One of the biggest growing concern about our house was “security”. Our house is built on a bungalow lot (meaning there’s space surrounding the house) so it means robbery can happen from every corner, not just the front and back. What more, our facade designer designed the house to have lots full length glass doors/windows (which we love actually and it didn’t hit us about crime then).
So the logical solution to prevent break-ins was to have security grills at every possible entry point. On top of that, we had to install mosquito netting on the grills so we can open our windows/doors for air ventilation yet preventing mozzies from coming in. We could already imagine how ugly they would look! But thank God, my uncle told us to explore security mesh (which was totally new to us) and that’s where we embarked on the journey to spending RM50k to “mesh-up” our entire house hahahaha.
In hope to make this entry more helpful for you, I’ve put my learnings down in Q&A format.
What is security mesh?
A security mesh does the same job that grills and mosquito netting do, but way nicer and better (but costlier). It is a layer of security to prevent intruders (human and insects) from coming into your house. The security mesh is made of aluminium and stainless steel with a certain level of thickness and hardness that makes it durable and much harder to break. They also come with multiple lock points and installation is done as such that it’s hard to hack out and unscrew. So say if a robber requires 15-30 minutes to break through your grill with whatever tools, with the security mesh, they will require more canggih tools and it will take triple the time or more. Definitely a better deterrent.
Is it nicer than the normal grills?
YES! It is SOOOO MUCH NICER. Grills come in many designs and colours – the flowery ones are really ugly and easy to break while the simple line ones makes your space look very jailed up. There are also the thin/flat ones which are slightly nicer looking, but those are easy to break through as well. On top of that you still need to add in your magnetic mosquito netting with the magnet stuck to the frame of your grill. With security mesh, it is a straight forward one piece see-through netting that, to me, looks modern and classy.
Are they easy to clean and maintain?
YES! Grills are ridiculously painful and time consuming to clean because of the way they are. And mosquito netting will have holes after a few years (despite the all the marketing talks about premium nets and whatnots). But with security mesh, you won’t have hole problems and you just need cloth and water to wipe through the whole area. It is very solid so wiping through is quick and easy. Not much maintenance needed.
Which company did I go with?
I went with Panther Protect. When I did my research, these were the top 3 companies in the market and here’s my summary:
To further elaborate on my comparison above:
Panther Protect has 2 range of mesh – Premium and Deluxe. Premium uses SS316, 1mm thickness, the multipoint locks are 1 foot apart, and has longer warranty. It is of course also a lot more expensive. The one I got and included in the comparison above is the Deluxe range (which I feel is good enough).
Panther’s screwless retention system is a big winner for us. It basically means their nettings are tightly clamped to the frame throughout, so it is harder to break. But for the other 2, they screw in the netting at selected points, so the support is weaker.
It is also because Panther clamps the net throughout its frame, so no matter how big the frame is, you do not need any divider to support it. This is important if you want to do full length mesh but imagine you need to have a middle divider, so ugly.
Panther’s multi point locking system also comes with 3 different types of locks that secures your mesh better. Ask them to explain this to you when you in person. I can’t think of how to illustrate this hahaha.
In terms of pricing, they were around the same range so I didn’t bother much since quality mattered more in this case. However, do note that all of them have different rates for top hung window, sliding door, swing door, casement window, etc. Discuss with your consultant on which is best for the area you’re installing the mesh on.
Does it block off alot of sun, making your house darker?
It does block off some amount of light, but it’s very minor. Here are some photos I took:
Does the frame jut out?
This one depends on the current position of your existing doors/windows. I was lucky that we had sufficient space for most of them, and we got our contractor to remove and readjust those that didn’t.
This photo is taken with Optima’s frame. The good thing about their frame is that the edge is smooth so no sharp edges especially if you have kids at home. Panther’s frame has sharp edges – probably the only minus point for them. However, it’s been 2 years so maybe they already cater to this… do check with them if it’s your concern.
The space required depends on what type you are going for – open in, open out, sliding, swing… and also the type of handle/locks you want, etc.. so discuss this with your consultant. 🙂
The space was especially crucial for our sliding doors because I think it would look really ugly we had to extend the frame and sliding track out. Thank God ours was just nice.
All in all, we are really happy with this investment even though it came with a really huge price tag. But it gives us a really huge peace of mind knowing that our entry points are very secured.
If you are interested to check out Panther Protect or get them to give you a quotation, you can contact Lee at 016-221 8561. He’s very helpful and would be able to answer your questions and doubts. Their website is panther-asia.com
Let me know if you have any questions, I’ll answer as best I can. 🙂
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