Applications

Motorized Screens Designed Around the Space

A covered patio, a pergola, a pool surround, a garage and a restaurant terrace all fail in different ways. Where the screens go changes what can be specified — and often changes the answer entirely.

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Start here

Start with where, then decide what

It is tempting to choose a material first. In practice the space decides more than the fabric does, because the space determines what the structure can carry, where the track can run, and which problem is actually worth solving.

A covered patio has a roof and usually a header deep enough to take a housing — the question there is which side and which material. A pergola has neither, so the first question is whether the frame can carry the load at all. A pool surround adds water, chemistry and a reflective surface that changes how glare behaves. A garage opening is wide, has a door track in the way, and is used in a completely different pattern. A restaurant terrace changes the arithmetic entirely, because the screens are protecting revenue rather than comfort. New construction is the easiest of the lot, because everything difficult about a retrofit is a straightforward decision before the finishes go on.

Once the space is understood, the material follows from the problem — the fabric guide sets the four categories against each other, and the solutions hub covers each in full.

The order that works. Structure first, then which opening fails, then the material, then the controls. Reversing that order is how a project ends up with the right product on the wrong opening.

Six spaces

Which solution answers which space

Each of these has a different first question. That first question is what the consultation is for.
Covered Patios & Outdoor Kitchens Heat, glare, dust and insects all land on the same slab. The side that takes afternoon sun and the side that takes wind are rarely the same side. Pergolas & Gazebos An open structure is a different engineering question from a roofed one. What the frame can carry is decided before anything else. Pool Areas Water is the reason and also the complication. We screen the covered structure beside the pool, not the water itself. Garages Unusable with the door down, exposed with it up. A screen across the opening gives you the third option. Restaurants & Hospitality On a terrace the screens are revenue infrastructure. The question is how many days a year the space can be sold. New Construction & Recessed Everything difficult about a retrofit is straightforward at framing. Housings, power and controls are cheap decisions early.

The differences that matter

Why these are not variations of the same job

The distinctions below are structural and practical, not marketing categories.

A covered patio versus a pergola

A covered patio has a solid roof, a header and, usually, posts substantial enough to carry side tracks. The specification question is which opening and which material. A pergola has an open top and a frame designed to carry its own weight and not much else — so the first question is whether it can take the load of a screen system under wind, and sometimes the honest answer is that structure has to be added first.

  • A patio header usually takes a housing without modification.
  • A pergola frame may need reinforcement before screens are possible.
  • An open top means rain still reaches the space regardless of the screens.

A poolside opening versus a garage

Beside a pool the material has to tolerate splash, chemistry and reflected light, and the reflective water surface changes how glare behaves through the day. A garage is a wide single opening with a door track already occupying the header, used in short bursts rather than continuously — and the practical goal is usually airflow with the door up rather than shade.

  • Pool surrounds: material tolerance and reflected glare drive the choice.
  • Garages: opening width and the existing door track drive the choice.
  • Both need power routed to a location that does not exist yet.

A restaurant terrace versus a residential patio

A commercial specification adds things a home never asks about: how the space trades, how often the screens will cycle in a day, who has to approve the change, and whether installation can happen without closing the terrace. The measure of success is different too — a homeowner is buying comfort, an operator is buying sellable covers.

  • Duty cycle is far higher on a commercial terrace.
  • Approval may involve a landlord as well as a municipality.
  • Installation scheduling is part of the specification, not an afterthought.

New construction versus retrofit

On an existing structure we work with the header depth, mounting surfaces and power routes that are already there. In new construction all three are still decisions. Recessed housings, concealed power and control locations cost almost nothing to plan at framing stage and a great deal to add afterwards — which is why the useful conversation with a builder happens at framing, not at punch list.

  • Recessed housings are practical before finishes go on.
  • Power can be concealed rather than surface-run.
  • Control locations can sit where you actually want them.

Questions

Questions about applications

Can screens be fitted to a kit pergola?

Sometimes, and sometimes only after structure is added. A lightweight kit frame is built to carry itself. A screen system under wind load asks more of it than that. We would rather tell you the frame needs reinforcing than fit a system to something that cannot hold it.

Can you screen the pool itself?

No. We screen the covered structure beside the water — a cabana, a covered patio, an outdoor kitchen. Screening a pool enclosure is a different product class with different structural requirements, and it is not what a retractable patio screen does.

Can screens be added to a garage opening?

Often, yes. The rough opening width and a photograph of the door track tell us most of what we need for a first conversation. The garage door itself has to keep working normally, so the track and housing have to be planned around it.

Do we have to close the terrace to install?

That depends on the size of the job and the layout, and it is something we work out before scheduling rather than after. On a commercial project the installation plan is part of the specification.

Can we rough in now and install screens later?

Yes, and on new construction it is often the sensible route. Housings, blocking and power can be planned and roughed in at framing, with the screens themselves fitted once the structure is finished.

Start a project

Tell us about the space

Which space, which side, and what stops you using it. That is enough to start.
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