3-in-1 Security Mesh: Insect proof, child proof and cat proof

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Mid-Century Modern
HDB (BTO)
~1,000 sqft
3 br
Couple Living

Hello everyone! In today’s post I’ll be going into the best home investment(s) that keep my house: INSECT-PROOF CHILD-PROOF and CAT-PROOF! All without compromising on our view 😌 🦟 🐜 🛑 I am really afraid of insects, but I did not want to close my windows all the time, so insect-proofing my home was a priority. We also knew that we may want children in the future, so we didn’t want to install just an insect mesh and later on install grilles which complicates things. Also, it was a pity that grilles would ruin the garden view we have! (yes… even invisible grilles are too visible for me) In my research I finally found something that gave me the best of three worlds: 1. Insect proof 2. Child proof 3. No grilles and the bonus: 4. Cat proof! My photos will show the 4-window versus 3-window configuration of the meshes. Above, you see how it looks with 4 window panels.
This is how it looks with 3 windows. So, what is a security mesh exactly? You’ve probably heard of insect meshes. A security mesh is essentially like an insect mesh, but made with stainless steel so it is extra strong and can prevent cat / child falls. The company we used was Safemesh and we were so happy with their service, but it seems they have ceased operating. But a google of “security mesh Singapore” should give you some alternatives to explore!
This is how it looks like with windows fully open. It is essentially involves drilling a frame onto your existing windows, which houses the sliding panels of steel mesh. It also comes with child proof locks (similar to regular grilles). One sacrifice we had to make is to forgo day curtains. This is because the mesh frame sticks out. Day curtains, being light and translucent, would sit on the frame and jut out. We had to limit ourselves to heavy, opaque curtains that can hide the mesh frame. We were also very lucky that the company had the exact same shade of grey as the one used in our BTO!! So visually it blends into our window. Turning now to the biggest question: what was the damage? 🤑💸 For our 4-room BTO, we installed the mesh for our 3 bedrooms, living room and service yard for $3520. Yes, it’s expensive, but we were willing to spend for the reasons mentioned above!
For our bathrooms, we didn’t need a heavy duty mesh so we DIY-ed it by buying the mesh kits from shopee which are pretty much the most affordable option out there. This allows us to keep our bathroom ventilated 24/7 without worrying that all sorts of creepy crawlies would come in!
A closer look at our mesh! It was a bit tedious to DIY, but we felt that for such a small window, it would not make financial sense to hire someone to do it for us.
Last but not least, our main door! Living on the low floor and near a lot of greenery, we often see lizards, spiders and queen ants loitering outside our home. To prevent them from crawling underneath the door gap, we pasted this 3M silicon gap sealing tape. Nowadays, even though I see an unwelcome visitor outside, I know I just need to close my main door and they can’t make their way in 😌
- #diy
Well, if you made it all the way to the end of this post, I also wanted to share this lovely pair of zebra dove chicks that grew up in a nest right above our window! And we could rest easy leaving our window open for 1 month (as they built their nest on top of our window hinge) because we had our security mesh preventing large insects from coming in.
It was really heartwarming and eye opening to see their growing up journey! They have since flown the coop. Although we had a small bird mites situation (they are so tiny that they can get through the mesh) thank God they are self limiting. 😅 All in all, if you are looking for an elegant solution to insectproofing, childproofing and cat proofing your home, this is something you can consider! 😊