Out past Warragamba Recreation Reserve, the homes around Silverdale sit on blocks that are a long way from the tight estate lots closer to the city. Many are brick veneer or older brick and fibro houses from the 1970s to 2000s, with newer builds on acreage, and almost all have more external doors than a standard suburban home. That changes how you plan screening, because the question is rarely whether to screen but which door to do first.
Key takeaways
- Start with the door that is open for ventilation most of the day, not the door that looks most exposed.
- The Bureau of Meteorology consistently records hotter summer days in western Sydney than on the coast, so screened doors that can stay open are part of keeping the house liveable.
- Homes bordering bushland and firetrails benefit from stainless mesh and a frame finish that can take dust and ember exposure.
- New screen doors fitted to existing openings do not normally need council approval in NSW, but Newage will confirm this for your home.
- Measuring every door at once, even if you install in stages, keeps colours, mesh and locks consistent.
Why does a large block change the order you screen doors?
Because a bigger block usually means more doors, more open time and more things trying to get in. A compact estate home has a front door and a rear slider. Many homes in this part of Silverdale also have a side door to the yard, a laundry door and sometimes a door from a rumpus or granny flat.
Screening all of them in one hit is the ideal, but plenty of households budget for two or three now and the rest later. That is fine, as long as the order is deliberate. The door that gets screened first should be the one that would otherwise stay shut on a 38 degree afternoon because of flies, mosquitoes or the dog.
Which door should come first, the back slider or the front entry?
The back door, in almost every case. The rear sliding or stacking door carries the breeze through the house, and a screened version lets you leave it open from morning until the evening change arrives.
The front entry comes second. A hinged screen with a good lock means you can see and speak to a visitor without opening the main door, which many Silverdale homeowners with a long driveway appreciate. Side and laundry doors come last, unless one of them is your daily route to the clothesline or the shed, in which case it jumps the queue.
Does the bushland behind the firetrails affect which mesh to choose?
Yes. Many homes in this part of Silverdale back onto or sit close to the W6D Firetrail, W6A Firetrail and W6 Firetrail North, which run through bushland rather than suburban streets. That position means seasonal smoke, ember drift on bad fire days and a steady supply of dust and leaf litter against any door that faces the bush.
For those doors, a woven stainless steel mesh in a powder coated aluminium frame handles the environment better than a light fibreglass insect mesh. It resists tearing from branches and pets, does not sag with heat, and rinses clean with a hose. On doors facing the sheltered side of the block, a standard insect mesh is often enough.
The installer looks at which way each door faces and how it is used, then recommends a mesh for each one rather than one answer for the whole house. The security screen doors made in Smeaton Grange can be built with either mesh in the same frame colour, so a mixed approach still looks uniform.
What should a screen door do when the main door is open all summer?
Three things: keep insects out, keep the house secure enough that you are comfortable leaving the glass open, and move air without rattling or binding. A screen that fails any one of these ends up shut, which defeats the purpose.
| Door type | Where it usually sits | Screen style | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hinged entry door | Front entry, side door, laundry | Hinged security screen with a triple lock | Swing clearance on narrow verandahs |
| Two panel sliding door | Living room to alfresco, bedroom to yard | Sliding security screen on the outer track | Track condition and room for a second runner |
| Stacking door | Family room to deck or pool | Wide sliding screen or paired sliding screens | Where the glass panels park when open |
| Hinged door pair | Dining room or older formal lounge | Pair of hinged screens with a central meeting stile | Alignment so the lock engages cleanly |
Door styles vary a lot between the older cottages and the newer acreage builds around here, so one home often needs two or three different screen styles. Newage builds each to the actual opening in its own workshop rather than cutting down a stock size.
Newage measures every external door on your Silverdale block in one visit and recommends an order, a mesh and a colour for each. Call 0408 585 846 for a free on site measure.
Do new screen doors need council approval in NSW?
In most cases, no. Adding a screen door to an existing external door, or replacing an old one, is generally treated as minor work in NSW and does not need council or private certifier sign off, provided the structure and the size of the opening are not changing.
The picture can change if the door is part of a wider renovation, if the opening is being enlarged, if the home sits in a mapped bushfire prone area with specific construction requirements, or if the property is in a heritage area. Parts of the Silverdale and Warragamba area are mapped as bushfire prone, so this is a real consideration.
Newage advises on this as part of the quote. If something about your door or your block means a certifier needs to be involved, the team will tell you before any work is booked. You can read more about how the team works on the About Newage page.
How does the process work from measure to installed door?
It runs in a straight line, and the measure visit does most of the thinking for you.
- Walk the doors The installer looks at every external door with you and notes which are used daily and which face the bush.
- Measure everything Each opening is measured, including the ones you plan to screen later, so colours and locks can match across stages.
- Choose mesh and colour Stainless or insect mesh is chosen door by door, and the frame colour is matched to your existing frames.
- Written quote You receive a written quote with each door listed separately, so you can stage the work in any order.
- Workshop build The doors are made to measure at the Smeaton Grange workshop by the same company that installs them.
- Install and hand over The team fits the doors, adjusts locks and closers, and shows you how to look after the mesh.
What goes wrong when homeowners screen one door at a time?
The most common problem is a mismatch. The first screen was done in one colour and lock style, the second a few years later in another, and the house ends up with three slightly different doors. Specifying all of them at the start avoids this even if the install is spread out.
The second problem is screening the wrong door first. A new front screen is no help if the family lives at the back of the house and the slider onto the deck still stays shut all summer. The order should follow how the house is used, not how it looks from the street.
The third is underestimating the bush side. A light mesh on a door facing the firetrail will tear, clog with dust and fade faster than one on the sheltered side. If you are also replacing the glass doors, the aluminium sliding doors can be made at the same time as the screens, so the screen track is designed in rather than added on.
Get a written quote with each Silverdale door listed separately, so you can install security screen doors in the order and timeframe that suits you while colours and locks stay consistent.
What homeowners near Warragamba Recreation Reserve usually run into
Installers working around Warragamba Recreation Reserve and Warragamba Public School see a mix of housing ages in a small area. Closer to the township there are older brick and fibro cottages with narrow hinged doors and frames that have moved a little over the decades. Further out are brick veneer homes from the 1980s and 1990s and newer acreage builds with wide stacking doors onto decks.
The older cottages tend to have door openings that are slightly out of square, which is why a made to measure screen matters more here than in a new estate. A stock screen forced into a crooked opening binds at the top or gaps at the bottom. A screen built to the actual opening sits flush and locks without a shove.
On the newer acreage homes, the common issue is the width of the rear opening. The screen has to be wide enough and stiff enough to run smoothly across that span without flexing, and this is where frame section and roller quality show.
Across all ages of home, dust from unsealed driveways and the bush is the maintenance reality. Installers generally recommend a mesh that can be hosed, a frame colour that hides dust, and a lock kept clean with a dry brush rather than oil, which attracts grit.
Planning new screen doors in Silverdale?
The Newage workshop at Unit 2/16 Blackmore Rd, Smeaton Grange is about 21.2 km from this part of Silverdale, and the same team that builds the doors measures and installs them. Newage has been operating since 2009, has completed more than 2,500 projects across Sydney and surrounding regions, and holds a 4.7 star rating on Google.
If you are weighing up which doors to do first, the easiest step is a free on site measure. The installer walks every door with you, recommends an order and a mesh for each, and leaves you with a written quote you can stage to suit your budget. The Glenmore Park and western Sydney page covers Silverdale and the surrounding blocks.
Made to measure in Smeaton Grange and installed by the Newage team. Call 0408 585 846, Mon to Fri 8am to 5pm or Sat 8am to 1pm, for a written quote.
Call 0408 585 846, Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm or Saturday 8am to 1pm, to book a measure for security screen doors built in Smeaton Grange for your Silverdale home. Every door is made to measure in the Newage workshop, installed by the Newage team and backed by a workmanship warranty.
FAQ
Which door should I screen first on a large block?
Start with the door you leave open the longest for airflow, which for most families is the rear sliding or stacking door onto the alfresco. The front entry usually comes second so you can see visitors with the main door open. Side and laundry doors follow, unless one of them is your daily route to the shed or clothesline.
Do I need stainless mesh on every door?
Not necessarily. Stainless mesh is the sensible choice for doors facing bushland, paddocks or an unsealed driveway, where branches, pets and dust are hard on lighter mesh. Doors on the sheltered side of the house are often fine with a standard insect mesh in the same frame colour, which keeps the look consistent.
Do screen doors on a Silverdale home need council approval?
Adding or replacing a screen on an existing external door is generally minor work in NSW and does not need council sign off. Parts of Silverdale are mapped bushfire prone, and if the screen is part of a larger renovation or the opening is changing, a certifier may be involved. Newage advises on this during the quote.
Can I install screens in stages and still have them match?
Yes, as long as every door is measured and specified at the start. Newage records the frame colour, mesh and lock style for each opening on the first visit, so a door installed a year later is made to the same specification and looks like it was fitted with the rest.
Can a screen be fitted to a wide stacking door?
Yes. Stacking doors are usually screened with a wide sliding screen or a pair of sliding screens on an outer track, positioned so they do not block the side where the glass panels park. The installer checks the stacking direction and track condition on site before the screen is made to measure in the workshop.
