How to fit a magnetic fly screen door
Updated: October 2026
The curtain is up, and a gap runs down the middle where the magnets should meet. That gap is usually the frame. You are fitting a magnetic fly screen to uPVC or timber, and the seam closes when the top is square, the tape is on a clean face, and the magnet line is intact. This page is that order. It does not rank products. The table of listings is on the [fly screen sliding door comparison](/hub/door-and-window-security/fly-screen-sliding-door). Peter F. updated this on 20 October 2026 from amazon.co.uk listings and Flyscreen Queen’s fitting notes. None of these nine boxes includes a top rod. No lab fit. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
The curtain is up, and a gap runs down the middle where the magnets should meet. That gap is usually the frame.
The curtain is up, and a gap runs down the middle where the magnets should meet. That gap is usually the frame. You are fitting a magnetic fly screen to uPVC or timber, and the seam closes when the top is square, the tape is on a clean face, and the magnet line is intact. This page is that order. It does not rank products. The table of listings is on the fly screen sliding door comparison. Peter F. updated this on 20 October 2026 from amazon.co.uk listings and Flyscreen Queen’s fitting notes. None of these nine boxes includes a top rod. No lab fit. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Fixing | Drill claim | Instructions | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  DIKER Diker magnetic 120 cm | Hook-and-loop and pins | No drill claimed | A review calls them easy | 9.2 | about £19.98 | View offer |
 TTMLED TTMLED magnetic 140 cm | Hook tape; pins for uneven wood | No screws claimed | Manual in the box | 8.0 | about £17.99 | View offer | |
| Best value |  SMALUCK Smaluck magnetic 90 cm | Hook-and-loop and pins | No drill for the tape | Not stated | 8.5 | about £9.99 | View offer |
On this page
Check the frame before you peel the backing
Look at the face the tape must stick to before you peel anything. Flat uPVC will take hook-and-loop. A bevel, woodgrain texture, or old silicone will not. TTMLED points tape at flat frames and nails at uneven wood, and a review still found a bevel fiddly. Push pins in these boxes are for timber. A pin in uPVC cracks the face and lets go once people brush past. Clean off the grease and let the face dry. Flyscreen Queen’s own notes put the hook side on the frame and the loop side on the mesh. Hold the curtain up and walk through once before anything is permanent. The seam should meet from head to threshold. If it meets only at the top, the cloth is crooked or short, and adhesive will freeze that. On a rented frame the dry fit is the last cheap moment. Smaluck’s listing has said the tape removes without marks. A UK review says the residue stays. Sizes, before you stick anything, are on the fly screen sliding door buying guide.
Top centre, then the sides
Fix the top centre first, then the corners, then the sides. Flyscreen Queen’s own patio sheet uses that order and says to fold spare cloth rather than cut the join. A top that sits 1 cm lower on the lock side throws the magnet line off, and the seam gaps at knee height. Pull the cloth snug without stretching the centre so hard that the magnets cannot find each other. Close the seam with your hand, then walk through and let it shut. If it stays open at the bottom, the sides are tighter than the middle, or the cloth is too narrow. Diker wants the screen about 8 cm wider and 6 cm longer than the inner door. A cloth with that overlap already spent will not improve because you pull the tape harder. Do this in daylight. When the seam still meets after the top tape is down, peel the sides a little at a time.
Pins, trim, and residue
Push pins in the Smaluck, Diker, TheFitLife, and TTMLED boxes are for solid timber. On uPVC, leave them in the bag. If a pin in the plastic is the only way the curtain hangs, the frame or the cloth is wrong. Nails on uneven wood, TTMLED’s own split, still leave holes, so a rental needs the landlord’s say before the first one. A UK review says the Smaluck curtain cannot be trimmed. Fold spare cloth instead of cutting the magnet line. A cut there leaves two short magnets and a slot. If the cloth is slightly narrow, folding will not add width. Adhesive on paint or uPVC can leave a gum line that washing-up liquid does not shift. If you cannot accept a mark, leave the backing on. Faulty goods are a different matter from a frame you marked yourself.
When the kit is the wrong product
Some failures are the wrong product. None of these nine ASINs includes a top rod, so do not drill the head to copy a video of one. CESOF’s listing says no-drill and also mentions basic tools, and reviews say the paper instructions were missing. Stop before you invent a fixing, and ask the seller for the sheet. A review also says the screen can stop the room door closing. More tape will not fix that clash. A 90 cm cloth on a 150 cm opening fails for the same reason: the parts do not match the hole. Refit once if the top was crooked. If it still gaps, take it down. The next buy is a wider cloth or a screen that parks aside. Dogs and cats, once the seam actually meets, are on fly screen door for dogs.
Common questions
Which side of the tape goes on the frame?
Put the hook side, the rougher strip, on the frame, and the loop side on the mesh. That is the split Flyscreen Queen publishes for its own tape, and it matches the way these curtains come off the frame at the end of summer. If your leaflet swaps the names, follow the leaflet in your box. Keep the strip you expect to leave all season on the frame, and the strip you might replace on the cloth.
Do I fix the top or the sides first?
Fix the top centre first, then the top corners, then the sides. A top line that slopes makes the magnet seam miss at the bottom even when both sides feel firm. Dry-fit and walk through before any strip is permanent. If the seam meets only after you have lifted one top corner, stick it at that height, not at the height the first piece of tape happened to land.
Can I use the push pins on uPVC?
Leave the pins in the bag if the frame is uPVC. They are for timber. A pin in plastic marks the frame and holds badly once the curtain is brushed every day. TTMLED’s own wording sends tape to flat frames and nails to uneven wood. A bevel that will not take tape is a reason to stop, or to look at a tracked screen, rather than a reason to pepper the plastic with pins.
Can I trim the curtain to width?
Do not cut the magnet seam. A UK review says the Smaluck curtain cannot be trimmed, and a specialist fitting guide says to fold spare cloth instead of cutting the join. Cutting the centre line leaves a slot that will not seal. If the cloth is a little too wide, fold the spare back on itself. If it is too narrow, no cut will add the missing centimetres. Buy the next size, using that listing’s overlap rule.
What if the magnets do not meet in the middle?
Check three things in order. The top tape is level. The cloth is wide enough for the listing’s overlap, such as Diker’s extra 8 cm of width. The frame face is flat, so both sides sit in the same plane. A greasy patch or a bevel lets one side sit proud, and the magnets pass each other. Refit once from the top centre. If the cloth is simply shorter than the opening, a refit will not close it.
Will the adhesive mark a rented frame?
It can. Smaluck’s listing has claimed the tape comes off without marks, and a UK review says the residue stays. Press nothing down until a dry fit shows the seam closing. If a mark would come out of your deposit, stop before you peel the backing and return the unused curtain. Pins and nails are a separate risk, because they leave holes in timber that filler has to hide.
The CESOF box had no instructions. Where do I stop?
Stop when the next step would mean drilling, guessing a bracket, or forcing the existing door to close on the new frame. Reviews on the CESOF listings say the paper instructions were missing, and that the screen can stop the room door shutting. The listing’s no-drill line sits next to a mention of basic tools, so those words do not settle the question. Ask the seller for the sheet. If the parts still block a door that must close, send it back unused.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listings checked 19 October 2026.
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, Annex II (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- West Lothian Council FH03: insect-proof screening for doors and windows (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Building Regulations 2010, Schedule 1 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Streme: fly screens for doors (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Streme: how to measure a patio sliding screen kit (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Streme: which mesh and fixings for a patio sliding screen (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Flyscreen Queen: fly screens for patio doors (retrieved 19 October 2026)