How to Repair Mesh Curtains on Fireplaces
How to Repair Mesh Curtains on Fireplaces
Most fireplace curtains are made of metal mesh. Metal mesh fireplace curtains keep flammable materials in the fireplace and potentially flammable materials out of the fireplace. Repair sections of your metal mesh with metal jump rings and chain nose pliers. Metal jump rings, commonly called split rings, are available in craft and jewelry-making stores in various metallic and colored finishes.
Instructions
1
Select metal jump rings that are identical or similar to the size of the mesh rings or wires in your curtain. The diameter of a metal jump ring is the width of the ring measured from one edge to the other across the middle of the ring, according to the Jewelry Supply website. The size of the wire that forms the jump ring determines the thickness of the ring. If you are unsure, buy several rings at a craft store and take them home to compare them to the mesh of the curtain. Choose the same metallic finish, or paint the rings later.
2
Remove and spread the Mesh Curtains on Fireplaces on a piece of cardboard, or place a piece of cardboard behind the intact curtain. The cardboard allows the mesh rings to stand out. Look at the damage. If there is a rip in the mesh, you only need to reconnect the row on each side of the rip. If there is a hole with damaged or missing links, you will need to rebuild that section of the curtain.
3
Insert chain nose pliers or tweezers into the ring, near the split on the metal. Expand the pliers or tweezers. The ring will begin to expand. Open the ring only as wide as needed to slip another ring of the same thickness through the split. Open several rings to make repairs go more quickly.
4
Start at the left bottom of the tear or hole. Slip one open jump ring into one ring or link on the outside edge of the rip or hole. Close the metal ring by squeezing it gently with the pliers. If the mesh is tightly woven, you may need to slip a metal jump ring over two rings in the mesh.
5
Insert another open ring immediately above and through the previously installed ring and through the link or ring immediately to the left of the metal jump ring you are working with. Close the ring. This joins the previous ring with the new ring.
6
Continue adding rings up the left edge of the tear until you have reached the top of the tear or hole.
7
Return to the left bottom -- the left is now the row of new jump rings -- and begin a new row with metal jump rings. If the tear is thin, the second row of jump rings will connect through the previous row of new rings and the other side of the tear. Continue adding rows of rings until the tear is repaired.
8
Paint the repaired section with enamel paint in the same finish as the mesh curtain. Many mesh fireplace curtains are black, and black metal jump rings are easy to find, saving you the step of painting the mesh when it is repaired.
