I\u2019m pretty good with a power drill and some pressure-treated 2x4s, but I don\u2019t think my screen-roof would’ve held several feet of New Jersey snow, so my screen needed to be easily removable (and replaceable).<\/p>\n After some research, I found the solutions: A screened-in porch kit from Screeneze<\/a>. It\u2019s a simple concept: You attach an aluminum base to the perimeter of whatever opening you\u2019re screening in, stretch your screen over the base, and lightly hammer a vinyl cap on top to secure the screen in place without staples. When you need to, you can easily pry off the caps with a flathead screwdriver and remove or replace the screen.<\/p>\n Once installed, the base of the kit looks like this:<\/p>\n \n Closeup of SCREENEZE base.<\/span> and the caps look like this:<\/p>\n \n Close up of SCREENEZE cap.<\/span> The aluminum base is easy to cut to size using a hacksaw or metal snippers, and the caps can be cut with a utility knife or even a decent pair of scissors, so you can customize the size of your screened area. They come in four basic colors (bronze, sand, white, and clay).<\/p>\n The installation process was also pretty simple: I measured the perimeter, bought the necessary number of base and caps, and cut my bases to the correct lengths. You don\u2019t have to make them exactly as long as the space you\u2019re screening\u2014you can cut them into smaller, more manageable lengths and attach them end-to-end, making sure you line them up so the caps can go across seams if necessary. This is especially helpful for the caps, as I found trying to hold them in place so I could hammer them home was a challenge, as they are quite bendy. Cutting them into shorter lengths made them a lot easier to work with.<\/p>\n
\n Credit: Jeff Somers<\/span>\n <\/p>\n
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\n Credit: Jeff Somers<\/span>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nThe solution was a DIY screen-in kit from Screeneze<\/h2>\n
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\n Credit: Jeff Somers<\/span>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Close](\"https:\/\/lifehacker.com\/imagery\/articles\/01KNSK87B1R8CWYN5V66WZRKAG\/images-3.fill.size_2000x750.v1775754288.jpg\")
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\n Credit: Jeff Somers<\/span>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n What do you think so far?
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