finally...some air

Some readers may recall my first attempt at increasing the screen area in the Alto, but compared to this, the first was a tad lame

We were over at our friend Sandra’s place for dinner last summer, and on her back porch she had installed one of those magnetic screen doors, the ones where you can just walk though the middle of it, and then it magically closes again on its own. Thinking this was very cool, my mind soon got to wondering if there was the possibility of a future Alto mod, right there in front of me.

pretty easy to see why this version works better...

Deciding there was, we soon ordered one from Amazon. There are all sorts available, so we picked one that looked reasonable and  placed the order. I think it was around $25 bucks, so there was not much to lose if the mod turned out to be a bust.

If you do tackle this mod, be prepared for a lot of stitch ripping and sewing. To fit the smaller Alto door, I basically took most of the thing apart, narrowed the size as needed, then sewed back on the edging and velcro bands. Not difficult, but certainly tedious. Be careful not to cut the screen too narrow, as it does need a little play to allow the magnets to come together unimpeded.Some fine tuning was needed on the latch side, as well as the bottom.

Sticky back Velcro was then applied around the door frame, and the screen attaches to this. Putting it up is a tad finickity, as you need to find just the right amount of looseness to allow the magnets to do their magic. Once adjusted, you can move through it quite easily, and enjoy the benefit of the increased airflow...and this is certainly noticeable.

velcro runs along both sides of the door and a little strip at the top

my solution for finishing it at the bottom

It will not keep a pet in, so keep this in mind. We envision only using this while Barley is safely outside in his enclosure, which for us, might limit its use a bit. A straight forward mod, at a good price.