By MIKE MCKENNA
One of the big reasons we all love to live here is because we enjoy the great outdoors. Being in touch with nature is important to us—well, most of nature. None of us like mosquitos buzzing around inside our homes
That’s why it’s good news that John Primrose has started a business called Screens by John.
“It’s nice to be able to bring the outdoors in, just without all the annoyances of insects,” John said, adding, “Screens are one of those things that you don’t really notice until one doesn’t work the way it should.”
John is a minister’s son originally from the Midwest, and the family also called Wilder, Idaho, and California home. But they all eventually migrated back to the Gem State.
“We always had a special place in our hearts for Idaho,” he said, as we discussed his path to becoming the screen guy for Sun Valley.
John spent 20 years in the Navy as a machinist mate, with a baker’s dozen of those years using his mechanical skills on submarines. After marrying a librarian named Laura, the couple moved to the Wood River Valley in 2013.
John went to work as a house mechanic for Sun Valley Resort, where he discovered they had lots of screens problems. So he created an in-house program to fix them.
Word started to spread that John was good at fixing screens and soon thereafter the side business of Screens by John was born simply by word of mouth.
John has also worked for the Department of Motor Vehicles and he sings in the Hallelujah Chorus, which is why his kind, bearded countenance looks familiar to so many of us.
Between his day job and the screen business on the weekends and evenings, John started getting really busy. So last summer he decided to focus full time on his screen business and is very happy about his decision. “I get to play grandpa more often now,” John said.
Screens by John offers custom screen window manufacturing and repair at affordable prices. The process is pretty simple. You call up John, he comes over and assesses your screens and then lets the owners make the calls on what needs to be fixed or replaced. He then goes back to his shop in Hailey to do the work and usually returns to install the fixes in a about a week.
The average re-screening runs about $40 and around $50 if the frame needs to be rebuilt. John even offers pet screens, since “dogs and regular screen doors are not a good combo,” he joked. He also offers pollen screens to help cut down on dust and smoke, mixed striped screens, which help people and pets see them better, and the newest innovation in the industry, invisible screens.
“We use our screens for three seasons here,” John said. “But anytime is a good time to get your screens fixed.”
For more information about Screens by John call (208) 450-9031.