MagnaTrack® Motorized Screens
MagnaTrack® is a motorized retractable screen system manufactured by Progressive Screens, and one premium system Sable Outdoor Living can design around for outdoor living spaces across The Woodlands and Montgomery County.
What MagnaTrack® Is
MagnaTrack® is a registered trademark and a motorized retractable exterior screen system made by Progressive Screens. Sable Outdoor Living is a design and installation company: we specify a system for a particular set of openings, install it, and program the controls. We do not manufacture screen systems and we do not own the technology.
That distinction matters when you are comparing quotes. The system is one layer of the job. Which fabric goes on which opening, where the housing sits so it disappears into the architecture, and how you actually operate it are decisions made on your property — and they are where a screen installation is won or lost. The screen solutions hub walks through all four layers, and how motorized screens work covers the mechanics of any system.
How the Magnetic Track System Works
On any exterior screen, the weak point is the side of the opening. If the edge of the fabric is not held, wind lifts it, light leaks around it and insects come straight through the gap.
Progressive Screens describes MagnaTrack® as a self-tensioning design using opposing-polarity neodymium magnets interlocked into the track housing, with a low-friction interlock and no zippers. Because the connection is magnetic rather than fixed, the manufacturer's stated behavior is that the screen can expand under wind pressure, separating the magnets, and then be pulled back into tension — re-seating itself in the track rather than tearing or jamming.
The practical effect on a patio is a screen that sits flat, seals to the sides, and does not need somebody standing there to re-thread it after a windy afternoon. That is the claim worth testing when you compare systems, and the question to ask any installer is simple: what happens to this screen in a gust, and what does it take to put it right afterwards?
Wind ratings, spans, fabric openness figures, finishes, approval numbers and warranty terms are set by the manufacturer and change over time. We do not publish them on this site. We confirm the current published specifications for your openings before anything is quoted, and we will not tell you a system is rated for something we have not verified.
What Progressive Screens Actually Publishes
Four names come up in quotes and they are easily conflated.
If storm performance is the reason for your project, read storm protection screens before anything else — the distinction between an everyday screen and a storm product is one of the most misrepresented things in this category.
The MagnaTrack® system
The track and retention technology itself. It is the system layer, used across the manufacturer's residential and commercial screen products rather than being a screen in its own right.
Residential screens
The manufacturer's residential line, offering insect and solar fabrics. This is a common starting point for covered patio projects.
Commercial screens
A separate line for commercial work, offering vinyl and solar options, with different published size limits from the residential line.
Defender Hurricane Screens
The manufacturer's storm-specific product line. It is a distinct product with its own engineering and its own documentation, and it should never be treated as a setting on an everyday screen.
Different Openings, Different Answers
Solar, insect, privacy and weather protection can often be configured within a coordinated motorized screen system, and specifying one fabric across a whole patio is a common way an installation ends up only half-working. Storm protection is a separate product and specification class with its own structural and product requirements.
Built Into the Architecture, Not Onto It
The housing at the head of the opening is what people notice, or fail to notice. Surface-mounted, recessed into the ceiling, or framed into new construction — that choice is often the difference between a system you see every day and one that disappears when the screen is up.
Side tracks are the same story. Run cleanly down a column or a wall return they read as part of the structure. Run across the middle of a finished surface they read as an afterthought. Deciding where they go is part of the design consultation, not something settled on the day of installation. On a project that has not been built yet, all of this gets much easier — see new construction and recessed installs.
Operating It Should Be the Easy Part
A screen that is awkward to run stops getting used by about the third week. Motorized systems are commonly operated by handheld remote, wall switch or app, and many can be brought into a wider smart-home setup.
Progressive Screens publishes the motor brands and integration platforms it works with, and that list changes. What is actually possible depends on the control package specified for your screens and on the platform already in the house — we confirm it against current manufacturer documentation during specification rather than promising it up front. There is more on this on smart home and screen controls.
- Handheld remote
- Wall switch
- Mobile app
- Grouped control
- Scenes
- Third-party integration
Existing Patio or New Construction
Both work. They are just different conversations, and the earlier the second one starts the better the result.
Existing patio
The structure is already there, so the questions are the span of each opening, what the housing and side tracks can mount to, and where power can be run. Housings can be surface-mounted or tucked into an existing beam line.
New construction or renovation
Bring the screens into the drawings and the housing can be pocketed into the ceiling, the tracks planned into columns, and power run before anything is closed up. The result is a system that is close to invisible when it is open.
If you are still in design or under construction, say so on the consultation request — the specification is easier and cheaper to get right before the ceiling is finished.
Where We Specify It
Why It Suits Outdoor Rooms in The Woodlands
Covered patios here have to deal with four things at once: heat that lasts well past the calendar summer, a mosquito season running May through October, backyards close enough together that privacy matters, and storms that arrive sideways.
A system that seals at the sides is doing more work here than it would somewhere with a short summer, because the same patio is being asked to solve a different problem in May than it is in October. More on what that looks like locally on the motorized screens in The Woodlands page, and remember that exterior improvements require prior written approval — see the design review guide.
Questions About MagnaTrack® Systems
Does Sable make MagnaTrack® screens?
No. MagnaTrack® is manufactured by Progressive Screens. Sable Outdoor Living designs, specifies and installs motorized screen systems — we are not the manufacturer and we do not claim to own or have invented the technology.
Can it be retrofitted to an existing patio?
Frequently, yes. What decides it is the structure of each opening: the span, the mounting surface, whether there is a clean place for the housing and side tracks, and whether power can be run to the motor. The site measure is what establishes that.
How wide an opening can it cover?
The manufacturer publishes maximum sizes, and they differ between the residential and commercial lines. The real limit on any given opening also depends on the fabric and the structure. We confirm current published figures against your measured openings rather than quoting a number here.
What finishes and fabric colors are available?
Finish and fabric options belong to the manufacturer and they change. We bring current options to the consultation and confirm availability before anything is ordered. Color may also matter for an architectural review submission.
What happens in high wind?
The magnetic side retention is designed so the screen edge can release and re-seat rather than tear. Everyday screens should still be retracted ahead of high wind. What any configuration is rated to withstand is a manufacturer figure and we confirm it for your openings rather than quoting a wind speed here. Storm protection is a separate product and specification class with its own structural and product requirements.
What is the warranty?
Warranty terms are the manufacturer's, differ by component, and change. We go through the current terms with you in writing before anything is ordered rather than summarizing them on a web page that will go out of date.
See Whether It Suits Your Openings
Tell us about the space and we will follow up to arrange a design consultation and an on-site measure.