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 gets specified.

Request a Design Consultation Screen solutions
Covered outdoor kitchen and seating area with screens across the openings.
How this page works

Start With Where, Then Decide What

The screen solutions hub approaches this from the other direction: start with the problem, then pick the fabric. This page starts with the space.

Both routes end in the same place — a system, a fabric, an application and a control, decided one opening at a time. Each of the six spaces below has its own page with the design considerations that actually apply to it.

Where screens go

Six Spaces, Six Different Specifications

Each one has a dedicated page covering the design considerations, the solutions that fit, and the questions that come up.

Covered outdoor kitchen and seating area with screens across the openings.

Covered Patios & Outdoor Kitchens

A room that already exists and simply stopped being comfortable. Outdoor kitchens add a second problem that pulls against the first — heat and smoke want to leave, insects want to come in.

What matters here

  • Which openings actually need to close, and which are better left open
  • Where the housing can sit so the ceiling line stays clean
  • Heat build-up near a grill or cooking wall
  • Keeping airflow while excluding insects
  • How the screens behave when only part of the patio is in use

Solutions that often fit

  • Solar & heat control
  • Insect protection
  • Privacy screens
  • Smart home & screen controls
Covered patios & outdoor kitchens
Clear vinyl weather screens enclosing an open-sided outdoor pavilion.

Pergolas & Gazebos

Open structures are wanted precisely because they are open, so the goal is to close them selectively. The first real question is whether the structure can carry a screen at all.

What matters here

  • Whether the structure can carry the housing and side track loads
  • Slender members that leave little to mount to
  • Overhead sun that side screens cannot address
  • Keeping sightlines through the structure when the screens are up
  • Exposure on all four sides rather than one or two

Solutions that often fit

  • Solar & heat control
  • Insect protection
  • Vinyl weather protection
Pergolas & gazebos
A waterfront home with a covered terrace and motorized screens on the lower level.

Pool Areas

Water changes the problem: glare off the water, insects, privacy, and a moisture-heavy pool environment. Wind carries leaves and debris across the deck as well.

What matters here

  • Glare reflected off the water, not just direct sun
  • Hardware and finish selection in a moisture-heavy pool environment
  • Wind-blown leaves and debris across the deck
  • Sightlines from neighboring properties
  • Wet surfaces and where tracks can safely land

Solutions that often fit

  • Solar & heat control
  • Privacy screens
  • Insect protection
Pool areas
Full-width motorized retractable garage screen on a residential garage.

Garages

A garage doing double duty as a workshop, a gym or a hangout has one very wide opening and no good way to use it with the door up. Screening it turns the door opening into a usable wall of air.

What matters here

  • A single wide span rather than several small ones
  • Working around the existing garage door track and opener
  • Mounting surfaces at the head of the opening
  • Keeping vehicle access uninterrupted
  • Insects and airflow rather than heat, in many cases

Solutions that often fit

  • Insect protection
  • Solar & heat control
  • Smart home & screen controls
Garage screens
Motorized retractable screens enclosing an upscale restaurant patio.

Restaurants & Hospitality

On a commercial patio the screens are revenue infrastructure. Every afternoon the terrace is unusable is seating taken out of service, so the question is how many days a year the space can be sold.

What matters here

  • Keeping seating sellable across more of the year
  • Staff operation — simple, grouped controls rather than per-opening remotes
  • Appearance from the street when the screens are down
  • Durability under daily cycling rather than occasional use
  • Local permitting and landlord approval where they apply

Solutions that often fit

  • Commercial motorized screens
  • Vinyl weather protection
  • Solar & heat control
  • Smart home & screen controls
Restaurants & hospitality
A motorized screen housing mounted along the head of an exterior opening.

New Construction & Recessed Installs

The cheapest time to make a screen disappear is before the ceiling is closed. Brought into the drawings early, the housing can be pocketed, the side tracks planned into columns, and power run where it needs to be.

What matters here

  • Coordinating pocket depth with the framing and ceiling build-up
  • Running power before surfaces are finished
  • Designing side tracks into columns and wall returns
  • Sequencing the install against the rest of the trades
  • Agreeing openings early so nothing is surface-mounted later

Solutions that often fit

  • Solar & heat control
  • Insect protection
  • Vinyl weather protection
  • Smart home & screen controls
New construction & recessed
Request a Design Consultation All screen solutions
The other direction

Which Solution Answers Which Space

A pool surround and a west-facing patio can both end up with a solar mesh, for completely different reasons. That is why we specify by opening rather than by room.

SolutionSolar & heat control A commonly requested solution across many applications.SolutionInsect protection What decides whether an outdoor room gets used after dark.SolutionPrivacy screens For the one side with a sightline problem.SolutionVinyl weather protection For the exposed side, and for the cooler months.SolutionStorm protection A separate product and specification class with its own structural and product requirements.SolutionSmart home & screen controls How the system actually gets operated day to day.
All screen solutions MagnaTrack® systems
Questions

Questions About Applications

Can one project cover more than one type of space?

Yes, and it often does — a covered patio and the pool surround next to it, for example. They are specified separately and installed as one project so the controls and finishes match.

Do pergolas need a different system than covered patios?

The system layer is often the same. What changes is what the structure can carry and where the housing and side tracks can mount, which is exactly what the site measure is for.

Can screens be added to a garage opening?

Often, yes. The constraint is more often the width of the single span and working around the existing door track and opener rather than the screen itself.

Do you work on commercial patios?

Yes. Restaurant and hospitality terraces are specified for daily cycling and simple staff operation, and landlord or permitting requirements are worth raising at the first conversation.

We are still in design. Is it too early to talk?

It is the best time. Pocketed housings, planned side tracks and pre-run power are all much easier before the structure is closed up.

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Tell Us About the Space

A design consultation and an on-site measure are where a real specification comes from.

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