Check
Flat faces, latches, stays, drip tray and any door clearance.
MagicSeal · Full measure and fit guide
Standard DIYWork in millimetresRead before ordering
Measure it right. Fit it once.
The complete customer guide for checking the opening, calculating the finished size, ordering and fitting a made-to-measure magnetic window screen.
Four-part overview
The whole job at a glance
Measure
Daylight opening in three places, then each usable mounting face.
Order
Overall finished size, current frame colour and mesh.
Fit
Dry-fit, clean, align, tension and press the full perimeter.
Step 01
Check the opening
A magnetic screen overlaps the daylight opening and bonds to the flat joinery around it. Accuracy and surface preparation matter more than specialist tools.
Tape measure
Use millimetres and record each reading, not an average.
Isopropyl alcohol
Use with a clean lint-free cloth for the final surface preparation.
Sharp cutter
For neat tape gaps around latches and the supplied retaining clips.
Straight-on photo
Keep one with your notes in case a face or clearance is unusual.
- Open and close the window and note every latch, handle, stay and transom.
- Confirm a flat, continuous mounting path around the daylight opening.
- Measure the usable flat face on the top, bottom, left and right separately.
- If a sliding door passes in front, measure the top and bottom clearances.
Step 02
Calculate the finished screen size
The size ordered is the overall outside size of the finished screen. Start with the daylight opening, then add the allowance that will sit on each flat joinery face.
1. Measure the daylight opening in three places
- Measure height at the left, centre and right. Keep the smallest height.
- Measure width at the top, middle and bottom. Keep the smallest width.
- Record the flat face available on all four sides. Do not assume they match.
Standard face - at least 14 mm available on that side
Finished size = daylight + 13 mm per side
With a standard face on all four sides, that is daylight height + 26 mm followed by daylight width + 26 mm.
Tight face - less than 14 mm available on that side
Allowance on that side = available face - 1 mm
Apply the rule to each side separately. A full-size opposite face still receives 13 mm.
Retain at least 9 mm of magnet on the joinery
If the tight-face calculation leaves less than 9 mm bonded, pause and use the enquiry form before ordering. A small overlap onto the glass can be acceptable; too little tape on the joinery is not.
Measurement helper
Check your finished screen size
Enter all three daylight readings and the usable flat face on every side. This helper uses the smallest daylight readings. It will not output an order size when a face is too narrow.
Worked example: a daylight width of 500 mm with 12 mm of flat face on both sides gets 11 mm per side. The finished width is 522 mm. If the right side had a standard face, it would receive 13 mm and the finished width would be 524 mm.
If the three daylight measurements vary noticeably, the opening may be out of square. Send the readings and a straight-on photo before ordering.
Step 03
Resolve special cases
No flat mounting face on one side
A plastic angle can create a face beside a sliding door or another missing edge. Do not calculate a hidden offset from the angle size.
- Confirm where the angle will sit and that its surface is suitable.
- Trim, clean and fit the angle first.
- Measure the new daylight opening created by the finished angle.
- Add 13 mm on each side that now has a full flat face, applying the tight-face rule only where needed.
Fit the angle, then measure again
Do not add a separate angle offset and then add the standard allowance as well. That double-counts the added face and produces an oversize screen.
Screen behind a sliding door
Measure from the mounting face to the back of the moving door. The MagicSeal profile has a bulged bottom corner and flatter top corner, so allow approximately 22 mm at the bottom and 8 mm at the top.
Less clearance means this product will not fit
There is no alternative MagicSeal corner profile for that opening. Do not order and hope the door clears it. Choose a different solution through Phantom Screens instead.
Latches, clips and drip trays
The top edge may tuck into a drip tray if the screen can still be removed. Avoid trapping the sides and bottom. Small sections of frame tape can be cut out where a latch closes and where the supplied top retaining clips sit.
Step 04
Order the screen
- Enter the overall finished heightNot the daylight height. Recheck the top and bottom allowances.
- Enter the overall finished widthNot the daylight width. Recheck the left and right allowances.
- Choose from the current frame optionsIf a colour is not displayed by the configurator, it is not available in the self-serve range.
- Choose the meshStandard charcoal insect mesh (18/14) balances everyday fly and mosquito protection with airflow and view. Fine SOL1818 mesh has a tighter 18 × 18 weave for midges and sandflies, with some reduction in airflow.
- Review the cart lineName the opening clearly and confirm the millimetres before placing the order.
Step 05
Fit the screen
Keep every magnetic strip in the supplied order and orientation
The tape arrives aligned to the screen. Flipping or reversing a strip changes the polarity and can make the screen sit skewed or hold poorly.
- Dry-fit. Hold the screen at the opening. Confirm size, placement, latch clearance and the supplied tape orientation before exposing adhesive.
- Clean and dry. Wipe each mounting face thoroughly with isopropyl alcohol and a lint-free cloth. Let it dry completely. Avoid a very cold morning.
- Fit the top strip. Remove it from the screen without flipping it. Peel back a short section of liner, align the edge, then peel and press progressively.
- Fit the tightest side. Install the side with the least usable face next, square to the top and parallel with the daylight opening.
- Use the screen as the alignment guide. Snap it onto the first two strips and position the remaining side and bottom tape against the matching edges.
- Tension gently. On the opposite side, pull the coil edge just enough to make the mesh taut while peeling the liner and pressing the tape. Repeat at the bottom.
- Create required gaps. Mark and neatly remove tape where window latches close. Fit the two supplied top clips around one-third of the way in from each side, cutting matching gaps in the magnetic tape.
- Press the full perimeter. Remove the screen and press firmly along every part of the bonded frame tape with a clean cloth.
- Refit and test. Push the top into the clips, let the magnets snap home, and confirm the screen sits square and the window operates cleanly.
Step 06
Care and troubleshooting
Routine clean
Lift the screen away using the pull point. Use a soft cloth or soft brush on the frame and mesh.
Deeper clean
Hose the screen outside if needed, then let it dry completely before refitting.
Screen sits skewed
Check that no magnetic strip was flipped, reversed or moved out of its supplied order.
Tape lifts
Remove contamination, let the surface dry, and press firmly. Use the enquiry form if the substrate or adhesive has failed.