MagnaTrack® Motorized Patio Screens

Retractable Screens for a Patio: What to Know Before You Buy

Most people searching for retractable patio screens are solving one of two problems. Either they have an outdoor space they cannot use at dusk because of insects, or they have a covered patio that gets unusable in afternoon sun. A retractable screen answers both, and the reason it beats a fixed screen is simple: it disappears when you do not need it. You keep the view, the light and the open feel for most of the year, and you pull the screen down only when conditions call for it.

Retractable vs fixed patio screens

A fixed screen is cheaper and permanently in the way. It cuts the view year-round, collects dust and pollen, and tends to look tired after a few seasons because it is always exposed. A retractable screen spends most of its life rolled up inside a housing, protected from UV and weather, which is a large part of why it lasts longer. The trade-off is upfront cost and the need for professional installation, since the track and housing have to be fitted square to the opening.

What makes a retractable patio screen fail

Almost always the edges. Most retractable screens hold the mesh in a channel with a bead or a zipper. Wind flexes the mesh, the bead works loose, and the screen either jams or blows out of the track. This is the single most common complaint about retractable screens generally, and it is the problem MagnaTrack's magnetic track is built to solve: the mesh is held by magnets that release under wind load and re-engage rather than tearing free.

Sizing a retractable screen for a patio opening

Openings wider than about twelve feet are where cheaper systems start to struggle, because the mesh has more surface to catch wind and more span to stay straight across. Measure the full opening including any posts, note whether you have a soffit or beam to recess the housing into, and check how level the deck or patio surface actually is. An opening that is a half-inch out of square across twenty feet will show as a gap at one side, which matters when the point is keeping insects out.

What it costs, honestly

Price depends on the width of the opening, whether the housing is recessed or surface-mounted, the mesh you choose, and whether the screen is motorised. We do not publish a figure because a quote on a twelve-foot covered patio and a quote on a twenty-four-foot pergola are not comparable numbers. What we will do is measure the opening, tell you what the installation actually involves on your structure, and give you a written price with no obligation.

DLUX installs MagnaTrack retractable patio screens across Reno, Sparks, Truckee and the Lake Tahoe basin. We handle the measurement and the installation ourselves rather than subcontracting, which matters on a product where the fit of the track determines whether it works.