Safe as houses? Flyscreens are great for six-legged pests, but not so good against the two-legged variety--especially those brandishing a knife or screwdriver.(Buying guide: security screen doors)(Australian Security Industry Association Limited)(National Security Screen Association)(Buyers Guide)

Publication: Choice (Chippendale, Australia)

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COPYRIGHT 2005 Australian Consumers' Association

Security screen doors are designed to let you safely open up the house to air and light while you're at home--upstairs or out in the garden, say. They should prevent someone from sneaking quickly and quietly into your house when your main door's open and nicking your stuff, and deter or delay potential attackers long enough for you to call for help.

While they provide some level of protection, given enough time and the right equipment, they're still penetrable--some more so than others. Then there's the installation--attaching it to a weak door flame or allowing enough space to get good jemmying leverage reduces its effectiveness as a security door.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Unfortunately in most states a product advertised as a "security screen door" may only secure you against flies: the term is meaningless unless the door can be shown to meet the Australian standard. However, in WA, any door advertised or sold as a security door must meet the Australian standard--something CHOICE would like to see applied nationally, and which the Australian Security Industry Association Limited (ASIAL) and the National Security Screens Association (NSSA) are lobbying for.

A proper security door must have a combination of several elements that make it secure. For example, a strong grille is useless if the lock's easily broken. And a solid lock doesn't help if the hinges can be jemmied from the frame in moments.

While you can check some aspects of quality yourself (see What to look for, page 34), others are concealed in the structure and impossible for a typical consumer to assess.

THE STANDARD

Your best bet is to buy a door that meets the Australian standard for hinged and sliding security screen doors--AS 5039. This standard came into force in 2003, superseding the previous one, AS 2803 (which many companies still refer to, and which still provides acceptable protection). The standard includes design and performance requirements for the various parts of the door, such as hinges, grille, corner joints, locks, screws and rivets. A company can't claim that some parts of a door (hinges,...

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