Insect Screen

What Is Insect Screen, and What Does 18x16 Mesh Mean?

Insect screen is a fine mesh that closes windows, doors and ventilation openings to insects without shutting off the airflow. Its mesh count is given as 18x16: 18 wires in one direction and 16 in the other across 2.54 cm. The higher the mesh number, the smaller the aperture and the better the protection, but the less air gets through.

18x16 is the count accepted worldwide as standard against flies and mosquitoes and covers almost every domestic, commercial and livestock application. One honest warning: very small flying insects such as midges can pass this aperture, and a more closely woven specialist mesh is needed for them. Screen does not stop the airflow altogether but it does restrict it, so in a room that is already poorly ventilated it is better to screen the opening casements than the whole window.

PVC Coated or Aluminium? The Material Difference

The PVC coated range is a fibreglass or wire based mesh coated in plastic, supplied in grey. It is flexible, bends, folds and cuts easily, is forgiving as you tension it into a frame, and springs back after a knock. That makes it the practical choice for house windows, screen frames, door units and anywhere handled often. Its weakness is mechanical strength: cat claws, a hard object or constant pressure will stretch and puncture it.

Aluminium mesh is metal. It holds its form, does not sag in heat and shows no embrittlement or colour change on facades in long sun. It suits commercial kitchens, food stores, livestock housing and large fixed frames. Its weakness is this: once dented it never returns to flat, and the dent stays. The choice comes down to how the mesh will be treated. PVC coated lasts longer where it is handled and moved, aluminium in fixed openings and demanding conditions.

Choosing Between the 100 cm and 120 cm Widths

Insect screen is sold by the metre: the roll width is fixed and the length is cut to order, so the width you pick decides your waste. PVC coated comes in 100 cm and 120 cm widths, aluminium in 100 cm.

The rule is simple: the short side of the opening must be less than the roll width. A window with a 90 cm short side works in 100 cm and still leaves an allowance for fixing at the edges. A 110 cm short side does not; you need the 120 cm width, or you are joining two pieces, and a joint is a weak point both visually and in sealing. On wide balcony doors and large ventilation openings the 120 cm width comes out cheaper overall because it removes joints.

Technical Specifications

How Many Metres of Insect Screen Do You Need? A Worked Example

The sum is one line: metres required = the long side of each piece + a cutting allowance. Every piece must have a short side smaller than the roll width. Allow 5-10 cm per piece for cutting and tensioning; on spline-tensioned frames that allowance earns its keep.

Example: six windows of 140 x 110 cm in a flat. The short side is 110 cm, so the 120 cm width is chosen. Each window takes 1.40 + 0.05 = 1.45 m. 6 x 1.45 = 8.7 m, so 9 metres are ordered.

If the same flat has a 200 x 90 cm balcony door, the short side is 90 cm, so 2.00 + 0.05 = 2.05 m of the 100 cm width is needed and 2.5 metres covers it. Working each width out separately rather than mixing them keeps waste to a minimum. On jobs with many openings, such as stores and livestock buildings, listing every size and grouping by width uses less material than ordering in one lump.

Installation: Frames, Beading, Spline and Tensioning

1. Take the clear size of the opening; for a frame, work from the internal size the mesh spans, not the profile size.
2. Cut the mesh 3-5 cm oversize on every edge, with sharp shears and in one stroke; a ragged cut unravels.
3. With a screen frame, lay the mesh over it, press the spline into the channel along one edge, then work the opposite edge under tension.
4. Do not force the spline at the corners; let the mesh sit free. Over-tensioning pulls the weave out of square and leaves a wavy finish.
5. Staple on timber; use beading or a screwed clamping profile on metal. Aluminium mesh held onto timber with beading is the most durable answer.
6. Trim the surplus off outside the spline with a craft knife.
7. At ventilation openings and fan outlets, mount the mesh in a fixed frame; mesh pressed straight onto a grille slackens under flow pressure. Where coarse dirt arrives, a perforated sheet in front of it adds noticeably to the life of the screen.

Use Beyond the Home: Poultry Houses, Barns, Stores and Food Businesses

Insect screen is not just a window product. On poultry house and barn windows and vents it cuts the fly load and the disease that rides with it, and in milking parlours and feed stores it is compulsory in practice. In food production and storage, screening alongside a door air curtain is a standard expectation of hygiene inspections.

One distinction matters: insect screen is an insect barrier, not an animal or security barrier. PVC coated chicken wire keeps birds in, shade net cuts sun and wind, and screen mesh grades material. Substituting one for another is the commonest mistake made; fine insect screen tears apart in a single season on a poultry run.

Cleaning, Maintenance, Service Life and the Wrong Choice

Cleaning is the simplest job that extends the life of a screen. As dust, pollen and grease block the apertures, airflow falls and the mesh struggles to stay taut. A soft brush and unpressurised water are enough; a pressure washer will lift the mesh out of the frame, especially on the PVC coated range. Grease-catching mesh in kitchens and food areas needs cleaning several times a year, and frames taken down and stored dry over winter last markedly longer.

The wrong choice shows quickly: thin PVC coated mesh on a door that is constantly used and reached by a pet is punctured in the first season. Flexible mesh stretched across a wide fixed opening in full sun sags and bellies in the middle. Aluminium on a small window that has to come on and off risks a dent every time it is handled. The costliest error is in the measurement; where a screen opens at a joint, that is exactly where the insects come in.

What Determines the Price, and How Do Delivery and Site Surveys Work?

Price follows the material, the roll width, the running metres ordered and the current raw material cost. Aluminium and PVC coated sit in different raw material groups and are listed at different figures even in the same width; 120 cm sits above 100 cm because it holds more material per metre. Unit cost falls on long orders. Every figure in the price table on this page includes VAT.

Our Ostim, Ankara based company sells the product and ships throughout Türkiye, cutting from the roll to the length ordered. Delivery is always charged; shipping is added to the order separately, including deliveries within Ankara. On projects within Ankara the site survey is free of charge: we measure the openings, group them by width and report the total running metres in writing. Installation is not one of our standard services; our team attends site only on projects of approximately 1,000 metres and above.