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Cairns, QLD

Stainless Steel Security Screens Cairns

Woven 316 marine grade stainless mesh in T6 aluminium frames, made to measure in Cairns for hinged doors, sliding doors and windows.

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316 is the number to ask about first. It is the grade of the woven stainless steel mesh in a SCREENGUARD security screen, often described as the marine grade, and the Australian Stainless Steel Development Association credits it with greater resistance to pitting and crevice corrosion in warm chloride environments. The mesh sits in T6 grade high tensile extruded aluminium frames, manufactured and finished in Queensland, and we make each screen to measure in Cairns for its opening. SCREENGUARD states the system is tested for dynamic impact, knife shear, anti-jemmy, and pull and probe. Below: which openings it suits, why the grade matters near the coast, and the wash schedule its warranty depends on. Then ask us to measure yours.

View from inside a home through black-framed security screens to a tropical garden with palms and a rock-edged pool

A woven stainless screen does more than one job on a Cairns house. The Australian Standard classes woven wire mesh as small aperture infill, which has to stop human limbs and most insects, where a diamond grille only has to stop an arm. So one woven stainless screen is the security screen and the insect screen together, which matches the national industry body's description of a security screen as a barrier that allows airflow while keeping insects and intruders out. The airflow counts here: at Cairns Aero, mean 9am relative humidity sits at 78 percent from February to April, and the mean minimum temperature across the year is 20.9 C. SCREENGUARD specifies its mesh as UV coated black, which is part of why the view out through it stays clear. Where privacy from the street or shade matters more than outlook on a particular opening, perforated aluminium is the range to compare, and our range of mesh page sets the meshes side by side.

Why Cairns Security Doors for stainless steel security screens

Stainless steel is not one material. The Australian Stainless Steel Development Association (ASSDA) describes grade 316 as the first step up from the basic 304 grade, often called the marine grade, and names its main advantage plainly: a greater ability to resist pitting and crevice corrosion in warm chloride environments. Sea salt is a chloride, and Cairns stays warm all year, with a mean maximum of 29.1 C at Cairns Aero.

Humidity makes it harder on the metal. ASSDA says high humidity combined with high temperature, with tropical climates as its example, creates worse conditions for tea staining, because a film of moisture dissolves salt deposits into a corrosive solution on the surface. The Bureau of Meteorology record for Cairns Aero puts mean 9am relative humidity at 78 percent in February, March and April. That is the case ASSDA describes.

Distance from the water counts too. ASSDA's guidance is that 316, or a grade with equivalent corrosion resistance, should be the minimum within five kilometres of the surf, and that lower alloyed grades such as 304 will probably tea stain or suffer more severe corrosion in a marine environment. It adds that tea staining is most likely up to five kilometres from a surf beach and one kilometre from still marine waters, and that there is no hard and fast rule because wind and weather play a big part. Your own house is the one to place against those distances. The Queensland Reconstruction Authority's cyclone guidance says the same about building hardware: homes close to seawater should use components and connections with higher levels of corrosion resistance. That guidance is written for homes near seawater anywhere in Queensland, and Cairns is a coastal city. The national security screen body reaches the same point from the screen side: in a coastal area, consider corrosion resistance, and marine grade 316 stainless mesh is designed to prevent rust and ensure durability.

What 316 does not promise is a screen that never marks. ASSDA is clear that tea staining is a cosmetic issue that does not affect the structural integrity or the lifetime of the material, and that stainless steel is low maintenance but not generally maintenance free. That is why the grade decision and the washing decision belong together, and why every SCREENGUARD screen we make uses 316 mesh. Our knowledge base article on 316 versus 304 stainless mesh takes the two grades further.

Telling a stainless security screen from a stainless look screen that is not one

Stainless steel mesh is used in products tested as security screens and in products that are not. The national industry body lists stainless steel mesh among the infills of compliant security doors, and says a barrier door does not meet rigorous safety and performance testing and standards.

Testing is the difference. According to the same body, compliant screens are designed to withstand knife shear, jemmy, probe, corrosion, pull and impact tests. The current Australian Standard is also plain that security screen doors and windows are not intruder proof, and that security depends on the screen, its fixings, the locking hardware and the existing frame working together.

SCREENGUARD states its stainless screens are dynamic impact, knife shear, anti-jemmy, and pull and probe tested, with tests designed to simulate an intense attack using force to gain entry through the screen. The maker also states its range goes beyond the standard's impact test. We make it with woven 316 marine grade mesh in T6 grade high tensile extruded aluminium frames. Ask for the current test certificate at the measure and read the tests listed on it, not a summary of them.

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Close-up of woven marine-grade stainless steel security mesh

Stainless steel security doors: hinged, sliding, French and multi-fold

SCREENGUARD stainless is made as hinged and sliding security doors, and the maker also lists French doors, a matched pair for double entrances, and multi-fold doors that stack back to open a whole wall.

The door type changes how the screen opens, not what it is made of. SCREENGUARD states its hinged and sliding doors share one mesh, frame and lock, and that neither type is more secure. The maker says the same across its French and multi-fold doors: the same 316 mesh, frame and locking system as the rest. What does change on a wide opening is the fit, because compliant security screen doors are made and installed to very tight tolerances with specialised fixings.

Every door we make is made to measure, built to the opening you have rather than a stock size, which matters most on a wide opening or an older frame that has moved out of square. Between hinged and sliding, the choice comes down to whether there is room for a door to swing and whether a sliding door's bottom track will be kept clear. French and multi-fold configurations are part of the SCREENGUARD range, so ask at the measure whether your opening suits one.

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Hinged security screen door fitted over a grey front door on a brick home entry

Stainless steel mesh window screens, and keeping a way out

SCREENGUARD is made as security window screens as well as doors, and the maker lists configurations for fixed, sliding, hinged, casement, double hung, louvre and hopper windows. A window screened with woven mesh can stay open for the air while stopping most insects as well as limbs.

A screen fixed over every bedroom window can take away a second way out. The Queensland Fire Department tells households to consider modifying barriers such as window screens and bars, and the Australian Standard says occupant safety in a fire or other emergency should be considered when selecting and installing security window screens.

We make stainless security window screens to measure in Cairns. Tell us at the measure which windows belong to bedrooms and which ones you would use to get out, so the opening type for each is settled before anything is made. Which of the maker's window configurations suits a given window is decided at that visit, against the window itself.

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Dark security screens on the sliding door and windows of a white painted brick home with a tropical garden bed

Two stainless meshes can look identical and be different grades

ASSDA states that appearance is not a reliable indicator of the grade of stainless steel, and that cold worked austenitic grades can develop a magnetic response, so holding a magnet to a screen proves little.

The grade decides how the mesh behaves near the sea. ASSDA says lower alloyed grades such as 304 or 430 will probably become tea stained or suffer more severe corrosion in a marine environment, and that 304 has occasionally been used successfully there but is not recommended.

SCREENGUARD mesh is 316 marine grade stainless steel. Ask any supplier, us included, which grade the mesh is and what paperwork backs it: ASSDA notes that mill test certificates are normally sufficient unless there is reason to doubt them. Our article on 316 versus 304 stainless mesh covers the grades in more depth.

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The 10 year warranty and the wash schedule that keeps it

SCREENGUARD products carry a full 10 year manufacturer's warranty, and regular maintenance with SCREENGUARD Powawash is required to comply with it. The maker's warranty page sets how regular: every 6 months for mild sites 15 km from coastal rural or suburban areas, every 3 months for moderate sites 10 km from coastal or high traffic areas, and every 2 weeks for severe or coastal sites 5 km from coastal, marine or heavy industrial areas.

Those bands are what the 10 year cover asks of an owner, because the maker states it runs provided the care and maintenance recommendations have been complied with, including regular Powawash maintenance. Placement matters too. ASSDA says rain sheltered areas are very aggressive and areas that are not rain washed are particularly susceptible, so a screen under a deep verandah or eave can need more washing than one facing the weather.

A care recommendation and the warranty card are handed over at installation. Place your house against the maker's distances, plan around the band it falls in, and wash the sheltered screens at least as often as the exposed ones. Avoid abrasive pads, scourers, steel wool and any cleaner containing chlorides or bleach, which ASSDA and the maker both warn against. The method itself is in our article on how to clean security screens.

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Comparing stainless mesh brands, Crimsafe included, on what can be checked

Stainless screens from different makers can look alike, and appearance tells you little about the mesh. The Australian Standard says security depends on the screen, its adaptors and fixing method, the locking hardware and the strength of the existing frame together, with the installer obliged to assess that frame.

The parts a photo does not show decide the result. The national industry body says a security door must be supplied and installed with a compliance label, that a 3 point lock is standard on a compliant door rather than an add on, and that key locks should be 5 pin cylinder as a minimum. It also says the frame should have a deep, sturdy receiver channel so the infill cannot easily be pushed out, with corners reinforced by internal corner stakes or fully welded joints.

Take the same questions to every quote, ours included. Which grade is the mesh, and what paperwork backs it? Is there a compliance label and a 3 point lock? How deep is the receiver channel, and how are the corners joined? How are the stainless and the aluminium kept apart where they meet, given ASSDA notes that corrosion of aluminium around stainless is quite possible and galvanic effects are normally more severe near the coast? Does the current test evidence include the salt spray corrosion test that the current edition of the standard added? Then set the warranty terms side by side: who holds them, from when they run, and what care they require. Our Crimsafe alternatives article goes through the brands one by one.

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SCREENGUARD Hinged Stainless Security Doors

Hinged security doors in woven 316 marine grade stainless steel mesh, made to measure for front, back and side entries. On an entry that takes the sea air, 316 is the grade ASSDA sets as the minimum within five kilometres of the surf. The door is built to the opening you have, which helps on an older frame that is no longer square.

Ask about a hinged stainless door

SCREENGUARD Sliding Stainless Security Doors

Sliding security doors in woven 316 marine grade stainless steel mesh, made to measure for patio and deck openings. SCREENGUARD states its sliders share one mesh, frame and lock with its hinged doors, so the choice is about the track rather than the security. The maker's care advice is to keep the bottom track and drainage clear, which counts in a city averaging 2,019.1 mm of rain a year.

Ask about a sliding stainless door
Open plan living room looking through black-framed security screen doors to a pool and palms

Stainless Steel Mesh Window Screens

Security window screens in woven 316 marine grade stainless steel mesh, made to measure for each window. Woven mesh stops most insects as well as limbs, so a window left open for the air gets a flyscreen and a security screen in one. Bedroom windows get one extra question at the measure: how you would get out in a fire.

Ask about stainless window screens

Onsite Repairs to Stainless Screens

Onsite replacement and repair of locks, cylinders, sliding door wheels and tracks, closers, hinges, triple locks and patio bolts on existing security screens. The mesh is 316, but the lock, rollers and hinges around it are still hardware on a coastal house, and ASSDA notes galvanic effects are normally more severe near the coast. Those parts are repaired or replaced at the property rather than the whole screen.

See onsite repairs
Corner detail of a security screen door showing the mesh held in the aluminium frame
Licensed, tested, locally made

Credentials you can check

The person measuring and making your screen can be checked before any work starts. Cairns Security Doors is a sole trader business, ABN 37 916 171 681, working under QBCC licence 1199847, and describes itself as local family owned, operated and manufactured in Cairns Queensland. The Queensland Building and Construction Commission includes 'Fabricate and install security screens and doors' in the scope of its glass, glazing and aluminium licence, and anyone can search its online register before they hire. Every screen is made to measure for its own opening rather than supplied in a stock size. Product claims on this page are attributed to the people who make them: the tests are the ones SCREENGUARD states for its stainless screens, and you can ask for the current certificate. The 10 year warranty is SCREENGUARD's, conditional on regular Powawash maintenance, and its care recommendation and warranty card are handed over at installation. The maker's own terms say the warranty does not limit your Australian Consumer Law rights.

QBCC Licensed Contractor
Queensland Building and Construction Commission licence 1199847
Verify this
Tested Security Screens
SCREENGUARD states its stainless steel mesh screens pass dynamic impact, knife shear, anti-jemmy, and pull and probe testing. PERFGUARD adds a probe test, with hinged and sliding doors tested using three point locking hardware.
10 Year Manufacturer's Warranty
SCREENGUARD products carry a full 10 year manufacturer's warranty. Regular maintenance with SCREENGUARD Powawash is required to comply.
Locally Made
Family owned and operated. Doors and screens are made to measure and manufactured in Cairns; SCREENGUARD frames are manufactured and finished in Queensland.

Questions we get asked

Does the SCREENGUARD warranty pass to the next owner if I sell the house?

Not on the maker's published terms. SCREENGUARD makes its warranty to the original purchaser, running 10 years from the date of installation provided regular Powawash maintenance and its care recommendations have been followed. If you are selling, do not promise a buyer the remaining years. Hand over the care recommendation instead, so the next owner knows how the screens should be looked after.

What does the SCREENGUARD warranty not cover?

SCREENGUARD covers defects in materials and manufacturing for 10 years from installation, when the screen is fabricated to its instructions and regular Powawash maintenance has been kept up. The maker states it does not apply to damage caused by abuse, fire, accident or acts of God. Missed washes put the cover at risk too, because the maker ties those 10 years to its care and maintenance recommendations being followed. Nothing in it limits your Australian Consumer Law rights.

Why does the screen under my verandah mark before the one facing the weather?

Because rain never reaches it. ASSDA says rain sheltered areas such as the underside of sloping roofs are very aggressive, and areas that are not rain washed are particularly susceptible. In hot, humid air, a film of moisture dissolves the salt left on the surface into a corrosive solution. Wash the sheltered screens more often, not less. ASSDA also notes tea staining is cosmetic and does not affect the material's structural integrity or lifetime.

Do the hinged and sliding stainless doors use the same mesh and lock?

Yes: SCREENGUARD states its hinged and sliding doors share one mesh, frame and lock, and that neither type is more secure than the other. That makes the choice a practical one about your opening: whether there is room for a door to swing, and whether a sliding door's bottom track will be kept clear. Both are made to measure for the opening rather than cut from a stock size.

What does a stainless security screen do that a barrier screen door does not?

It is tested against forced entry. The national industry body says a barrier door does not meet rigorous safety and performance testing and standards, while compliant screens are designed to withstand knife shear, jemmy, probe, corrosion, pull and impact tests. It also says a door without a compliance label is not a security door, and that a 3 point lock is standard on a compliant one. Ask to see both on any screen you are comparing.

Can stainless mesh go on French doors or a multi-fold opening?

SCREENGUARD makes French security doors, a matched pair for double entrances with multi point locking across both leaves, and multi-fold doors that stack back to open a whole wall. The maker states these use the same 316 mesh, frame and locking system as its hinged and sliding doors. Whether one suits your opening depends partly on the frame it fixes to, which the installer is obliged to assess, so raise it at the measure.

Why does security mesh need to be marine grade in Cairns?

We use 316 marine grade stainless steel mesh in SCREENGUARD screens. The 316 grade is specified for its corrosion resistance, which matters along the Cairns coast where screens sit in salt-laden air. The mesh is woven finely enough to keep a clear view outward, so you get protection without the bars or grills that block the view.

What warranty comes with your security doors?

SCREENGUARD products carry a full 10 year manufacturer's warranty, and the warranty card is provided at the time of installation. Regular maintenance with SCREENGUARD Powawash is required to keep that warranty valid. PERFGUARD products carry a 7 year warranty from the date of installation. Conditions apply to both, and we will go through them with you.

How are your security doors tested?

SCREENGUARD stainless steel mesh doors are put through dynamic impact, knife shear, anti-jemmy, and pull and probe testing. PERFGUARD window grilles and hinged and sliding doors pass the same set plus a probe test, with the doors tested using three point locking hardware. Ask us for the current test certificate for whichever product you are considering and we will pass it on.

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Tell us the suburb and what you need measured. Every door and screen is made to measure, so the more detail you give us the more accurate the quote.

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Need stainless steel security screens?

Tell us which doors and windows you have in mind, which ones face the weather and which sit under a verandah or eave, and which bedroom windows you would use to get out. At the measure, ask to see the current SCREENGUARD test certificate and the care recommendation that comes with the warranty, so you know the wash schedule before the screen goes up. Use the quote form, or call (07) 4057 5443.

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