Tips for Choosing Home Security Screens

You may love opening your windows and doors to let fresh breezes float through your house. However, doing so may make you feel vulnerable if they only have flyscreens in place. To enjoy fresh air and safety, consider the following tips when purchasing security screens for your home.

Grills and/or Screens

One decision you'll need to make is whether to fit screens only or to install screens and grills. This choice is particularly relevant for security doors, which come in diverse designs featuring both alternatives. If you want a clear view of the outside, consider a door made of perforated steel or aluminium that looks like mesh. But if you love the deterrent value of a grill over the door, you could choose a design with wrought iron, steel, or aluminium bars that are arranged to form decorative metalwork. You could choose a traditional model with curves and scrolls or a mid-century design of different-sized and overlapping rectangles.

You can also fit security screens on windows, with or without grills. You might opt to fit grills on vulnerable windows—ones that face a laneway, for instance. You can choose a colour that blends with the house, such as white, black, green, or charcoal.

Australian Standards

Without having standards to refer to, it can be hard to know if a screen door will be effective or not in helping to keep burglars out of your home. Luckily, Australian standards do exist, and you can buy a door that is labelled as being compliant. There are standards for the construction and manufacture of the door and for its installation. After all, you can buy a secure door, but it won't be effective if it's attached to the frame with hinges that an intruder can easily prise off.

Extra Protection

A security screen door is already multifunctional, as it keeps out intruders and insects. However, some designs can offer protection from natural elements like fire and cyclones. If you live in a region with such threats, you could consider a door that has additional ratings for its capacity to hinder the spread of fire and to withstand the wind of a cyclone.

If you're installing a security screen on a window that's a certain height above ground level, it might need to be rated to withstand force and prevent falls. Security screens are typically treated, and the frames are powder coated to withstand the weather without rusting and decaying.

Contact a supplier for more information about security screens.