Pool Screen Mesh Types: Specifications, Opening Data, and Code Limits

What are the key pool screen mesh statistics?#

Pool screen mesh types are usually described in adjectives — durable, breathable, private. In Florida they are also a structural design input: Table 2002.4 of the current Florida Building Code, Building, 8th Edition (2023), applies its screen-surface pressures to 20 × 20 × 0.013-inch mesh, gives 18 × 14 × 0.013-inch mesh a 0.88 multiplier, and directs designers to use enclosed-building pressures for screen densities greater than the 20 × 20 × 0.013-inch baseline.

1. 1.

   Florida's design wind-pressure table for aluminum screen enclosures applies to 20 × 20 × 0.013-inch mesh and directs screen denser than that to be designed using pressures for enclosed buildings.

   Florida Building Code, Building, 8th Edition (2023), Table 2002.4, note f; checked July 24, 2026.

2. 2.

   Standard 18 × 14 × 0.013-inch mesh receives a 0.88 multiplier on screen-surface pressures under the same code note, so the unadjusted 20 × 20 pressure is about 13.6 percent higher than the adjusted 18 × 14 pressure.

   Panama City Pool Screen Repair Research calculation from Table 2002.4 note f, July 24, 2026.

3. 3.

   Across all 21 wind-speed-and-exposure entries in Table 2002.4, the table's vertical pressures on solid surfaces are 3.43 to 4.25 times its vertical pressures on screen surfaces.

   Panama City Pool Screen Repair Research calculation from the published table, July 24, 2026.

4. 4.

   An 18 × 14 screen woven with 0.013-inch yarn has calculated nominal clear openings of 1.081 by 1.484 millimeters and a nominal geometric open area of 62.66 percent.

   Calculated July 24, 2026 from Saint-Gobain ADFORS's published construction and yarn diameter.

5. 5.

   A 20 × 20 screen woven with the same 0.013-inch yarn has calculated nominal clear openings of 0.940 by 0.940 millimeter and a nominal geometric open area of 54.76 percent — 7.90 percentage points less than 18 × 14.

   Calculated July 24, 2026 from ADFORS's published inputs.

6. 6.

   A 14 × 10 pet-resistant screen woven with 0.025-inch yarn has larger calculated openings — 1.179 by 1.905 millimeters — than 18 × 14 × 0.013-inch screen, even though each pet-screen yarn is nearly twice as thick.

   Calculated July 24, 2026 from ADFORS's published inputs.

7. 7.

   Adult biting midges are typically 1.0 to 2.0 millimeters long, and the average length across the roughly 50 species occurring in Florida is about 1.5 millimeters.

   UF/IFAS EENY-349 / IN626, revised September 2025; checked July 24, 2026.

8. 8.

   UF/IFAS states that regular window screens do not exclude biting midges, while the openings in no-see-um screening are small enough to exclude them.

   UF/IFAS EENY-349 / IN626, revised September 2025; checked July 24, 2026.

9. 9.

   Biting-midge diversity in Florida is greatest in the northern half of the state, with tree-hole breeding species most common in the Panhandle and north-central Florida.

   UF/IFAS EENY-349 / IN626, revised September 2025; checked July 24, 2026.

10. 10.

    Phifer's Expanded View pool-and-patio sheet lists a 3-year warranty on 18 × 14 Pool & Patio fiberglass and 10-year warranties on TuffScreen and TuffScreen No-See-Um.

    Phifer V25 sheet dated May 2025; checked July 24, 2026.

11. 11.

    ADFORS publishes a 7-year limited warranty on P3, a 10-year limited warranty on Small Insect Ready Rolls, a 10-year limited warranty on P4, and no warranty field on its current Pool & Patio 18 × 14 page.

    ADFORS current pages and June 2026 sell sheets; checked July 24, 2026.

12. 12.

    Super Screen's manufacturer-controlled 17/14 comparison reports strip-tensile values of 171.51 pounds-force warp and 162.29 fill against 78.8 and 54.2 for its conventional-fiberglass comparator; Phifer's separate 18 × 14 table reports 170 warp and 125 fill but states no units or method.

    Both manufacturers' figures were checked July 24, 2026 and are not a neutral cross-brand comparison.

13. 13.

    Phifer states that the fiberglass core yarn in its 18 × 14 pool-and-patio screen is 50 percent stronger than the yarn used in its window screen.

    Phifer screening FAQ and Phifer-vs.-Import sheet; checked July 24, 2026.

14. 14.

    Phifer's own comparison sheet reports an imported 18 × 14 screen as heavier than Phifer's — 5.4 against 4.6 — but lower in the sheet's strength fields, at 88 warp and 85 fill against 170 and 125; the sheet states no units or test method.

    Phifer V25 sheet dated June 2025; checked July 24, 2026.

15. 15.

    Phifer publishes openness factors of approximately 35–45 percent for PetScreen, 25 percent for SunTex 80, and 10 percent for SunTex 90.

    Phifer primary product sheets and pages; checked July 24, 2026.

16. 16.

    Two current ADFORS source conflicts remain visible in this dataset: Small Insect is called fiberglass and PVC-coated polyester on the same product page, while P3 is listed as 18 × 14 on its current page and 17 × 14 on ADFORS's June 2026 ONYX sell sheet.

    Both conflicts were read directly from ADFORS sources on July 24, 2026.

Which pool screen mesh types appear in the 2026 dataset?#

The word "type" gets used for four variables at once: the fiber the yarn is made from, how many yarns are woven per inch in each direction, how thick each yarn is, and what the finished fabric is intended to do. A product can be a polyester type, a 17 × 20 type, a 0.025-inch-yarn type, and a pet-resistant type simultaneously.

Seven purpose categories cover the 20 products in this dataset. A pool cage does not have to use one category everywhere: ADFORS expressly describes specialty screens as a way to customize one enclosure, which supports a zoned specification when the enclosure design and product instructions allow it.

Table 1 — Pool screen mesh categories and what distinguishes them#

Sources: current primary product pages and manufacturer-hosted sheets from Phifer, Saint-Gobain ADFORS, and Super Screen. All were checked July 24, 2026. Full per-product sourcing appears in the specification dataset.

What do 18 × 14, 17 × 20, and 20 × 20 mean?#

The two numbers are yarn counts: how many yarns run in one direction by how many run in the other within one square inch. Phifer defines mesh count that way and separately explains that yarn diameter — which varies across its broader screening range from 0.008 to 0.030 inch — changes the resulting aperture, visibility, and openness.

Count alone does not establish hole size, material, strength, or airflow. A thicker yarn consumes more of the pitch between neighboring yarn centers, so two products with the same count can have different openings, and a lower-count pet screen can have larger openings than ordinary pool mesh.

Four variables people collapse into one

• Mesh count. Yarns per inch in each direction.
• Yarn diameter. The thickness of each yarn. It determines how much of each pitch remains open.
• Openness factor. A manufacturer-published percentage of open space in the finished fabric. The reviewed sources do not publish a common test method for every product.
• Airflow. Air movement or pressure drop through a specimen under defined conditions. This review found no directly comparable airflow dataset for the products below.

Why aperture is the insect-sized number

Phifer defines aperture as the square or rectangular opening in a woven screen, measured in square inches, and gives a broader product-range span of 0.0005 to 0.004 square inch. Aperture is the relevant geometric quantity when the question is whether the opening is physically smaller or larger; it is still not a laboratory insect-exclusion rating.

How big are the openings in each verified construction?#

Where a primary manufacturer source publishes both mesh count and one yarn diameter, nominal opening geometry is arithmetic. Six verified constructions meet that test in this source set; P3 does not, because current official sources conflict on its count and its two yarn diameters are not mapped to the two axes.

The headline result: at the same 0.013-inch yarn diameter, a 20 × 20 aperture is 44.94 percent smaller in area than an 18 × 14 aperture, while the calculated nominal geometric open area falls from 62.66 percent to 54.76 percent.

The formula

Nominal pitch in one direction         = 1 ÷ yarns per inch
Nominal clear opening in one direction = pitch − yarn diameter
Nominal aperture area                  = clear opening (warp) × clear opening (fill)
Nominal geometric open area (%)        = (1 − count₁ × diameter) × (1 − count₂ × diameter) × 100

This is two-dimensional geometry from published nominal inputs. It is not measured airflow, manufacturer-tested openness, or a guaranteed insect-exclusion result; coating build-up at crossings, weave crimp, yarn deformation, installation tension, and manufacturing tolerance can change the finished opening.

Table 2 — Calculated nominal opening geometry#

Sources: published mesh counts and yarn diameters from Saint-Gobain ADFORS, Phifer, and Super Screen primary product pages and sheets, all checked July 24, 2026. Opening and open-area columns were calculated by Panama City Pool Screen Repair Research on July 24, 2026. Calculated columns are nominal geometry, not measurements.

Three findings that fall out of the arithmetic

Why the calculation is useful — and where it stops

The formula is definition-based dimensional arithmetic, not a fitted model. Every result can be reproduced directly from the two published inputs, but no reviewed manufacturer source publishes a directly comparable measured-aperture or airflow result for the same six construction-and-yarn combinations.

Phifer treats aperture and openness as separate terms. This dataset does the same: nominal aperture and nominal geometric open area are calculated fields, while any manufacturer-published openness percentage remains a separate published field. The two must not be substituted for one another, and neither should be presented as measured airflow.

ADFORS P3 publishes two yarn diameters, 0.013 and 0.018 inch, without mapping them to the two weave directions. Its current product page states 18 × 14 while its June 2026 ONYX sheet states 17 × 14. P3 therefore receives no calculated opening row.

What specifications do current pool screen products publish?#

This dataset contains 20 current product records from three manufacturers. Every value in the visible tables comes from a current manufacturer page or a manufacturer-hosted sheet; secondary technical specifications were removed rather than carried forward as if they were verified.

Table 3 — Phifer pool, patio, pet, visibility, and solar products#

Sources: Phifer current product pages; Phiferglass Insect Screen V25; Expanded View V25 dated May 2025; Phifer-vs.-Import V25 dated June 2025; PetScreen V25 dated January 2025; Phifer screening FAQ and terminology guide. All checked July 24, 2026.

Table 4 — Saint-Gobain ADFORS pool, patio, fine-insect, pet, and privacy products#

Sources: ADFORS current product pages for Pool & Patio, Small Insect, P3, Pet Resistant, P4, and Florida Glass; official June 2026 ONYX Pool & Patio and P4 sell sheets. All checked July 24, 2026.

Table 5 — Super Screen pool, tiny-insect, no-see-um, and pet products#

Sources: Super Screen current product and technical pages for 17/14 Pool & Patio, 17/20 Tiny Insect, 20/20 No-See-Um, and 15/12 Super Pet Guard. Every test value is manufacturer-published; none is represented as a neutral third-party comparison. All checked July 24, 2026.

Which official-source conflicts remain?#

Small Insect material. The current ADFORS Small Insect page calls the product "tighter fiberglass mesh" in its narrative and "durable PVC coated polyester screen mesh" in its benefit bullets. Both statements were live on July 24, 2026. The dataset preserves the conflict instead of selecting one material.

P3 mesh count. ADFORS's current P3 product page lists 18 × 14 and its FAQ says the construction remains 18 × 14. ADFORS's official June 2026 ONYX Pool & Patio sell sheet lists P3 as 17 × 14. The dataset preserves both values and does not calculate P3 geometry.

Dataset downloads#

• ↓ Download the 20-row CSV dataset (pool-screen-mesh-types-specifications-2026-07-24.csv)
• ↓ Download the matching JSON dataset (pool-screen-mesh-types-specifications-2026-07-24.json)

Both files use the same 31 fields:

dataset_version · verification_tier · manufacturer · product · product_category
material_as_published · mesh_warp · mesh_fill · yarn_diameter_in · second_yarn_diameter_in
fabric_thickness_in · weight_as_published · openness_pct_published · uv_blockage_pct_published
nominal_opening_warp_in · nominal_opening_fill_in · nominal_aperture_sq_in · nominal_open_area_pct
calculation_status · test_method · test_value · test_unit · sample_qualifier
warranty_term · placement_restriction · manufacturer_claim · conflict_note
source_title · source_url · source_document_date · source_checked_date

What does this data show — and what does it not show?#

This dataset establishes nominal opening geometry for six constructions with complete primary-source inputs, records the manufacturer warranty term or absence of a published term for all 20 products, and documents where Florida's code changes screen-surface pressure treatment by mesh density. Each consequential field is traceable to a dated source or to a printed calculation.

It does not order the products from best to worst. No neutral cross-brand laboratory comparison was located in this source review; manufacturer tests use different methods, comparators, specimens, labels, and reporting conventions. The dataset also does not publish a service-life prediction or an airflow percentage because the reviewed primary sources do not supply comparable evidence for either.

How was this dataset built?#

The source set was collected and checked on one date so every published field has the same verification snapshot. The page separates primary-source facts, official-source conflicts, and calculations rather than blending them into one confidence level.

Does mesh type change wind load in Florida?#

Yes. Table 2002.4 of the current Florida Building Code, Building, 8th Edition (2023), ties its screen-surface pressures to a defined mesh construction rather than treating every fabric alike.

The table pressures apply to 20 × 20 × 0.013-inch screen. Note f permits a 0.88 multiplier for 18 × 14 × 0.013-inch screen and directs screen densities greater than the 20 × 20 × 0.013-inch baseline to use pressures for enclosed buildings.

Table 6 — What the Florida code says about mesh, and what follows#

Source: Florida Building Code, Building, 8th Edition (2023), §2002.4, Table 2002.4 and note f, and §2002.7. The 2025 Supplement to the 8th Edition does not amend §2002.4. Code text and calculations checked July 24, 2026.

The 0.874 result is numerically close to the code's 0.88 factor. That agreement is a useful arithmetic cross-check, but the source record reviewed here does not establish that nominal open-area geometry was the derivation used by the code writers.

Whether a particular enclosure can accept a different fabric is determined from the applicable code, approved design, permit file, product information, framing, connections, spans, and site conditions. A mesh specification table cannot establish the capacity of an existing structure.

Which mesh actually stops no-see-ums?#

UF/IFAS draws the category line directly: regular window screens do not exclude biting midges, while the openings in no-see-um screening are small enough to exclude them. The verified geometry explains the direction of the trade-off without turning body length into a universal pass/fail threshold.

Adult biting midges are typically 1.0 to 2.0 millimeters long, with an average of about 1.5 millimeters across the roughly 50 species occurring in Florida. Standard 18 × 14 × 0.013-inch mesh calculates to openings of 1.081 by 1.484 millimeters, while 20 × 20 × 0.013-inch mesh calculates to 0.940 by 0.940 millimeter.

Three additional UF/IFAS findings matter in Florida:

• Habitat is local. UF/IFAS identifies salt-marsh and mangrove species and reports that tree-hole species are most common in the Panhandle and north-central Florida.
• Distance is limited protection. Many species disperse about two kilometers, or roughly 1.2 miles; UF/IFAS reports longer recorded distances for Culicoides variipennis and C. mohave.
• The category is not an absolute guarantee. Phifer describes its fine-insect products as stopping most small insects, and the reviewed sources do not publish a universal opening threshold that excludes every Florida biting-midge species under every installation condition.

The defensible conclusion is category-level: ordinary screen and no-see-um screen are not interchangeable for biting midges. The source record does not support turning one nominal aperture into a guarantee for every species, coating, tension, damaged panel, or installed enclosure.

What do "three times stronger" claims mean?#

A strength multiple means little unless the source identifies the baseline, method, units, direction, specimen preparation, and sample count. The primary sources reviewed here range from a complete manufacturer-controlled comparison table to a bare multiplier with no underlying protocol.

TuffScreen's current page says it is three times stronger than "standard fiberglass" but does not identify the comparator or test. Super Screen publishes its selected conventional-fiberglass comparator and numeric test categories; Phifer publishes a separate 18 × 14 table but gives no units or method.

Table 7 — Verified manufacturer strength claims and the evidence behind them#

Sources: Phifer screening FAQ, Phifer TuffScreen page, Phifer-vs.-Import V25 sheet, and Super Screen current product and technical pages. All values are manufacturer-published and were checked July 24, 2026.

They do not create a cross-brand leaderboard. Phifer's 170 warp figure and Super Screen's 171.51-pound-force warp figure are numerically close, but Phifer states neither units nor method, so the values cannot be treated as equivalent measurements. Super Screen's Super Pet Guard results also carry a single-sample qualifier that must remain attached to every quoted figure.

What do pool screen warranties actually cover?#

Warranty terms are dated manufacturer commitments, not measured service life. The current primary sources produce a clear warranty table, but they do not support the unsourced lifespan ranges commonly repeated in comparison articles.

A missing warranty field means only that the reviewed page or sheet did not publish one. It does not establish that no warranty exists elsewhere in a sales agreement or product-specific warranty document.

Table 8 — Published warranty terms and placement restrictions#

Sources: current Phifer, ADFORS, and Super Screen pages and manufacturer-hosted sheets listed in the source section. Checked July 24, 2026.

The verified correction is straightforward: Phifer's current Expanded View sheet lists three years, not five, for its 18 × 14 Pool & Patio product. TuffScreen and TuffScreen No-See-Um carry 10-year terms in the same sheet; ADFORS P3 carries seven years; and the reviewed ADFORS Pool & Patio page carries no warranty field.

Which standards govern insect screening and the tests in this dataset?#

ASTM D3656/D3656M is the product-category specification cited by ADFORS for insect screen, and its current edition is D3656/D3656M-25, updated January 29, 2026. The Super Screen technical tables cite older editions of several methods, which is normal for a test report but must not be mistaken for the current edition of the standard.

One manufacturer-label conflict also matters: Super Screen labels its ASTM D2261-13 values "Tear Strength (Trapezoidal)," while ASTM's official D2261 title is a tongue, or single-rip, tear procedure. This page preserves the manufacturer's label and identifies the mismatch instead of silently renaming the result.

Table 9 — Standards named in the reviewed primary sources#

Sources: ASTM and ISO official standard pages plus the manufacturer pages that cite each designation. Numeric requirement tables inside paid standards are not reproduced here.

Is pool screen mesh a pool safety barrier?#

Not by material label alone. Florida's barrier rules regulate the barrier system — its height, openings, gates, location, and ability to obstruct unsupervised access — rather than declaring ordinary insect-screen fabric to be a safety barrier by itself.

The 8th Edition (2023) Florida Residential Code allows qualifying dwelling or nondwelling walls, including screen enclosures, to serve as part or all of the required barrier when the applicable barrier provisions are met. Florida Building Commission change material separately references ASTM F2286 for mesh safety barriers.

Florida Statutes §515.29 requires an outdoor residential pool barrier to be at least four feet high on the outside and to have no gap, opening, indentation, protrusion, or structural component that could allow a young child to crawl under, squeeze through, or climb over it. The code supplies additional details for openings and gates.

The current City of Lake Mary codifier text gives one local mesh-specific example: it requires pool and screen-enclosure mesh to be no smaller than 20 × 20 and no larger than 18 × 14 and requires design computations and details with the plans. That verified ordinance demonstrates that local text can constrain mesh count; it is not evidence that every Florida municipality has the same rule.

What did one seller list for 18 × 14 pool screen material per square foot?#

At Wholesale Screens & Glass on July 24, 2026, charcoal 18 × 14 fiberglass Pool & Patio list pricing remained $0.315 per square foot from 24-inch through 84-inch rolls, then stepped to about $0.413 at 96 inches and $0.578 at 108 inches. The 108-inch material carried an 83.3 percent per-square-foot premium over the 24-to-84-inch rate at that seller on that date.

This is a seller-specific material-price series, not a market average, installed price, labor estimate, or promise that the posted prices remain current after the verification date.

Table 10 — Posted 18 × 14 charcoal material price by roll width, one seller, July 24, 2026#

Source: Wholesale Screens & Glass, "18x14 Standard Mesh Fiberglass," charcoal material-only list prices collected July 24, 2026, before shipping. Per-square-foot values were calculated by Panama City Pool Screen Repair Research.

The width step matters because panoramic and picture-window panels can require unusually wide rolls. Applying the narrow-roll rate to a 108-inch requirement would understate this seller's posted material price by about 45.4 percent of the actual 108-inch rate.

Which mesh type fits which enclosure job?#

The verified data supports a job-to-category map, not one universal winner. The decisive checks are the published construction and yarn, the intended placement, the available width, the enclosure design, and the evidence behind any performance claim.

Table 11 — Job, evidence-supported category, and first verification check#

Sources: the 20-product specification dataset, opening-geometry table, Florida Building Code Table 2002.4 note f, and ADFORS's current enclosure-customization guidance. Checked July 24, 2026.

Why is the mesh question different in Florida and the Panhandle?#

Florida writes exact mesh construction into its aluminum screen-enclosure pressure table, and UF/IFAS places the state's greatest biting-midge diversity in its northern half. Those two facts make the mesh question simultaneously structural and entomological in the Panhandle.

Panama City is the Bay County seat on St. Andrews Bay. That coastal setting makes the UF/IFAS discussion of coastal biting-midge habitat locally relevant, but it does not produce a county abundance number.

No authoritative Bay County dataset measuring biting-midge prevalence or abundance by county was located, so this page publishes no county comparison. The 8th Edition (2023) Florida Building Code remained the effective edition on July 24, 2026. Florida's published work plan placed the 9th Edition (2026) effective date on December 31, 2026, after this dataset's verification date.

How can installed mesh be identified?#

Mesh count can be observed directly; brand and yarn diameter usually cannot. Phifer's FAQ describes counting the openings along two perpendicular one-inch edges to identify a construction such as 18 × 16.

For pre-installation brand verification, Phifer publishes its own packaging and selvage markers: its fiberglass pool screen is wrapped in brown paper and uses tan-only or tan-and-red yarns near the edge. Those markers are a manufacturer identification method, not an independent quality certification.

The checkable conclusions are limited: mesh count can be counted, packaging and selvage can identify the Phifer markers described by Phifer, and roll labels or technical sheets can establish the exact product before installation. Appearance and roll weight alone do not establish strength.

What are the limitations of this page and dataset?#

The dataset is a dated specification and calculation record, not a laboratory certification or project-specific engineering analysis.

1. Mesh count is not hole size. It does not establish opening geometry, airflow, visibility, strength, or insect exclusion without yarn diameter, material, coating, and weave information.
2. Calculated nominal geometry is not a measurement. Coating build-up, crimp, deformation, installation tension, damage, and manufacturing tolerance can change finished openings.
3. Nominal geometric open area is not manufacturer-published openness or airflow. The reviewed primary sources do not provide a directly comparable measured field for the six calculated constructions.
4. Manufacturer tests are not a neutral cross-brand laboratory study. Methods, editions, specimens, controls, directions, units, and sample counts differ; Super Pet Guard's reported results are explicitly from one sample.
5. Warranty length is not service life. A warranty is a contractual term subject to its own coverage and exclusions.
6. Installed performance is a system property. Frame, span, spline, tension, anchorage, workmanship, exposure, maintenance, and impact damage are outside a fabric-only table.
7. A mesh product test is not a whole-enclosure rating. BetterVue's 100 mph FBC 100-95 product test does not establish the structural capacity of an assembled enclosure.
8. Insect screen is not automatically a pool-safety barrier. Barrier compliance depends on the complete system and the applicable code.
9. Two ADFORS fields conflict across current official sources. Small Insect material and P3 mesh count remain disclosed as conflicts.
10. The price table is one seller on one date. It is not an industry average, installed cost, or price forecast.
11. Product specifications and code editions can change. Every figure carries a July 24, 2026 source-check date so later revisions can be identified.

Which fields were not published by the reviewed primary sources?#

The dataset leaves fields empty when the reviewed primary source does not publish them.

• Mesh counts for Phifer TuffScreen, TuffScreen No-See-Um, PetScreen, BetterVue Pool & Patio, SunTex 80, or SunTex 90.
• Yarn diameters for Phifer 20 × 20 No-See-Um, TuffScreen, TuffScreen No-See-Um, PetScreen, BetterVue, SunTex 80/90, or Solar Insect Screening.
• Mesh count or yarn diameter for ADFORS Florida Glass.
• A mapping of ADFORS P3's 0.013-inch and 0.018-inch yarns to the two weave directions.
• Yarn diameters for Super Screen 17/14, 17/20, or 20/20.
• Base-fiber composition for the reviewed Super Screen 17/14, 17/20, and 20/20 pages.
• A warranty field on the reviewed ADFORS Pool & Patio or Florida Glass pages.
• A warranty field on the reviewed Phifer 20 × 20, Glas-Shield, PetScreen, or BetterVue pages.
• Units and a test method for Phifer's V25 weight-and-strength comparison table.
• A neutral, directly comparable airflow dataset for the 20 products.
• A neutral cross-brand strength ordering.
• A primary-source service-life dataset, in installed years, for any mesh category.
• A universal opening size that excludes every biting-midge species in every installed condition.
• A Bay County biting-midge prevalence or abundance measurement.
• A parcel-specific Bay County design wind speed applicable to every property.
• A statewide count of Florida municipalities with mesh-size provisions; this review verified one current codifier example.

What are the most common pool screen mesh questions?#

These answers restate the page's most requested comparisons without adding new evidence. Each answer remains tied to the verified construction, source qualifier, or code provision that supports it.

How should this page be cited?#

The details below are a neutral attribution reference. They do not request a citation or link and do not impose a required format.

Panama City Pool Screen Repair Research. "Pool Screen Mesh Types:
Specifications, Opening Data, and Code Limits." Last verified July 24, 2026.

Which primary sources support this page?#

The list below contains the code, statute, university-extension publication, current manufacturer pages and manufacturer-hosted sheets, standards listings, the city-linked local codifier text, and the seller page used for the dated price series. Technical product fields were not taken from contractor articles or general retailer descriptions.

Florida code, statute, and local context

1. Florida Building Code, Building, 8th Edition (2023), Chapter 20 Aluminum, including §2002.4, Table 2002.4, note f, and §2002.7: codes.iccsafe.org/content/FLBC2023P1/chapter-20-aluminum
2. 2025 Supplement to the 8th Edition (2023) Florida Building Code, Building: floridabuilding.org (PDF)
3. Florida Building Code, Residential, 8th Edition (2023), Chapter 3 Building Planning: codes.iccsafe.org/content/FLRC2023P1/chapter-3-building-planning
4. Florida Building Code, Residential, 8th Edition (2023), Chapter 45 Private Swimming Pools: codes.iccsafe.org/content/FLRC2023P1/chapter-45-private-swimming-pools
5. Florida Statutes §515.29, Residential swimming pool barrier requirements: flsenate.gov §515.29
6. Florida Building Commission, Analysis of Changes for the 8th Edition (2023) Florida Building Code, Building: floridabuilding.org (PDF)
7. Florida Building Commission, June 2026 work plan for the 9th Edition (2026): floridabuilding.org (PDF)
8. City of Lake Mary Code of Ordinances and codifier text for swimming pools and screen enclosures: lakemaryfl.com · codelibrary.amlegal.com
9. Bay County, Florida context: baycountyfl.gov

Entomology

10. Burkett-Cadena, N.D., V.M. Cooper, C. Addae, and E.A. Buckner. "Biting Midges, No-See-Ums Culicoides spp." UF/IFAS EENY-349 / IN626, revised September 2025: ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN626

Saint-Gobain ADFORS

11. Pool & Patio Insect Screen: adfors.com
12. Small Insect Screen: adfors.com
13. Pool & Patio Plus (P3): adfors.com
14. Pool & Patio ONYX Sell Sheet, June 2026: adfors.com (PDF)
15. Pet Resistant Insect Screen: adfors.com
16. Pool & Patio Premium Polyester (P4): adfors.com
17. P4 ONYX Sell Sheet, June 2026: adfors.com (PDF)
18. Florida Glass Insect Screen: adfors.com

Phifer

19. 18 × 14 Pool & Patio Screen: phifer.com
20. No-See-Um Screening (20 × 20): phifer.com
21. TuffScreen: phifer.com
22. TuffScreen No-See-Um: phifer.com
23. PetScreen: phifer.com
24. PetScreen swatch card V25, January 2025: phifer.com (PDF)
25. BetterVue Pool & Patio: phifer.com
26. Glas-Shield: phifer.com
27. Solar Insect Screening: phifer.com
28. SunTex 80/90: phifer.com
29. Screening FAQ: phifer.com/screening/faq/
30. "Understanding Window Screen Terms": phifer.com
31. Phiferglass Insect Screen catalog sheet V25: phifer.com (PDF)
32. Expanded View Pool & Patio sheet V25, May 2025: phifer.com (PDF)
33. Phifer-vs.-Import sheet V25, June 2025: phifer.com (PDF)

Super Screen

34. 17/14 Mesh Pool & Patio: super-screen.com
35. 17/20 Mesh Tiny Insect: super-screen.com
36. 20/20 No-See-Um Screen: super-screen.com
37. 15/12 Mesh Super Pet Guard: super-screen.com

Standards

38. ASTM D3656/D3656M-25: store.astm.org
39. ASTM D5035-11(2024): store.astm.org
40. ASTM D2261-13(2024): store.astm.org
41. ASTM D3787-16(2020): store.astm.org
42. ASTM G154-23: store.astm.org
43. ASTM G21-15(2021)e1: store.astm.org
44. ASTM D6413/D6413M-22: store.astm.org
45. ASTM F2286-16(2023): store.astm.org
46. ISO 11925-2:2026: iso.org

Dated seller price source

47. Wholesale Screens & Glass, "18x14 Standard Mesh Fiberglass": wholesalescreensandglass.com

All sources were checked July 24, 2026. A source's document issue date and the date this page checked it are separate fields in the downloadable dataset.

What changed in this dataset?#

The change log records field-level additions and corrections rather than merely replacing the visible date. Version 2026-07-24 is the initial public dataset snapshot and the baseline for later comparisons.

2026-07-24 — Version 2026-07-24
• Built a 20-product specification dataset across Phifer, Saint-Gobain
  ADFORS, and Super Screen.
• Calculated six verified construction rows, including both published
  ADFORS P4 constructions.
• Recorded the Florida Building Code Table 2002.4 note f provisions,
  the 0.88 pressure factor, the 13.6% inverse comparison, and the
  corrected 54.76% ÷ 62.66% = 0.874 open-area ratio.
• Recorded the live ADFORS Small Insect material conflict.
• Recorded the live ADFORS P3 18 × 14 versus June 2026 ONYX
  17 × 14 count conflict.
• Removed secondary-source-only yarn, mesh-count, openness, burst,
  and geometry fields from manufacturer records.
• Updated ASTM D3656/D3656M to the active -25 edition and disclosed
  the ASTM D2261 tongue-tear title conflict with Super Screen's
  manufacturer label.
• Published the actual 20-row CSV and matching JSON distributions.
• Published the one-seller 18 × 14 material-price series and the
  83.3% 108-inch width premium.