pool cage screen door hinge replacment - having trouble with finding right rivets and other issues

[NSBFAN]

Hi all, when my pool was remodeled my pool cage door hinges broke. They snapped vertically behind the rivet. The remodeler said he'd fix but can't ever seem to get a crew out, and I called some screen repair folks and they are all too busy to do a small job. So I ventured to do it myself. The doors themselves attach to the hinge with screws. Easy. The hinges are connected to the door frames with smooth top rivets. The rivets are through the thin framing strip that goes around the inside of the door frame. I drilled out the old rivets and put on short 1/8" grip range rivets. What I didn't realize was, there cannot be much if any thickness of rivet material on the backside of the frame strip as it will not lay flush because of the rivet. I was thinking maybe I'd use metal screws and drill into the frame itself instead of using rivets, but that metal is very hard and would like to do it right if I can.

Has anyone had this experience? Anyone know if there is a different type of rivet other than a blind or pop rivet for this application?

Thanks for any ideas or suggestions.

 

[Dirk]

What "metal is very hard?" Is there a layer of metal behind the softer frame (a layer that you can't see behind a layer that you can see)?

If that hidden layer is the one you say is "hard," I would drill through the outer layer, through the hidden layer, and attach the hinges with sheet metal screws. The trick is to use the correct screw and drill the correct sized hole. Some packages of screws will include the correct drill hole size. That'd be your best bet to get the size right.

 

[swamprat69]

For drilling through a very hard material, you might try a spear point glass and ceramic tile bit.