What Motorized Patio Screens Cost
There are no dollar figures on this page, and that is deliberate. Here is what actually moves the number, so you can read a quote properly and tell a real one from a guess.
Why There Are No Prices on This Page
We could publish a range. Many competitors do. The trouble is that a published range for a fully custom product is either so wide it tells you nothing, or narrow enough to be wrong for many of the people reading it.
Motorized screens are made to the opening. Two patios on the same street with the same number of openings can differ substantially in price because one has a clean beam line and power fifteen feet away and the other does not. A number given before any of that is known is a guess, and guesses move — often upward, and often after you have committed.
What follows is the honest version: every variable that actually changes the figure, in roughly the order of how much it changes it. Read it and you will be able to interrogate any quote you receive, including ours.
What Actually Moves the Number
Roughly in order of how much difference each one makes.
Number of openings
The largest single driver, and the one you control. Each opening is its own screen with its own housing, tracks, motor and fabric. Three openings is not marginally more than one — it is roughly three times the hardware.
Width and height of each opening
Wider spans need heavier components and larger motors, and cost rises faster than the width does. A very wide opening may also need to be split into two coordinated screens, which changes the arithmetic again.
Fabric or material
Solar, insect, privacy and weather protection can often be configured within a coordinated motorized screen system, and those materials are not priced alike — clear vinyl sits at the higher end. Storm protection is a separate product and specification class with its own structural and product requirements. Mixing materials across a patio is normal and does not necessarily cost more overall.
Surface-mounted or recessed
A recessed housing is cleaner and, on a finished building, more expensive because of the building work around it. On a new build, where the pocket is framed in, the difference is much smaller. This is the single biggest argument for planning screens early.
Structural preparation
If the existing header is not straight, square or adequate along the span, it needs addressing before a screen mounts to it. On an older patio this is a real possibility and it is better priced honestly than discovered mid-install.
Electrical work
Every motor needs power at the head of the opening. A circuit already nearby is minor. Running a new circuit across a finished ceiling, or out to a detached structure at the end of a garden, can be one of the larger lines on the quote.
Control package
A single handheld remote sits at one end. Wall keypads, grouped control, scheduling and integration with a smart-home platform sit at the other. This is often a smaller number than people expect and has a disproportionate effect on whether the system gets used.
Access and complexity
Ground-floor openings with clear access are straightforward. Second-story installations, restricted access, working over a pool or around finished stonework all take longer and price accordingly.
Finish and color
Standard frame finishes are the baseline. Custom color matching is available from the manufacturer and carries a cost and a lead time.
Residential or commercial
Commercial specifications carry different duty-cycle expectations, frequently larger spans, more control infrastructure, and sometimes out-of-hours installation to protect trading. They are not simply bigger residential jobs.
Four Ways to Change the Number Without Ruining the Result
Screen fewer openings. The most effective lever by a distance. Three sides screened with one left open often works better than four screened, and costs less. Start with the opening that fails first.
Phase it. Do the west opening now and the others later. This only works if the phasing is planned from the start so the later screens match in system, finish and control — say so at the consultation and we will design for it.
Get it into a build. If any construction is happening, screens planned into it cost meaningfully less than the same screens retrofitted afterwards. See new construction and recessed installs.
Be honest about the fabric. The most expensive material is not automatically the right one. A shaded opening does not need a premium solar weave, and clear vinyl on a sunny elevation can make a space worse. The fabric guide covers this.
How to Tell a Specification From a Guess
If you are comparing two numbers, these are the questions that make them comparable.
- Is each opening itemized with its own dimensions, fabric and mounting method — or is the patio priced as one lump?
- Does the quote name the system and the fabric, or just say "motorized screen"?
- Is electrical work included, excluded, or unmentioned? Unmentioned often means excluded.
- Does it say what happens if the existing header turns out to be inadequate?
- Is the control package specified, or is it "remote included"?
- Was it produced after someone measured the openings, or from photographs?
- Are the manufacturer's current warranty terms attached?
A quote that answers all seven may be higher than one that answers none. It is also the only one of the two that will still be true at the end of the job.
We do not publish manufacturer price lists, and we would be wary of anyone who does — pricing is set by the manufacturer, changes, and depends on configuration. What we will do is give you an itemized quote after a measure, and explain any line you ask about.
Cost FAQ
Can you give me a ballpark over the phone?
We can talk through the variables and tell you which ones are likely to dominate on your patio. What we will not do is give you a number before anyone has measured, because it would not survive contact with the actual openings.
Is the consultation chargeable?
The first conversation is about understanding the space and whether motorized screens are the right answer. We confirm what is involved when we follow up on your request.
Why is one opening so much more than another?
Often width, mounting method or power. A wide opening needing a heavier system, a recessed housing in a finished ceiling, or a new circuit run across the house will all show up as a bigger line.
Do motorized screens add value to a home?
We are not qualified to tell you what any improvement does to your property value, and we would not guess. What we can say is that a covered patio that gets used most of the year is worth more to the people living there than one that does not.
Is there financing?
Ask when you get in touch and we will tell you honestly what is and is not available rather than advertising something we cannot deliver.
Get a Number That Holds
A consultation and an on-site measure, then an itemized quote you can actually compare.