Quick answer
To choose the type of fly screen: sliding window with a roller shutter, sliding fly screen in the track (45-80 euros fitted). Hinged or tilt-and-turn window, vertical roller screen (75-130 euros) or fixed if you rarely open it. Terrace door, side roller or pleated screen (160-260 euros) for large openings. Bathroom or kitchen window that hardly ever opens, fixed. On the seafront, avoid polyester mesh and choose fibreglass.
What you need
- Tape measure
- Phone to photograph each window from inside and outside
- Paper to note the measurements and type of opening for each window
- The Leroy Merlin or Bricodepot size list to compare kit prices
- Fibreglass mesh, or pet-resistant mesh if you have cats
Step by step
- 1
Classify each window by how it opens
Go round the house and note for each opening: sliding, hinged, tilt-and-turn, terrace door, window that never gets opened. The way it opens decides the type of fly screen more than any other factor.
- 2
Check for a roller shutter and a track
If the window has a persiana with a track on the outside, the sliding fly screen goes in that track, or in its own track in front of it. If there is no shutter, you need a new track or you move to a roller or fixed screen.
- 3
Measure width and height at three points
Measure the opening where the screen will go (the track or the outer frame) at the top, middle and bottom for the width, and at the left, centre and right for the height. Write down the smaller figure of each. On openings over 150 cm wide, a sliding screen needs two panels or you move to pleated.
- 4
Decide how often you will open the window
A window you open and close every day: sliding or roller, which move out of the way effortlessly. A window you open twice a year: fixed, the cheapest and the one that breaks least. A terrace door in constant use: pleated or side roller, which leave no threshold to trip over.
- 5
Think about wind, sun and pets
Windy facades in Benidorm, Calpe or Jávea: sliding with an aluminium frame or pleated, never a thin roller mesh that flaps and comes out of its guides. Cats: reinforced coated polyester or stainless steel mesh. Strong sun: fibreglass, which does not yellow.
- 6
Cross-check with the budget
Sliding 45-80 euros, roller 75-130 euros, pleated 160-260 euros fitted, fixed 30-50 euros. A 2 bedroom flat with 5-6 openings comes to 320-480 euros mixing types. If money is tight, put sliding and fixed screens in the bedrooms and keep the pleated one for the terrace only.
- 7
Send photos and measurements for a quote
With photos of each window from inside and outside, the type of opening and the measurements, we give you a fixed price by WhatsApp without a visit. If a window is unusual (an arch, a tilt-and-turn with no flat frame), we ask to visit to measure.
Comparison of the types of fly screen
This table sums up what we fit every day and what we recommend for each opening. Prices are fitted, made to measure, including IVA (VAT).
| Type | Which window | Advantages | Drawbacks | Price fitted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sliding | Sliding windows with a roller shutter track; also sliding terrace doors | Sturdy, cheap, easy to clean, copes with wind | Needs a track; takes up half the opening | 45-80 euros |
| Vertical roller | Hinged, tilt-and-turn, windows without a shutter | Disappears into a cassette at the top, leaves the opening clear | Thin mesh, flaps in wind, spring wears out | 75-130 euros |
| Side roller | Hinged terrace doors | Rolls away to one side, no high threshold | Dearer, chain or brake that wears | 90-150 euros |
| Pleated | Large terrace doors, openings over 150 cm | 5 mm threshold, very convenient, smart looking | The dearest, the guide cord picks up sand | 160-260 euros |
| Fixed | Windows that never or rarely open, bathrooms, kitchens | The cheapest, nothing to break | Has to come off to clean the outside of the glass | 30-50 euros |
| Hinged | Service doors, kitchens opening onto a patio | Opens like a door, with a magnetic catch | Takes up space when open, needs a flat frame | 90-160 euros |
| For tilt-and-turn | Tilt-and-turn windows in uPVC or aluminium | Fixed or roller mounted on the outer frame without stopping the tilt | Depends on the profile; sometimes only fixed will fit | 50-130 euros |
Mistakes when choosing a fly screen
- A sliding screen on a window with no shutter track. There is nowhere to mount it without adding a track, and a track on an aluminium frame is not always possible.
- A roller screen on the seafront with wind. The mesh balloons, comes out of the guides and the spring snaps. On facades facing the sea, sliding or pleated.
- A pleated screen on a balcony with sand. The bottom guide cord collects sand and the screen jams. It can be done, but you have to sweep the rail every week.
- A fly screen that stops the shutter coming down. If it is mounted in the outer track and the persiana comes down the same track, they collide. The position of the track has to be measured, or the screen mounted in its own.
- Standard polyester mesh with cats. They shred it within a week. Reinforced or stainless steel mesh, 20-40 euros more per opening.
- Buying universal kits from Leroy Merlin for old aluminium windows. The sizes rarely match and the profiles have to be cut down. It looks cheaper and costs more when it has to be redone.
When to call a professional
A fixed screen or a standard size sliding kit on a new window is a weekend job. Made to measure screens for 1980s aluminium windows with non-standard tracks, rollers on tilt-and-turn windows, pleated screens on 3 metre terrace doors or a whole flat with six different types of opening: there the measuring and the fitting make the difference between a fly screen that lasts ten years and one that comes off its track every week.
At Manitas Costa: sliding fly screen fitted 45-80 euros, roller 75-130 euros, pleated 160-260 euros, mesh replacement 25-45 euros, complete 2 bedroom flat 320-480 euros. We measure, make to size and fit in one visit, with 6 months written guarantee on the fitting and the manufacturer's warranty on the materials. Fixed price by WhatsApp.
More information in made to measure fly screens in Valencia and Alicante and in how much made to measure fly screens cost fitted. We fit in Valencia, Alicante, Elche, Dénia, Torrevieja and Benidorm.
Which fly screen to choose on the coast: salt, sun and the season
The mesh matters more than the type when you live by the sea. PVC-coated fibreglass stands up to the sun and the salt air for years; the cheap polyester in many kits yellows and goes brittle within two summers. Powder-coated aluminium frames hold up better than bare anodised aluminium, and the guides on sliding screens should have brush strips so sand does not get into the track.
The best time to order fly screens is between February and April. The season starts in May, manufacturers take two or three weeks to deliver and the mosquitoes do not wait. If you have a holiday home, use the spring check to replace torn mesh (25-45 euros per opening) and clean the guides.
If you rent, or the comunidad de vecinos (residents' association) will not allow drilling, there are options: we explain them in no-drill fly screens: which types exist and which ones last. And to make any type last, clean the mesh every month as we describe in how to clean fly screens without taking them down.
Frequently asked questions
Which type of fly screen is best for sliding windows?
The sliding fly screen, mounted in the roller shutter track or in its own track on the outside. It is the sturdiest, copes with wind, is easy to clean and costs 45-80 euros fitted. For a sliding window with no shutter and no track, a vertical roller or a fixed screen.
Which fly screen do I put on a tilt-and-turn window?
A vertical roller screen mounted on the outer frame, which does not interfere with the tilt, or a fixed one if the window is rarely opened. It depends on the profile: on some uPVC windows only a clip-in fixed screen will fit. Send us a photo of the frame from outside and we tell you what fits.
What is the toughest fly screen for a terrace door?
The pleated screen: a 5 mm threshold, it gathers to one side and stands up to daily use and wind better than a side roller. It costs 160-260 euros fitted. For sliding terrace doors, a two panel sliding screen in its own track is cheaper and almost as tough.
Are there fly screens for cats?
Yes, with reinforced coated polyester mesh or stainless steel mesh that claws cannot tear. It can go on any type (sliding, fixed, hinged) for 20-40 euros more per opening. For doors, a hinged screen with a magnetic catch stops the cat opening it.
How much does it cost to put fly screens on the whole flat?
A 2 bedroom flat with 5-6 openings comes to 320-480 euros fitted, mixing sliding screens in the bedrooms, a fixed one in the bathroom and a roller or pleated one on the terrace. A villa with 10-12 openings, 700-1,100 euros. Fixed price once we have seen the photos and measurements of each window.