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How Security Screens Are Tested (and What the Tests Mean)
Any screen can be called a “security screen”. The difference is whether it has been attacked in a laboratory first. Here are the tests the mesh and doors we install are put through, in plain English.
The short version
- Knife-shear test: can a blade cut through the mesh?
- Impact test: can someone kick it in?
- Jemmy test: can it be levered open with a tool?
- Salt-spray test: will it corrode near the coast?
The figures on this page are published by Meshtec, which makes the mesh, and Majestec, its range of finished doors and windows. We have not run these tests ourselves.
Who sets the tests?
There is a long-standing Australian standard for security screen doors and window grilles. Majestec’s brochure lists three tests from it (the knife-shear, dynamic impact and jemmy tests, AS 5041-2003), plus an American salt-spray test (ASTM B117).
Meshtec runs its tests in its own laboratory, which it says is accredited to the international laboratory standard ISO/IEC 17025 and audited every six months.
1. The knife-shear test
What it copies: someone trying to slice the mesh open with a knife.
How it works (per Meshtec): a heavy-duty trimming knife is dragged along a 250 mm line on the mesh. It is pressed down with about 15 kg of force and pulled with up to 35 kg. That is done three times along the same line, with a fresh blade each time.
Why it matters: ordinary insect mesh fails this in a second. It is the clearest difference between a security screen and a regular screen door.
2. The dynamic impact test
What it copies: a burglar kicking or shouldering the door.
How it works (per Meshtec): a 43 kg impactor is driven into the screen five times. The standard has two levels, 100 joules and 200 joules of energy per hit. Meshtec says its security doors withstand the higher 200-joule level.
Why it matters: the mesh has to stay in its frame. This is where the patented clamp that grips the mesh earns its keep.
3. The jemmy test
What it copies: someone forcing a crowbar or large screwdriver in at the lock or the hinges.
How it works (per Meshtec): a large lever is applied to every locking, hinging and fastening point with up to 45 kg of force, held for 20 seconds each time.
Why it matters: a door is only as strong as its weakest point. Majestec doors lock at three points, not one, so there is no single spot to lever against.
4. The salt-spray test
What it copies: years of sea air.
How it works (per Meshtec): samples sit in a chamber of salt fog. Meshtec reports that its mesh passes after 3,000 hours of exposure.
Why it matters: in a beach city, corrosion is what ends a screen’s life. See 316 vs 304 stainless steel for why the grade of steel matters too.
What the mesh and frame are made of
| Part | What the manufacturer says |
|---|---|
| Mesh | Woven high-tensile stainless steel, in 304 or 316 marine grade. Wire is 0.8 mm or 0.9 mm thick (Meshtec). |
| Wire strength | About 900 MPa for 316 wire and about 800 MPa for 304 wire (Meshtec). |
| Frame | Aluminum, grade 6063-T5, with a patented system that fixes the mesh into the frame (Majestec). |
| Coating | Mesh and frames are powder coated for corrosion resistance (Majestec). |
| Locks | Multi-point lock: one action engages three locking points (Majestec). |
| UV | The black mesh filters up to about 60% of harmful UV rays (Majestec). |
What a test cannot tell you
- No screen is unbreakable. A pass means the screen resisted a set attack for a set time. In real life that buys time and makes noise, which is usually what sends a burglar away.
- Installation counts. A tested door fixed badly into a weak frame is not a tested installation. This is why the people who measure and fit your screens should work as one team.
- Ask for the paperwork. Any installer should be able to tell you who made the mesh and which tests it has passed.
If you would like to see the manufacturer’s test information, ask Roman.