A screen door can refer to a hinged storm door

Storm door

A storm door is a type of door that is installed in front of an exterior access door to protect it from bad weather and allow ventilation. Storm doors typically have interchangeable glass panels and window screen panels to provide visibility and prevent flying insects from entering the...

 (cold climates) or hinged screen door

Door

A door is a movable structure used to open and close off an entrance, typically consisting of a panel that swings on hinges or that slides or rotates inside of a space....

 (warm climates) covering an exterior door; or a screened sliding door

Sliding door

A sliding door is a type of door which opens horizontally by sliding, whereby the door is either mounted on or suspended from a track. Types of sliding doors include pocket doors, Arcadia doors, and bypass doors...

 used with sliding glass door

Sliding glass door

A Sliding glass door or Patio door, a type of sliding door in architecture and construction, is a large glass window opening in a structure that provide door access from a room to the outdoors, fresh air, and copious natural light. A sliding glass door is usually considered a single unit consisting...

s. In any case, the screen door incorporates screen mesh to block flying insects from entering and pets and small children from exiting interior spaces, while allowing for air, light, and views. For the purposes of this article, a screen door will be considered to be the latter type used with a sliding glass door.

Aluminium framed

Aluminium sliding screen doors are generally constructed by two methods: rollformed or extruded. In both cases the rectangular rollformed or extruded shapes are joined together into a door frame using metal corners or screws.

Rollformed

The first are Rollformed from thin aluminium

Aluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....

 sheets into a rectangular shaped door frame which incorporates a screen channel to hold the window screen

Window screen

A window screen, insect screen or bug screen is a metal wire, fiberglass, or other synthetic fiber mesh, stretched in a frame of wood or metal, designed to cover the opening of an open window. Its primary purpose is to keep leaves, debris, insects, birds, and other animals from entering a building...

 material.
Rollformed aluminum sliding screen doors are the least expensive to produce because they can be manufactured from thin aluminum sheet formed into a relatively strong rectangular shape.

Rollformed screen doors have mitered corners into which a steel or aluminum alloy

Alloy

An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...

 corner is forced using a friction fit. If a steel corner is used, the rollformed sections are often pierced or staked into the corners, to help secure the corners together. If aluminum alloy corners are used, the corner relies on its friction fit alone to hold the door frame together.

The weakest point of a rollformed sliding screen door is the corner. After repeated opening and closing, stresses will cause the rollformed shape to loosen in the area of the corner. The door will then stick and jam and typically will require replacement rather than repair

Extruded

The second are extruded

Extrusion

Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile. A material is pushed or drawn through a die of the desired cross-section...

 aluminum shapes, with aluminum frames made from thicker aluminum than rollformed doors. This makes an extruded aluminum door much stronger but also more expensive. Extruded aluminum screen door frames can be mitered and joined with aluminum alloy corners or can be notched out and joined together with screws that fit in screw holes made as part of the extrusion process.

Extruded aluminum screen doors are generally longer lasting than rollformed screen doors. They are also more easily repaired since, if the corners break, new corners can be inserted without losing the friction fit necessary to hold the door together.

Wood framed

Wood framed screen doors, hinged and sliding, are also available from limited production and custom carpentry sources, used for aesthetic style and sustainable building applications.

Retractable screen doors

An alternative to sliding screen doors are a version of pocket door

Pocket door

A pocket door is a sliding door that disappears, when fully open, into a compartment in the adjacent wall. Pocket doors are used for architectural effect, or when there is no room for the swing of a hinged door. They usually travel on rollers suspended from an overhead track, although some also...

s, retractable screen doors

Retractable screen

Retractable screens provide a barrier to insects entering the interior while allowing the option of an unobstructed view, without a traditional hinged or sliding screen door.- Description :...

 which 'disappear' into side or overhead pockets when not in use. They provide an open wall 'indoor-outdoor' experience with sliding, french door, or pocket glass doors. They are used in Mid-century modern

Mid-century modern

Mid-Century modern is an architectural, interior and product design form that generally describes mid-20th century developments in modern design, architecture, and urban development from roughly 1933 to 1965...

 and modernist architecture

Modern architecture

Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...

situations, among many others.