Decorative mesh panels and woven wire mesh are our core products and we sell a wide range of products under those titles. The most popular type is the woven wire mesh. All our meshes are made from pure and solid metals, are the genuine article and in that capacity we produce the widest variety of options and finishes available. The four main types of mesh that we supply are woven, perforated, assembled and expanded. These all describe processes that can be undertaken to create decorative mesh from sheets or strips of metal. Mesh is a term that can be used to describe a material that is either made from individual strands that are organized and held together in such a way as to form a grille, or a sheet that has been punched, slotted or stretched to fill it with holes. A mesh can be made of almost any material that can be formed into strands or sheets.
The majority of woven wire meshes are now woven on large industrial scale machines and very few are woven by hand. We have both the technology and skill to offer both types and will make recommendations as to which type is the most appropriate depending on the project in mind. Typically, woven wire mesh required for industrial purposes will be machine made along with the very fine mesh, whilst mesh woven especially for interior decoration would be more likely to benefit from the extra personal attention of hand weaving. Hand woven mesh has the advantage over other types of mesh of giving a more traditional feel to a room decor.
To create a woven wire mesh, strands of drawn wire are woven together in a similar way to that in which cloth has been made for hundreds of years. A cloth is essentially a very fine mesh. Some very fine mesh is in fact referred to as metal mesh cloth. These types of fine mesh are typically used as fine grade filter meshes for machinery and vehicles, often made from such materials as stainless steel or, more traditionally, phosphor bronze and copper mesh. These materials also make them shine attractively and so find themselves being used as decorative meshes in the fashion and art worlds. The individual strands are oriented in two directions. Through the weaving process, alternate strands are raised and lowered as the new strand passes by them so that it alternately goes either over or under the next perpendicular strand. The result will be a panel where every strand is held in place by the force exerted by its neighbours, which are fitted in the opposite position. Depending on the material, size and shape used to create this mesh, the resulting material can have a wide variety of properties. It could be almost as soft as cloth or as rigid as a solid sheet of steel. Very fine mesh can be used in clothes manufacture to give garments a metallic appearance. Fine mesh also used architecturally, for decorative purposes and as sun shades and screens. In the art world the use of fine brass mesh is also popular as this type of fine mesh is applied to the armature of sculptures as an intermediate layer between it and the outer skin. The fine mesh essentially bulks out the skeleton, which provides the strength and adds body to bring the shape of the piece closer to that of its intended final shape, ready to receive the final layer of clay or other more modern sculpting material. Brass is particularly good for this purpose as it is flexible yet holds its shape well when manipulated. Brass in the form of fine mesh can then be manipulated into the desired shape and when the clay like substance is applied it is pushed onto the mesh and some of it goes through the mesh and this locks it into place providing a firm bond between the two very different materials.
The best material from which to weave mesh is metal, which has been made into wires. The major difference between woven mesh and welded mesh is that with the woven variety the wires are not actually joined together at any point. They are merely held in place by the alternating nature of the location of their neighbouring wires in relation to each other. This imbues the wire mesh panels with a flexible characteristic beyond that of the flexibility of the wire used. As such, a more rigid and self-supporting panel results and any resultant flexibility would depend on the diameter and qualities of the wires used. Woven wire mesh panels are a traditional product still in production, which have been around for hundreds of years. Welded wire mesh panels are a relatively modern invention, designed as a cheaper option as it is more economical to produce in large quantities. Welded wire mesh panels are, therefore, used in more industrial and practical applications such as fencing and animal cages.
Woven mesh is regarded as the more attractive of the two and, therefore, while it is also used industrially, it is the more common of the two to be used in architectural and interior applications where a more decorative appearance is required. Due to the popularity of its use decoratively, a wide variety of styles of woven mesh have been developed where the wires are intertwined by different, interesting methods and in different patterns to achieve different shaped holes and patterned surfaces. Some examples of these are the twilled Dutch weave and reverse Dutch weave. Yet more effects can be achieved by combining different profiles of the same material, for example using a wider diameter or all the horizontally oriented elements or by using a square wire in one direction and a round wire in another. Combining different metals is another possibility. Decorative wire mesh can even be created using other materials in combination with metal such as plastic and leather.
A different type of mesh is a perforated mesh where holes, usually of a regular shape, are punched in a sheet of a rigid material at regular intervals with such frequency that a large proportion of the material is removed leaving what appears to be a mesh or net-like pattern. This would be more likely to be described as a mesh if the holes are relatively small and frequent rather than large and rare. Perforated mesh is used industrially for sorting and sieving materials and as machinery guarding and other safety features. In these cases the perforated metal mesh is usually made from steel or stainless steel. Decorative perforated mesh can also be made from stainless steel, especially when it has been polished but it usually has more ornate shaped holes and is made from more exotic and higher value materials than it’s industrial counterparts. The most common materials from which to make decorative perforated metal sheet are brass and stainless steel, but other metals and alloys such as bronze and copper can also be used depending on the application. Perforated mesh can be made in a variety of thicknesses and as such can be used in a wider variety of applications than other types of mesh due to the rigidity of the panels achievable. If perforated mesh is made thick enough it can even be used structurally. Decorative perforated mesh panels are usually much thinner. The standard thickness of perforated brass panels is 0.7mm. For industrial uses the holes are usually round, square or lozenge shaped. For decorative purposes the hole shape possibilities are limitless. The only limit on creativity of the shape of the holes is the budget of the person paying for the tool to do the punching. There are new processes which use more technologically advanced machinery than the standard punching machines. These can be programmed to punch a variety of different sized holes in a preprogrammed pattern. Up close this can look just like a chaotic mass of differently sized holes, but it is from a distance that the over all effect comes to light as only then can it be seen that the arrangement of the holes is such that a recognisable large scale pattern has been crreated. This process can even achieve photographic like effects. We are pleased to be involved at the forefront of this technology.
Decorative mesh can be made using decorative materials, assembling them in decorative ways, giving them decorative finishes and adding additional decorative features. Decorative mesh has been described above in a variety of ways already so all that remains to say is that if you want a decorative mesh, start by having a look through our ranges on this page and follow the links to see different types of decorative mesh made by a variety of means and from a variety of materials. If you do not see what you are looking for or are not sure if you can achieve what you are imagining with what you see then please get in touch with us for expert guidance and opinion.
Brass mesh is the most popular of decorative metal mesh. We manufacture decorative brass mesh by all four manufacturing methods and have departments producing it all day, every day. We offer brass mesh in hundreds of different styles and combinations from fine brass mesh to coarse, machine and hand woven varieties, perforated, assembled with decorative rosettes or expanded. The attractive gold colour of brass mesh makes it the ideal starting point for many of our other attractive finishes. It polishes well and due to being an alloy of copper, also patinates to a range of other attractive finishes. Brass mesh is the base material for antique brass mesh and bronzed mesh. Both the antiqued and bronzed varieties can come in a standard range of shades from light through medium to dark but these can be adapted to match other finishes so long as we are provided with samples of photographs. Whatever project you have in mind, if it involves a mesh to be used decoratively, then we have a solution waiting for you.
Although there are an increasing number of uses for plastic, metal is still the number one material used for making meshes. Metal mesh is still the most durable and versatile type of mesh available. Due to the ductile and tensile strengths of metal it is still one of the most durable and therefore appropriate materials to be made into long thin strands, which are then called wires. The existence of metal wires makes woven metal mesh possible. Copper mesh is one of the more attractive types of fine mesh. Copper mesh can be made by knitting or weaving wires or cutting slots in a sheet and expanding, uses of copper mesh include electro magnetic shielding, filtration, pest management and for decorative purposes. Decoratively copper mesh is used in artworks and in lighting.
Due to its flexibility and porous nature metal mesh has been used for hundreds of years to filter other materials. As the size of the holes can be directly specified during the manufacture of the mesh, different meshes can be manufactured specifically for filtering out different products from others.
Domestic uses for metal mesh includes sieves in kitchens, used to sift lumps from a variety of foodstuffs or to allow water to drain cleanly away from others. Sieves are used by gardeners to sift soils. Finer grades are needed for certain plants or for stone removal. Metal mesh is often used in hot countries as an additional covering to windows. It is fitted into a frame and fitted over openings to dwellings so that the main doors and windows can be opened from the inside, allowing air to flow freely through the opening, whilst the metal mesh stays in place preventing the ingress of insects and other small animals. It is ideally suited as an anti-mouse solution.
Fine wire mesh is used in industry both to separate materials from each other and also to provide a safety barrier between humans and dangerous machinery. Metal is the most common material used to make fine wire mesh in the production of filters for the automotive industry, aviation industries and anywhere that might require the filtering of liquids or fine particles, particularly phosphor bronze and stainless steel meshes. Fine wire mesh can be made by a variety of means including weaving, perforating, knitting, etching and a process called expanding where small cuts are made into a sheet which is then pulled apart to open out the holes and create a larger mesh sheet. Electro forming is also used for fine wire mesh. Metal meshes made in all of these ways can be used just as well both to keep something in as they can to keep something out. A fine wire mesh could be used to prevent a microscopic particle suspended in a liquid from passing through with the rest of the liquid. A larger metal mesh could be used to keep an elephant in a cage. Finer wire mesh is used extensively in the oil refining and automotive industries. Fine wire mesh is ideal for filtering both air and liquids.
Metal meshes are made into screens and panels and used to keep people in or out of property. Mesh is used by the police to protect their vehicles. It provides a barrier through which they can see, but people cannot pass. Metal meshes of the welded, woven, perforated and expanded varieties are all used as security screening for windows. Plain varieties are used on commercial building, warehouses and factories, whilst more subtle and decorative varieties are used on domestic properties, so as not to spoil the look of the building.
The versatility of metal mesh extends to more creative areas such as furniture design and art. A rigid style of mesh can be formed by heavy machinery. Thus it can be made into permanent shapes that either form components that can be assembled into finished products or are already usable in their unique form as such pieces as chairs, tables, walls, screens, shelters, animal pens etc. Metal mesh is also used in the fashion industry in clothing and in art, either as a form of art in itself, or in combination with other metal meshes or materials of other types. It can also be deformed into recognisable shapes or merely as a substrate, wrapped around an armature onto which other materials such as clay are thrown to build up shapes to create sculpture.
We guarantee that you will be more than happy with our decorative grilles and outstanding levels of customer service. If you have any queries, please get in touch.
