Flyscreens Cost Calculator
Flyscreens are one of the cheapest fixes in the whole house, right up until you pick the wrong mesh and pay twice. Price your openings, mesh grade and install method below.
Count each screen panel. A double sliding door usually needs two panels.
Measure the rebate, not the glass. Fixed window screens sit in the outer rebate of the frame, and getting that wrong by 5mm is the difference between a screen that clips in and one that falls out in the first southerly.
If you live within a few kilometres of mangroves, an estuary or a wetland, go straight to midge mesh. Standard fibreglass has an aperture that biting midges walk straight through, and rescreening later costs almost as much as the original job.
💰 Ways to save
- Rescreening an existing frame is dramatically cheaper than replacing it. A workshop will strip and re-mesh a sound aluminium window frame for roughly $35 to $65 per screen in fibreglass, against $130 to $190 for a whole new made-to-measure unit. Pull one down and check the corners: if the frame is straight and the plastic corner stakes are intact, you only need mesh and spline.
- Do the run yourself and drop the price by about a quarter to a third. Fixed window screens clip into the rebate with spring pins and need no tools beyond a ladder, so supply-only pricing at $95 to $150 per window is realistic for a competent DIYer. Leave sliding and hinged doors to the installer, because those need the track packed and the closer set correctly.
- Buy every screen in the house at once. Fabricators cut and assemble in batches, and most will drop 10 to 20 per cent on an order of eight or more panels against the same panels ordered one at a time. The delivery or install visit is also a single fixed cost of $80 to $150 rather than one per screen.
- Match the mesh to the actual problem instead of buying up. Pet mesh costs about 70 per cent more than fibreglass and is only worth it where a dog or cat pushes at the screen daily, which is normally one or two doors, not eleven windows. Spec the pet mesh where the animal lives and standard mesh everywhere else.
How we estimate this
## Flyscreen prices in Australia in 2026
Pricing reviewed: June 2026.
Pricing reviewed June 2026. Indicative Australian costs, not a quote.
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Understanding flyscreens costs in Australia
Flyscreen prices in Australia in 2026
A made-to-measure fixed window flyscreen in standard fibreglass mesh with a powder coated aluminium frame costs $110 to $185 supplied and installed for a typical opening around 900mm by 1200mm. Supply only, the same screen is $80 to $140. A sliding door screen panel runs $260 to $460 installed, a hinged screen door $290 to $520, and a retractable pull-across screen $580 to $980 per opening.
Screening a full three bedroom house of eight to twelve window openings plus one sliding door lands between $1,300 and $2,600 installed in standard mesh. The same house in pet resistant mesh throughout climbs to roughly $2,100 to $4,100, which is why targeting the upgraded mesh only where it is needed matters so much on this job.
What the mesh choice really buys you
Standard fibreglass mesh has an aperture of about 1.4mm and stops flies and mosquitoes. It is soft, cheap, easy to rescreen and lasts eight to twelve years before it goes brittle in full sun. Midge or sandfly mesh drops the aperture to roughly 0.6mm, adds around 30 to 40 per cent to the price, and is the only sensible choice near mangroves, estuaries and wetlands where biting midges are the real nuisance.
Pet resistant mesh is a heavy vinyl coated polyester rated to resist claws and body weight. It adds about 60 to 80 per cent over fibreglass and is genuinely worth it on the one or two doors a dog leans against. Stainless woven mesh sits in flyscreen frames as a premium bushfire and durability option and costs three to four times fibreglass, but on its own it does not make a security screen.
Where the airflow and light trade-off bites
Every mesh cuts breeze and daylight, and the finer the weave the more it cuts. Standard fibreglass passes roughly 70 to 75 per cent of available airflow. Midge mesh drops that to about 50 to 60 per cent, and stainless security mesh to around 45 to 55 per cent. In a house that relies on cross ventilation rather than air conditioning, screening every window in fine mesh can genuinely make rooms feel stuffier in February.
The practical answer is zoning. Fine mesh on the windows facing the water or the bush where the midges come from, standard mesh on the leeward side where you want the breeze. Fabricators will happily mix mesh types across one order at no extra setup cost.
Frames, colours and the parts that fail first
Frame sections are extruded aluminium, typically 22mm to 25mm for windows and 32mm to 38mm for doors. Mill finish is the cheapest at roughly 10 per cent below powder coat, but it oxidises to a chalky grey within a few years and looks poor against a modern window suite. Standard powder coat colours such as Monument, Woodland Grey and Surfmist carry no premium. Custom colours and woodgrain finishes add about 20 to 25 per cent and often add two to three weeks to lead time.
The first thing to fail on a flyscreen is almost never the mesh. It is the corner stake, the spring loaded pin, or on doors the bottom roller and the closer. Replacement pins cost a few dollars, door rollers $18 to $45 a pair, and a pneumatic closer $30 to $70. Knowing that saves people from replacing a $400 door because a $30 part wore out.
Coastal, bushfire and rental considerations
Within a few kilometres of surf, marine grade powder coating and stainless fixings are worth the 15 to 25 per cent premium, because standard fixings will bleed rust stains down a light coloured frame within two or three summers. In a designated bushfire prone area, screens on windows and doors in higher BAL ratings need corrosion resistant mesh with an aperture no greater than 2mm, which in practice means aluminium or stainless rather than fibreglass, and that lifts the per screen cost by $40 to $120.
Landlords should note that screens are a repair item, not a capital improvement, when they replace like for like, which usually makes rescreening immediately deductible in the year it is done. Upgrading fibreglass to stainless across a whole property is more likely to be treated as an improvement and depreciated. Confirm the treatment with your accountant before the invoice is written.
Quoting and lead times
Ask each fabricator for a per panel price broken into frame, mesh and install, plus the mesh brand and aperture in millimetres. Vague quotes at a lump sum for the house make it impossible to see whether you are being sold fibreglass at midge mesh prices. Typical lead times in 2026 are one to two weeks for standard window screens and two to four weeks for doors and retractables, since those are built to the opening.
Most fabricators will send someone to check measure for free on jobs above about $800 and charge $60 to $120 below that, often credited back if you order. On a house-sized order that measure is worth taking, because a single mismeasured door panel wipes out any saving you made shopping around.
Frequently asked questions
How much does one flyscreen cost in Australia?
A made-to-measure fixed window screen in standard fibreglass mesh costs $110 to $185 supplied and installed for a typical 900mm by 1200mm opening, or $80 to $140 supply only. Sliding door panels run $260 to $460 installed and hinged screen doors $290 to $520.
Is it cheaper to rescreen or replace a flyscreen?
Rescreening is far cheaper. A workshop will strip and re-mesh a sound aluminium frame for $35 to $65 per window screen in fibreglass, against $130 to $190 for a complete replacement unit. Replacement only makes sense once the frame is bowed or the corner stakes have failed.
What does pet resistant flyscreen mesh cost?
Pet mesh adds roughly 60 to 80 per cent over standard fibreglass, so a window screen goes from about $110 to around $190, and a sliding door panel from about $340 to $560. It is a heavy vinyl coated polyester, so panels wider than 900mm should be specified with a mid rail to stop sagging.
Do flyscreens count as security screens?
No. A security screen must be a tested assembly certified to AS 5039 and AS 5040, with a reinforced frame, retained mesh and tamper resistant fixings. Stainless mesh fitted into an ordinary flyscreen frame looks similar and costs three to four times fibreglass, but it will not pass the knife shear or jemmy tests.
How much do retractable flyscreens cost?
Retractable pull-across screens run $580 to $980 per opening installed, and larger double cassette systems for wide bifold or stacker openings reach $1,400 to $2,400. They need a flat, plumb opening, so allow extra for packing or frame adjustment on older timber doors.
How long do flyscreens last?
Standard fibreglass mesh lasts eight to twelve years before it becomes brittle, less on a full west facing wall. Aluminium frames last twenty years or more. The usual first failure is hardware: spring pins on windows, and on doors the bottom rollers at $18 to $45 a pair or the closer at $30 to $70.
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