Screen/Storm Door Glass panel retainer clips

Question

The two attached photos show the current issue I have with my screen/storm door. One photo shows the plastic storm door insert clip in place. The other photo shows the rivet nut and thumb screw with the plastic insert clip removed. There are several of these assemblies along each side of the door which allow you to inter change the full length screen and full length glass panel seasonally.

The problem I am trying to correct is that I apparently over tightened the thumb screw into the rivet nut and the rivet nut now spins in the door when I turn the thumb screw to tighten the plastic clip in order to hold the storm door glass securely in place. I have managed to mess up three of them by over tightening.

There are three parts I have identified from your on-line catalog which I would need to complete the replacement repair. 70-180, 70-112 and 70-087. My questions are 1.) do you have any idea on how to extract the existing rivet nut that now spins in the hole in the door and 2.) if I am not able to extract the existing rivet nut from the existing hole and need to start over by drilling a new hole what size hole do I need to drill and what holds the rivet nut securely in place in the new hole so I can screw the thumb screw into the rivet nut and tighten down the plastic insert against the frame edge of the screen or glass panel insert?

Thanks for your expert feedback. I have only very basic mechanical skills.

Karl

Dave Sr. · Accepted Answer

Removing the existing rivet nut isn't as difficult as it seems at first. What I usually do is just drill out the old one. Another way is to use a sharp chisel and hammer. Using the chisel, you want to gradually tap all around the head of the rivet until it is cut off and then push the rest of the rivet back into the door. Just make sure to take your time since you don't want to damage the door frame itself.

As for setting the rivet, I recommend that you go to a local hardware store and purchase a "Blind Rivet Nut Setter Tool". These tools can run any where from $20.00 to over $100.00, so you might want to see if you can find a professional familiar with repairing storm doors to do the work for you if you don't want to purchase the tool yourself.