apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i only need a screen on one of my windows. the only window that needs one is the one next to the fire escape. there is an oak tree next to the fire escape. squirrels like this tree and the fire escape. if a screen is not in place, they also like my apartment.

Your landlord has no choice but to put the screens in, no matter what you want -- it's city-mandated, and they're really coming down hard on every little thing, even when the average person walking into the unit would think everything seemed perfectly fine.

We were recently cited for a bunch of "Huh. Okay ..." sort of stuff (needing hard-wired rather than battery-operated smoke detectors? Relocating a water heater that had been there for probably 30 years or more?), and believe me, your landlord has to fix every little thing to the letter before the reinspection.

Just take the screens back out when the inspector goes away!

I...I had no idea people thought they distorted the view this much.

I've never had a window without a screen, because, you know, I like to open the windows.

Keeps the bugs out yes, but the filth?? Are you kidding? if the windows are open, the dirt in the air comes in! Screens are great in the fall and spring when it's pleasant enough to not use the central air.

Oh yeah, and they're pretty good at keeping the cats in.

when i lived in england we didn't have screens, none of the houses do.. i really liked this idea until..

we constantly had bugs.. couldn't leave them open b/c the cats would try to jump out.. etc.. looks beautiful.. until the bugs come..and they do.. ick

Wait- screens obstruct the view too much? I dunno- that seems a bit nit-picky to me. It's not like they're opaque. The only time I've even noticed the screens in my windows is when I tried to take a cell-phone photo out one of them.

Screens allow me to open my windows and not have birds/squirrels/chipmunks/etc. come in, and keeps my cat from getting out. They also allow me to leave the windows open when it rains without soaking my house inside.

Seriously- I don't understand the beef with screens. Maybe if you live in a city and have no pets (or children) and don't live somewhere that there are mosquitos, birds, and squirrels I guess I can understand not using them... maybe.

i definitely prefer having screens - it is a great way to keep the cats inside! plus, it helps with the bugs.
we just went through a lot of painting due to the inspector coming through. our landlords were a huge nightmare (like, not telling us what was going on and expecting to just show up and paint...among other things). anyway, for some reason they haven't asked to come in and look at the work and the workers forgot to finish a few things (i believe you have to have switchplates - aka no exposed wiring). i can't understand these property owners and their disregard of this place. don't they get fined if the inspector has to return a third time?

This is California posting, right? Don't have mosquitoes do you? East coasters need screens!

GingerVitis: the inspector fortunately said it was our option and let it slide according to our preference. He mentioned that they're required, but it's not something they go after if the current tenants prefer otherwise. Prior to that, I did what you recommended and stowed away the screens :)

"Maybe if you live in a city and have no pets (or children) and don't live somewhere that there are mosquitoes, birds, and squirrels"

Ether Maiden: I don't think I've ever had any issues with any of the animals you've mentioned living across LA fortunately, but I do keep screens secure for our cats so they don't venture off to find those very animals and bring them back.

Perhaps it's nitpicky (hey, I think being nitpicky about a view isn't such a bad thing). But if you saw the sunsets we enjoy out our front window, you'd likely notice the screen in front compared to when it is not there. It's definitely not as vibrant or enjoyable.

Some of them are off, some of them stay - mostly for cat containment. On windows that rarely get opened I take them off, because they're kind of ugly and hard to keep clean.

One solution for the screen dilemma is to consider retractable screens:
http://www.phantomscreens.com/

Sort of like roller window shades, except they look better and disappear completely. Plus, they are mounted in a track, so they will not blow around.

They also have track mounted retractable screens for sliding glass doors, and French doors.

This means your view and light is NEVER blocked on one side or the other. No extra doors to deal with.

Seems like this could please most everyone. Some seasons or years are worse than others for bugs, so that you would ONLY have to use the screens when needed.

Another idea I use for the cat containment issue, is to pick up thin (somewhat flexible) acrylic and have it cut to my window size. Just the bottom. I pop that into the area between the window that has been opened, it sits against the window itself and into the window nook.

It's clear, but it's flexed out a bit, so that air does come in, and of course it comes in over the acrylic.

I have a larger piece for the sliding door that is a long, narrow rectangle. I like the breeze, but don't like the cats slamming into the screen and wrecking it. So, the acrylic blocks just the very bottom (laid horizontally) or covers a long way up (stood vertically) to keep cats away from the screen, not block the light, but still allow air flow.

I'm sure this would work for dogs too. Yes, the acrylic gets scratched over time, but there are no late night escapes by the fur ball gang.

After having 2 birds in my house at 2 different times, I'd be way too freaked out about not having screens. The birds didn't get in through an open window without a screen, but trust me- you don't want a crow in your house!!! Even a finch is crazy.

And the dust and dirt...doesn't it get in your house without the screens?!

We have a historically preserved building and screens were never built in. Can't change it. I prefer it without...

I think screens block the view an insignificant amount unless you are sitting right in front of the window or the screens are filthy and clouded with dirt. They are almost invisible if you are not right on top of them.

My sliding windows have a screen that slides back and forth to cover whatever area is open and there is almost no view difference on each side, particularly on clear, bright days when the view is probably most appealing. Keeping bugs out is well worth the tiny sacrifice in "the view".

I have great views and when I first moved in my landlord hadn't put screens on the windows. I thought it was cool--until I came back from a weekend trip and found a pigeon in my bedroom and pigeon crap everywhere. (The windows had popped open due to Santa Anas.) Needless to say, I asked for screens immediately. He had a guy put in "black screens." The material is dark, rather than the traditional silvery aluminum wire. The result is screens that DON'T screw up the view. I vacuum my screens from the inside with the brush attachment to keep them clean.

Gregory, I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but all your posts make you seem like a spoiled brat! It's always about your landlord and what they are doing that you don't like. I hope you are saving up for your own place where you can make the rules...

I'm with Charlotte. We need our screens on the east coast. An open window is an open invitation for the squirrels and even worse, the MOSQUITOS.

I live in Boston, and maybe it's just because I'm downtown but mosquitos aren't a problem. Still, take out the screens? No. I don't want birds flying in or the cat falling out!
Oh, and God forbid anything should hamper my sexy courtyard view.

Matilda: I hope you were kidding.

When we moved into our current apartment in west LA, we were thrilled a the wide sliding glass door that took up nearly one wall of the living room and led to a nice sized deck. Unfortunately our view is of our neighbor's deck and a bit of the sky and then some skyscrapers over on the periphery. Still, with no AC and a fairly consistent ocean breeze, we enjoyed having this sliding glass door and almost always left it open and the screen door too. The cats could go in and out as they pleased and it was nice to get that little bit of breeze.

We weren't taking our shoes off at the time and I remember thinking that the floors got grimey rather frequently and one summer I finally got sick of the handful of flies that lazily circled the middle of our living room. So I decreed no shoes indoors, closed the screen door and the floors have been much cleaner. And there's just less sooty city dirt covering all surfaces in general. I don't know, I don't think that the screens make much of a difference with the view (I could change my mind if we had a nicer view) but I sure do enjoy the cleaner surfaces in my home.

i love screeens, because i hate bugs. one of my windows doesnt have the screen anymore, since the time Mr. E (aka psycho boy) played tarzan on it and fell down the window.. yes he came back home after 4 days of disappearance. And me goign NUTS!.
So, i'd love to have that replaced but my landlord said I have to do it since pretty much it is my fault that the thing fell down. Did not do it yet, and that window is open only when im home and i can control little furry tarzan boy.
All in all screens are good. For me.

We have screens in our windows to keep the bugs away. They don't deter our cats though. Once, our big 20 lb monster escaped and I didn't have time to track him down. When my husband got home from work, the cat was snoozing on the couch. He ripped the screen from the window FROM THE OUTSIDE and crawled through the open window. He broke in our house. Anyway...

Around our house, it's all about keeping the bugs out.

I live right by the LA River, as close to it as you can get and still be on the Westside. There's plenty of mosquitoes, because it's standing water, not rushing water. We got screens right away when we moved into our raw loft.

Its funny, we have so opposite problem over here in europe /germany. We were struggeling to get a permission for installing screens from our landlord due to keeping our cat safe inside the apartment. The screens we'd chosen were made of some strong fiberglass-like material and quite invisible.

Matilda,
Our landlord has been under investigation by the city and the inspectors are here regularly, so it's actually a serious problem (beyond just the screens) affecting several people and not just a case of someone being a spoiled brat.
--Gregory's gf

Matilda: I'm a bit confused why I would be a "brat" for reporting about the very things any renting tenant would worry about: landlords not fixing important interior structural damage (not due to tenant negligence, but the age of the building), trash disposal, hazardous external conditions (like a whole wall losing structural integrity), and issues affecting the safety of all our tenants (safe lighting).

My previous posts, if you note, weren't about window screens...they were pretty serious housing negligence strikes against the landlord, who until now, had not made any effort to keep the buildings' upkeep until a city inspector made sure he was up to code. Perhaps I might be squeaky wheel, but I think I only squeak when it's something I cannot fix myself or is out of my financial range/responsibility as a tenant. And the positive effect is my neighbors have made a noticeable effort to stand up for their renter's rights now too, since being armed with the information that was posted here and in person. Not all of us can afford to buy in LA, so we make best of what we have as renters.

two questions for everyone -- does anyone know the code section that requires screens in los angeles on rental units? And does anyone know how to verify whether or not a building is protected as "historical"?