Applications

Motorized Screens for New Construction & Recessed Installations

Everything difficult about a retrofit is straightforward before the finishes go on. Housings, power and control positions are inexpensive decisions at framing and awkward ones afterwards — which is why the useful conversation happens early.

Request a Design Consultation Controls and power

The opportunity

The useful conversation happens at framing, not at punch list

On an existing covered patio we work with the header depth, mounting surfaces and power routes that are already there. Sometimes those constrain the answer; occasionally they rule an opening out. On a project still being built, all three are still decisions.

Across the Permian Basin in particular a large share of outdoor living is being built new rather than retrofitted, and the difference in what is achievable between a screen planned at framing and one added at handover is substantial.

It is not a large amount of work to accommodate. It is blocking in the right place, a cable to the right point, and a decision about where a control sits. What makes it valuable is that all three are nearly free before finishes and disproportionately awkward after.

The specification

What has to be decided early

Four decisions, in the order the build will need them.

01 — Housing type

Recessed or surface-mounted

A recessed housing sits inside the structure and largely disappears; a surface-mounted one fixes to the face of it. Recessed is generally the cleaner result and it is genuinely straightforward when planned — but it needs depth in the header and it needs to be known before the ceiling or soffit is closed.

Recessed is not universally possible. Depth, structural framing and what else runs through that header all bear on it. We would rather assess it than promise it.

  • Recessed housings need known depth in the header.
  • The decision must precede closing the soffit or ceiling.
  • Not every structure can accommodate a recessed housing.

02 — Structure

Blocking and structural provision

Side tracks and housings need something substantial to fix into. Adding blocking at framing costs almost nothing; adding it afterwards means opening up finished work. Where posts or columns are being clad, the fixing method has to be settled before the cladding goes on rather than after.

  • Blocking at framing is inexpensive; retrofitting it is not.
  • Column cladding decisions affect side track fixing.
  • Opening widths can still be adjusted at this stage.

03 — Power

Power to the opening, not to the wall nearby

The most common regret. A cable planned into the structure disappears; one added later is a surface run or a route through finished ceiling. And because power constrains what control scheme is possible, this decision quietly determines whether automation is available later.

Our standing advice on new build: run the cable even if you are unsure about automation. Automation can usually be added later. Power usually cannot, not cheaply.

  • Power has to reach the housing itself.
  • Run the cable even if automation is undecided.
  • This is what makes later integration possible or impossible.

04 — The openings

Which openings, and what they are for

Even at design stage the material decision still follows the problem. Which way each opening faces, which will carry solar control, which needs to close against weather, and which is the one you will actually sit beside. Knowing that early lets the provision differ sensibly by opening.

  • Orientation drives material, even at design stage.
  • Provision can differ by opening rather than being uniform.
  • Some openings may need no screen at all.

Working with builders

What we need from the drawings, and when

The most useful point to involve us is when the covered structure is drawn but before framing is complete. At that stage the conversation is short and the provisions are cheap.

Elevations and a section through the covered area tell us most of what we need: header depth and construction, post positions and material, opening widths, and where power can reasonably route. From that we can say what is achievable and where recessed housings are realistic.

We do not need a finished specification to have that conversation, and we would rather have it early and provisionally than late and definitively.

What we will not promise from drawings. That every opening can take a recessed housing, or that a particular span is achievable, before anything is measured on site. Maximum spans are the manufacturer's, differ by configuration and change — we confirm current published figures against real measured openings before quoting.

What fits here

What gets decided at design stage

The four layers, all still open at this point.
The system and the housing Recessed or surface-mounted, and what the header has to provide for either. Controls and power routing The decision that determines whether automation is available later. Solar control by elevation Which openings carry the afternoon load, decided from orientation on the drawings. The weather elevation Which side will need genuinely closing, planned rather than discovered.

Other spaces

Where to go next

Related applications and markets where new build leads.
Covered Patios & Outdoor Kitchens The finished result, and what it looks like when the provisions were made. Pool Areas Poolside structures built alongside the pool have the same early-planning advantage. New build in Midland The fastest-growing market we serve, and the one where this comes up most. What drives the cost Why new construction and retrofit produce different numbers.

Questions

Questions from builders and homeowners

Can we rough in now and install screens later?

Yes, and on new construction it is often the sensible route. Blocking, housings and power can be provided at framing with the screens fitted once the structure is finished. It keeps the options open without committing to final selections early.

Can every opening take a recessed housing?

No, and we will not promise otherwise. Recessed housings need depth in the header and depend on the framing and on what else runs through that space. It is assessed per opening rather than assumed.

Does a recessed installation cost more?

It can differ from surface-mounted, and the direction depends on the structure and the stage. Planned at framing the additional provision is modest; retrofitted into finished work it is a different proposition entirely. The cost guide covers what moves the number.

When should we involve you?

When the covered structure is drawn and before framing is complete. Elevations and a section through the covered area are enough to start. Earlier is better than more detailed.

What if the homeowner has not chosen materials yet?

That is fine and quite normal. The provisions that matter at framing — blocking, header depth, power — are largely independent of which fabric is eventually selected. The material decision can follow later.

Do we need to allow for approval before building?

Possibly, depending on the jurisdiction and whether the property sits in an association or a design-review district. It is worth establishing early because it can affect appearance decisions. The approval guide sets out how to find out.

Start a project

Send us the elevations

A section through the covered area and the opening widths are enough for us to say what is achievable and what to provide for.
Request a Design Consultation