Having a dog often results in a torn screen on the screen door of our camper. So we looked around for different solutions to prevent this. We wanted something that looked good and still allowed airflow. We considered a sheet of Lexan, but this prevents airflow. After searching around we found several companies selling screens that can screw on the door to protect them like this Camco Screen Door Grille or this slightly less expensive Camco Aluminum Screen Door Grille. These solutions were expensive ($30-60) and really don’t look that great. We also considered taking a $10 piece of metal expanded sheet and making a frame for that to screw or mount onto the door. On our way to Home Depot to pick up the materials, we stopped at our local transfer station and found a damaged Safety 1st Bamboo Gate. It had a nice bamboo frame and a light plastic grate. It also happened to be the perfect size to fit on the door.
I used my drill to remove several of the rivets holding trim pieces on and the closing mechanism. Then I ripped off the excess material on my table saw and cleaned up the rough edges with my sander. I hit the bamboo with a little flat black spray paint and let it dry. Then it was fastened to the door with 4, 12 pound rated black command strips. No holes, No drilling and it looks pretty good. It’s already been dog tested. Total cost about $5.00 for the spray paint and the Command Strips. In fact it might be cheaper to buy the gate new and make your own. The link for the exact gate we found is above.