To choose the right automated screens for an outdoor space, start with what you want the screen to stop: sun and glare, bugs, wind and rain, or a neighbor’s view. That decides the fabric. Then look at how the screen holds in its side tracks when the wind picks up, how the motor is powered and controlled, and whether the housing can be recessed out of sight. In New England, wind and bugs are the two things that test a screen most, so the track design deserves the most attention.
What do you want the screen to do?
- Keep bugs out. An insect mesh lets the breeze through and stops mosquitoes and flies. A finer no-see-um mesh stops the tiny biting midges common near marshes, ponds and the coast. Our guide to outdoor screens for insect protection covers mesh choices in detail.
- Cut sun, glare and heat. Solar screen fabrics are rated by how much sun they block. A tighter weave blocks more heat and glare but leaves less view. Many solar fabrics also keep most bugs out.
- Add privacy. Tighter, darker fabrics block the view in from a neighbor’s yard or the street during the day while you can still see out.
- Block wind and cold. Clear or tinted vinyl panels close in a porch against wind and rain, which stretches the season into spring and fall, especially with an outdoor heater.
Many homes use more than one type: insect mesh on the screened porch, solar fabric on the west-facing patio and vinyl on the side that takes the wind.
How the screen stays in its track
This is the most important difference between screen systems. Older motorized screens hold the fabric edge in a fixed track, often with a zipper sewn along the edge. These hold the fabric tight, but when a strong gust overpowers them, the zipper can pull out of the track or the fabric can tear, and getting it back in usually means a service call.
We install MagnaTrack screens, made by Progressive Screens. Magnets inside the side tracks hold the screen’s edge in place. When a strong gust pushes the screen outward, the magnets let go briefly to relieve the pressure, then guide the fabric back into the track. There is no zipper to wear out or jam. MagnaTrack offers insect, solar and vinyl screens, so one system can cover every opening on the house.
Whatever system you choose, ask the installer what happens to the screen in a strong gust and how it gets back into its track.
Weather in New England
- Wind. Coastal homes on the South Shore and in Rhode Island see strong gusts and nor’easters. Raise screens before a storm. A wind sensor can raise them automatically when you aren’t home.
- Rain. Mesh and solar screens let rain through. They aren’t a roof or a wall. Vinyl panels block rain, but they should still be raised in severe weather.
- Ice and snow. Don’t run a screen when freezing rain has iced the bottom bar to the floor or the tracks are packed with snow. Many clients simply keep their screens raised from late fall to spring.
- Salt air. Near the ocean, choose powder-coated aluminum housings and stainless steel hardware, and rinse the screens with fresh water a few times a season.
- Sun. Solution-dyed fabrics and UV-resistant coatings hold their color longer on south- and west-facing openings.
Comfort and energy
Exterior screens stop the sun before it reaches the glass, so a solar screen outside a west-facing sunroom or kitchen does more to keep that room cool than an interior shade can. On a covered patio, a solar screen on the sunny side makes the space usable in the late afternoon, which is often when you want to be out there.
Motors, power and controls
MagnaTrack screens use Somfy or Gaposa motors. Plan on a hardwired motor at each screen, which means an electrician runs power to each location before the housings go up. Control options include:
- A handheld remote or wall switch on the porch
- An app on your phone
- Integration with a Savant or Control4 system, so the screens are part of a scene. An “Evening on the Patio” button can lower the screens, turn on the landscape lights and start music outside.
- A wind sensor and schedules, so the screens respond to weather and time of day
If outdoor music is part of the plan, our outdoor audio guide covers how speakers and screens can be planned together.
Recessed or surface mount?
- New construction or a porch rebuild: recess the housing into the header or soffit, so the screen disappears when it is raised. This has to be framed in before the trim and ceiling go on.
- An existing porch or patio: a surface-mounted housing, painted or powder-coated to match the trim, mounts under the beam.
Either way, the openings need to be measured by the installer. Porch posts are rarely plumb and floors are rarely level, and the tracks need solid framing to mount to. Very wide openings may need an added post or a structural beam, which is easier to solve before construction than after.
Matching the house
Housings, tracks and bottom bars come in a range of colors. Most clients match the trim so the hardware disappears. For fabric, darker colors usually give a clearer view out than lighter ones. Using the same fabric and color on every opening keeps the outside of the house looking like one design.
Care and maintenance
- Brush leaves and debris out of the tracks and off the bottom bar.
- Rinse the fabric with a hose, or wash it with mild soap and water, and let it dry fully before raising the screen to prevent mildew.
- Check fabric and bottom seals each spring before the season starts.
- Have a technician look at a screen that runs unevenly, makes new noises or won’t stay in its track.
Questions to ask before you buy
- What track system do you install, and what happens to the screen in a strong gust?
- Which fabric do you recommend for each opening, and why?
- Can the housing be recessed?
- Who runs the power, and can the screens join my existing control system?
- Who services the screens and motors after installation?
Planning an outdoor screen project?
We install MagnaTrack motorized screens on porches, patios and pool houses across Greater Boston, the South Shore and Rhode Island, and we tie them into your lighting, music and control system. Book a free consultation or read more about our outdoor automated screens.
